Lisa Edelstein first rose to prominence when she was 18, when she moved to New York City to take up theater at the Tisch School of the Arts. While involved in stage productions, she also became a notorious figure in the New York club scene, at one point being called "Queen of Downtown" by writer James St. James.
Edelstein used her popularity to pursue her theater aspirations. Already active on Broadway, she penned the musical Positive Me, one of the earliest productions addressing AIDS. She later hosted the MTV series Awake on the Wild Side. Minor roles on film and television started trickling in, eventually leading to recurring roles in Almost Perfect and Seinfeld.
In 1996, Edelstein bagged a recurring role in the short-lived drama Relativity, appearing as the lesbian Rhonda Roth. She later took significant recurring roles in other dramas, such as The West Wing, Ally McBeal and Felicity. In 2002, she joined the cast of the short-lived NBC comedy Leap of Faith. In between, she took on major films such as Keeping the Faith and What Women Want.
In 2004, Edelstein took on her best-known role to date: as the tough-as-nails Lisa Cuddy, on Fox's house. The series became popular, and her portrayal was well-accepted by critics: it also won her a Satellite Award in 2005.
- Her last name, Edelstein, means "jewel" in German.
- She practices Ashtanga yoga six days a week.
- She speaks Spanish.
- Satellite Award, Outstanding Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television, 2005 (for House)
FILM:
- The Doors (1991)
- Love Affair (1994)
- As Good As It Gets (1997)
- L.A. Without A Map (1998)
- I'm Losing You (1998)
- Susan's Plan (1998)
- 30 Days (1999)
- Keeping the Faith (2000)
- What Women Want (2000)
- Daddy Day Care (2003)
- Say Uncle (2005)
- Grilled (2006)
- My Lunch with Larry (2007)
TELEVISION:
- Awake on the Wild Side (host, 1990)
- Seinfeld (recurring, 1993)
- Almost Perfect (recurring, 1995-1996)
- Relativity (recurring, 1996)
- Sports Night (recurring, 1999)
- The West Wing (recurring, 1999-2000)
- Ally McBeal (recurring, 2000-2001)
- Felicity (recurring, 2001-2002)
- Leap of Faith (regular, 2002)
- House (regular, 2004-present)
"My dogs remind me that the simple pleasures in life are enough to make a day great."
"The hardest part about being vegan is shoes. I mean really that's the only difficult part, finding shoes that don't have leather on them."
"I think it's really important for celebrities to use their power of money and fame to get their voices out there. It's funny to me that we're expected to keep quiet just because of who we are. Why do I lose my right to speak my mind because I'm famous? People criticize Michael Moore, Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon for standing up for what they believe in, but that's what they do. They never pretended to be anyone else."