Monica Potter (born Monica Gregg Brokaw; June 30, 1971) is an American film and television actress best known for her starring roles as Tricia Poe in Con Air, Carin in Patch Adams, and Emma in Dennis Iliadis' remake of The Last House on the Left.
She played Alison Gordon in the first Saw film.
Early Life[]
Monica Potter was born as Monica Gregg Brokaw on June 30, 1971, in Cleveland, Ohio, to Nancy and Paul Brokaw. Her mother was a secretary in a hospital, while her father invented the first flame-resistant car wax. Potter has three sisters - Kerry, Jessica, and Brigette. Her maternal grandparents were Irish immigrants, and she was raised Catholic.
During her childhood, she attended the Villa Angela Academy and graduated from Euclid High School. She also spent part of her early years in Arab, Alabama. Potter had wanted to be an actress since childhood. She began acting at the Cleveland Play House when she was in elementary school. Starting at age 12, she worked at a flower shop and a sub sandwich shop later in her teens. In addition, Potter did some modeling for newspaper and magazine advertisements and local commercials. After appearing in several ads in Chicago, Potter relocated to Los Angeles in 1994. In 1995, she appeared in the Alan Jackson music video for Tall, Tall, Trees.
Career[]
Potter made her screen debut in 1994 on the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless as Sharon Newman. She later appeared in several feature films, including Con Air and Patch Adams, opposite Robin Williams. In 1998, Potter played the love interest of doomed distance runner Steve Prefontaine in the movie Without Limits, and also appeared in the British comedy Martha, Meet Frank, Daniel and Laurence the same year. In 2001, she had two major roles, co-starring with Freddie Prinze, Jr. in Head Over Heels, and in the thriller Along Came a Spider with Morgan Freeman, based on the James Patterson best-seller.
In 2004, Potter played the role of Alison Gordon in the first Saw film. Later, she worked on television. She was a cast member of the ABC legal drama Boston Legal but left during the second season. In 2009, Potter became a cast member of the new TNT series Trust Me. However, it was canceled after the first season due to low ratings. The same year, she had a lead role in the horror-thriller remake of Wes Craven's The Last House on the Left, opposite Tony Goldwyn.
Potter played the role of Kristina Braverman in the comedy-drama Parenthood, receiving critical acclaim for her performance in the fourth season. In 2013, she won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Drama Supporting Actress. Furthermore, she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries, or Television Film for her role in the show.
In 2015, Potter was joined by her mother and all three sisters on Celebrity Family Feud. The following year, she appeared in an HGTV reality series titled Welcome Back Potter, which chronicled the purchase and restoration of her childhood home in Cleveland, Ohio, 30 years after the family sold it in 1987.
In 2016, Counting Crows' frontman Adam Duritz confirmed that the band's song Mrs. Potter's Lullaby, from the album This Desert Life, was written about an imaginary version of her, as they had never met. Duritz explained that serendipity led to them meeting for the first time for a casual supper with industry friends the day the band was recording the song, and Potter returned to the studio with Duritz to watch them record. They became friends, and a tape he forgot he gave her on the night of the recording ended up salvaging the song, which the band felt they had ruined during post-production and had decided not to keep on the album.
Personal Life[]
Potter was married to Tom Potter from 1990 to 1998. Together, they have two sons. In June 2005, Potter married Daniel Christopher Allison, an orthopedic surgeon. Potter and Allison have a daughter, Molly Brigid Allison, born on August 3, 2005. In 2004, Potter's father died of cardiovascular disease.
Filmography[]
Films[]
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Bulletproof | Biker's Woman |
| 1997 | Con Air | Tricia Poe |
| 1998 | A Cool, Dry Place | Kate Durrell |
| Martha - Meet Frank, Daniel and Laurence | Martha | |
| Heaven or Vegas | Lilli | |
| Without Limits | Mary Marckx | |
| Patch Adams | Carin | |
| 2001 | Head Over Heels | Amanda |
| Along Came a Spider | Jezzie Flannigan | |
| 2002 | I'm with Lucy | Lucy |
| 2004 | Saw | Alison Gordon |
| 2008 | Lower Learning | Laura Buchwald |
| 2009 | The Last House on the Left | Emma |
| 2014 | Disordered | Monica Lynch |
| Truckin' | Heather Fairchild |
Television Series[]
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | The Young and the Restless | Sharon Newman |
| 2004-2005 | Boston Legal | Lori Colson |
| 2009 | Trust Me | Sarah Krajicek-Hunter |
| 2010-2015 | Parenthood | Kristina Braverman |
| 2017-2018 | Wisdom of the Crowd | Alex |
| 2019-2021 | Goliath | Christina Lukin |
Television Films[]
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | The Lunchbox Chronicles | Kate |
| 2004 | Reversible Errors | Muriel Wynn |
| The Amazing Westermans | ||
| 2007 | Protect and Serve | Lizzie Borelli |
Gallery[]
