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Who is Monica Potter?
American actress Monica Gregg Potter (nee Brokaw) was born in Cleveland, Ohio USA, on 30 June 1971, making Cancer her zodiac sign. She has 27 acting credits, and is perhaps still known best for playing the lead character Emma in the 2009 horror thriller movie “The Last House on the Left”, which also starred Garret Dillahunt and Tony Goldwyn, and was directed by Dennis Iliadis. It follows a gang who kidnapped and then brutally assaulted two young women, while they’ve now unknowingly found refuge at a home owned by one of the girls’ parents; the series won one of its nine award nominations.
Monica’s still today quite active in the film industry, and is currently shooting for the upcoming movie “Mort in Sherman Oaks”.
Education and early life
Monica was raised alongside her three sisters Brigette, Jessica and Kerry in Cleveland, by their father Paul Brokaw and mother Nancy; Nancy worked at a hospital as a secretary, while their father was the inventor of the first flame-resistant car wax. The family’s Catholic, and Monica dreamed of becoming a nun while growing up.
She studied at the Villa Angela – St. Joseph High School prior to transferring to Euclid High School; it was during her time at a local elementary school that she became interested in acting, but it was only while at Euclid that she knew she wanted to pursue a career in the film industry.
Monica matriculated in 1990, and spent the following four years working various jobs in Chicago, Illinois prior to moving to Los Angeles, California in pursuit of acting roles.
Roles in TV series
Monica’s debut TV series role was playing Sharon Newman #1 in a 1994 episode of the romantic drama “The Young and the Restless”, and her following role came in 2004, when cast to play Lori Colson in 21 episodes of the crime comedy “Boston Legal”, which starred James Spader and William Shatner, and was created by David E. Kelley. It follows attorney Alan Shore as he’s working at the company Crane, Poole and Schmidt, the series aired from 2004 through 2008 and won 16 of its 83 award nominations.
Monica went on to play Sarah Krajicek-Hunter in all 13 episodes of the 2009 drama “Trust Me”, and from 2010 through 2015, she starred as Kristina Braverman in all 103 episodes of the comedy “Parenthood”, which also starred Lauren Graham and Peter Krause, and was created by Jason Katims. It follows the lives of members of the Braverman family, and the series won 15 of the 56 awards for which it was nominated.
Monica’s three most recent TV series roles have been in 13 episodes of the 2017 crime thriller “Wisdom of the Crowd”, three episodes of the 2021 drama “Goliath” and seven episodes of the 2022 science fiction “Classified”.
Roles in movies
Monica’s debut film role was playing Biker’s Woman in the 1996 action crime comedy “Bulletproof”, and some of her following roles were in the 1997 action crime thriller “Con Air”, the 1998 drama “A Cool, Dry Place” and the 1998 romantic comedy “The Very Thought of You”.
Also in 1998, she starred as Carin in the evergreen biographical comedy “Patch Adams”, which also starred Robin Williams and Daniel London, and was directed by Tom Shadyac. It tells the true story of Hunter ‘Patch’ Adams who wanted to become a medical doctor because he wanted to help people, and the movie won one of its nine award nominations, including an Oscar nomination for Best Music, Original Musical or Comedy Score.
Monica’s also known for playing Jezzie Flannigan in the critically acclaimed 2001 thriller “Along Came a Spider”, which starred Morgan Freeman and Michael Wincott, and was directed by Lee Tamahori, It follows detective Alex Cross as he’s investigating the kidnapping of a senator’s daughter, and the film won one of its two award nominations. Some of Monica’s other notable performances in the 2000s were in the 2004 comedy “The Amazing Westermans”, the 2007 drama “Protect and Serve” and the 2008 comedy “Lower Learning”.
She’s since appeared in only two movies: the 2014 short thriller “Disordered” and the 2014 short comedy “Truckin’”.
Other credits
Monica received special thanks for the 2017 comedy movie “Quality Problems”.
She produced the 2003 comedy movie “The Lunchbox Chronicles” and seven episodes of the 2023 comedy series “Recycled Babies”.
Some of her recent talk-show appearances have been in “Home & Family”, “The Parent Trip” and “Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard”.
Awards and nominations
Monica’s won one of her 10 award nominations: a 2013 Critics Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, for “Parenthood”.
Some of her other nominations include a 2006 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series, for “Boston Legal” (shared with colleagues), a 2009 Scream Award for Best Horror Actress, for “The Last House on the Left” and a 2013 International Online Cinema Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, for “Parenthood”.
Love life and marriages
Monica’s married twice and has three children. Her first husband was American non-celebrity Tom Potter; they married on 21 July 1990, and their divorce was finalized on 4 April 1998. Monica and Tom have two children together: she gave birth to their first son Daniel Potter in 1990, and their second son Liam Potter followed in 1994.
She and her second husband, British orthopedic surgeon Daniel Christopher Allison, exchanged vows in a private ceremony on 14 February 2007; Monica gave birth to their daughter Molly Brigid Allison on 3 August 2005. Daniel joined the US Navy Reserve in March 2015, and it’s believed that this led Monica to file for divorce in February 2018; it hasn’t been finalized to this day.
There are no other men whom Monica’s been with, that we know about. She’s married to her second husband (filed for divorce) Daniel Christopher Allison as of July 2023, and they have a daughter together; she also has two children with her first husband Tom Potter.
Interesting facts and hobbies
Monica’s father died from cardiovascular disease in 2002.
Her maternal grandparents were from Northern Ireland.
One of Monica’s favorite singers is Cat Stevens (Yusuf Islam – British).
The Counting Crows’ song “Mrs Potter’s Lullaby” is about her.
Monica’s followed by more than 100,000 people on Instagram, and has uploaded close to 3,000 pictures and videos onto the network; most of these feature her travelling, spending time with her friends and shooting for her TV series and movies.
She’s a huge lover of animals, and her favorites are squirrels; Monica volunteers at a local animal shelter in Los Angeles whenever she has time. She’s featured her pet dog Venice in a couple of her Instagram pictures.
Elijah Wood and Tom Hanks are Monica’s favorite actors, and some of her favorite movies include “Radio Flyer”, the trilogy “Lord of the Rings”, and “Sleepless in Seattle”.
Health update
Although many people on the internet believe that Monica’s been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, these rumors have been proven false.
She was mistakenly diagnosed with cancer in 2013, but doctors then found that Monica actually had a cyst, which was removed with ease via surgery.
Height, eyes and wealth
Monica’s age is 52. She has blonde hair and blue eyes, is 5ft 7ins (1.7m) tall and weighs around 130lbs (59kgs).
Monica’s net worth’s been estimated at over $3 million, as of July 2023.
