Biography
One of TV’s most beloved leading ladies due to her starring role as Dr. Addison Montgomery on the hit ABC drama “Private Practice,” a spin-off of “Grey’s Anatomy.” The enormous success of her character on GREY’S, where she made her first appearance in 2005, led ABC and writer / creator Shonda Rhimes to create a spin-off based solely on Walsh’s character. “Private Practice” premiered in September of 2007 as the highest-rated new series of the season, and the #1 show on Wednesday evenings. The show continued its success through all six seasons, bowing in January 2013. During her two seasons on “Grey’s Anatomy,” the show received a SAG award for “Best Ensemble” in 2007, and received ensemble nominations from both the Screen Actors Guild and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association in 2006 and 2008, respectively. GREY’S won the Golden Globe for “Best Television Series Drama” in 2007 and was nominated again the following year. The show also received Emmy nominations for “Outstanding Drama Series” in 2006 as well as in 2007 and received three consecutive NAACP Image Awards for “Outstanding Drama Series” in 2006-2008. Up next, Walsh will be seen in three highly-anticipated new projects. In March 2017, Walsh will co-star in Netflix’s Tom McCarthy-directed, 13-episode drama series, “13 Reasons Why,” based on the bestselling YA book by Jay Asher. The series follows a boy named Clay through an emotional night after he receives a shoe box of cassette tapes from his late classmate and crush Hannah, following her recent suicide. Walsh plays Hannah’s mom, who is central to the plot. Then, Walsh co-stars opposite Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett Smith and Regina Hall in Girl Trip, a comedy film about four friends who roadtrip to New Orleans for the annual Essence Festival. The film is set to release on July 21, 2017. She recently wrapped Peter Landesman’s star-studded dramatic film, Felt, starring Liam Neeson as FBI agent, Mark Felt, who became the anonymous source “Deep Throat” for reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein and helped them in the investigation which led to the Watergate scandal. Also on the horizon, Walsh will star in Netflix’s #ReallyHigh, a film about a nerdy girl who must learn how to handle the pitfalls of high school when a social media celebrity classmate becomes her enemy. Walsh will play a quirky doctor at an animal shelter who is single and always hunting for a man. The series is set to premiere in July 2017. Additionally, she will star in and produce her mobile talk show Get In My Van alongside Arden Myrin, which has been picked up by POP TV. In 2014, Walsh co-starred in FX's Emmy and Golden Globe-winning TV adaptation of “Fargo,” alongside Billy Bob Thorton and Martin Freeman. That same year saw the premiere of NBC’s “Bad Judge,” a half hour comedy that Walsh starred in and executive produced. The show centered on Walsh's character, one of LA’s toughest and most respected criminal court judges, with a reputation for unorthodox behavior in the courtroom and in her private life. In 2013, Walsh was seen in Neil Labute’s Full Circle for DirecTV. Past film credits include Just Before I Go, directed by Courtney Cox; Staten Island Summer, produced by Lorne Michaels; Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks Of Being A Wallflower opposite Paul Rudd, Emma Watson and Logan Lerman; Legion opposite Paul Bettany and Dennis Quaid; Angels Crest opposite Mira Sorvino; Kicking And Screaming opposite Will Ferrell; Under The Tuscan Sun opposite Diane Lane; Brett Ratner’s After The Sunset; and Brett Ratner’s The Family Man opposite Nicholas Cage. In November of 2010, Walsh launched her own self-financed beauty company, Boyfriend®. In a partnered launch with the Home Shopping Network (HSN), Boyfriend® sold out in a record breaking 30 minutes. In February 2011, Boyfriend® was picked up by Sephora stores nationwide as the exclusive retail partner, where it climbed the ranks to become a Top 10 seller. Her second fragrance, Billionaire, launched on HSN and in Sephora February 2012. In addition to her own line, Walsh has also been the face of prestigious brands including Garnier and Cadillac. Walsh began her acting career in Chicago where she studied at the renowned Piven Theatre Workshop. She went on to star in multiple theatre productions at the Shakespeare Repertory, including the critically-acclaimed Born Guilty, Moon Under Miami, and Troilus And Cressida. After moving to New York and appearing on various TV shows directly following, including series regular roles on “The Mike O’malley Show” (ABC); “Mind Of A Married Man” (HBO); and “The Drew Carey Show” (ABC), she returned to her theatre roots in 2010 to appear in an off-Broadway production of “Dusk Rings A Bell” alongside Paul Sparks and directed by Sam Gold. Walsh currently resides in Los Angeles, California.
