Biography for
Téa Leoni More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

25 February 1966, New York City, New York, USA

Birth Name

Elizabeth Téa Pantaleoni

Height

5' 8" (1.73 m)

Mini Biography

Elizabeth Téa Pantaleoni was born in New York, February 25, 1966. Her father, Anthony Pantaleoni, was a corporate lawyer and her mother, Emily Patterson, was a dietitian and nutritionist. She attended but did not complete studies at Sarah Lawrence College. She started out in acting as Lisa DiNapoli in "Santa Barbara" (1984) in 1989 and followed up with small roles in Switch (1991) and A League of Their Own (1992).

In 1992 she starred in the short-lived sitcom "Flying Blind" (1992). In 1994 she appeared in Wyatt Earp (1994) opposite Kevin Costner and The Counterfeit Contessa (1994) (TV) opposite D.W. Moffett. In 1995 she starred opposite Will Smith and Martin Lawrence in the popular film Bad Boys (1995). She also had a guest appearance on "Frasier" (1993) that same year.

She appeared in many successful films after that, such as Flirting with Disaster (1996), Deep Impact (1998), The Family Man (2000), Spanglish (2004), You Kill Me (2007) and most recently, she starred in the film Ghost Town (2008/I) opposite Greg Kinnear.

Tea was married to television commercial producer Neil Joseph Tardio Jr. from 1991 to 1995. In 1997 she married actor David Duchovny, with whom she has two children: Daughter Madelaine West Duchovny (born April 24, 1999) and Son Kyd Miller Duchovny (born June 15, 2002).

IMDb Mini Biography By: A.G.

Spouse

David Duchovny	(6 May 1997 - present) (separated) 2 children
Neil Joseph Tardio Jr.	(8 June 1991 - 1 October 1995) (divorced)

Trivia

Daughter, Madelaine West Duchovny born. [24 April 1999]

Graduated from the Putney School in Putney, VT in 1984.

Her first name is pronounced "TAY-uh."

Auditioned for a "Charlie's Angels" (1976) remake role (as a dare) and got the part. A writer's strike in Hollywood meant the series was never made, but the pre-publicity was enough to get Tea noticed.

Her character in Deep Impact (1998) breaks the story on a comet which is going to hit the Earth and her character on "The Naked Truth" (1995) works for "The Comet".

Her Polish paternal grandparents were musician Jozef and film actress Helenka Adamowska. Her grandmother was related to composer Ignacy Jan Paderewski and she was among those who helped found UNICEF.

Gave birth to second child, 7lb. 10-oz. boy, Kyd Miller Duchovny, in Los Angeles, 15 June 2002.

Her father suffered from skin cancer.

Planned on majoring in anthropology and/or psychology, but dropped out of college at age 20 to do background modeling'.

Attended Sarah Lawrence College

Daughter of Emily and Anthony Pantaleoni

Has one brother named Thomas 'Tom' Pantaleoni

Was going to be one of the new Charlie's Angels in the proposed "Angels '88", along with Claire Yarlett, but the series never got off the ground.

Her grandmother, Helenka Adamowska Pantaleoni, co-founded what would become the US Fund for UNICEF in 1947 and served as its President for 25 years. Téa, herself, has served as a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF since 2001.

Calls her children West and Miller. It is tradition in their family to use the middle names as a first name.

Went to Oahu to help search for her cousin, Tim Pantaleoni, in summer 1995. He mysteriously vanished while hiking and to this day has never been found.

Her father is of Italian and Polish extraction, while her Southern-born mother is of Anglo-Saxon ancestry.

Grand-niece of Hank Patterson,Mr. Ziffel of "Green Acres" (1965) TV series.

Sister-in-law of Laurie and Daniel Ducovny.

She has inherited the stage wardrobe of Sonny Bono. They are a perfect fit requiring no alterations. She wore a glittered suite once owned by Sony Bono on the "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (2005) broadcast on December 22, 2007. She demonstrated that the suits have Velcro fasteners to make it easier to quickly change outfits.

Was considered for the role of "Rachel" on "Friends" (1994) (1994-2004).

Her husband David Duchovny called her for his "Phone a Friend" lifeline when he appeared on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" (1999/I). When she couldn't offer him any help in regards to the question, she simply told him; "You're screwed, honey".

Raised in Manhattan.

Appears in A League of Their Own (1992), with Geena Davis. Her husband, David Duchovny, played Davis's ex-husband, Jeff Goldblum, on "Saturday Night Live" (1975).

Considered for the role of Melissa Robinson in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994).

On October 15, 2008, Leoni and Duchovny confirmed that they had been separated for several months after Duchovny's much publicized sexual addiction. The couple publicly reconciled after Duchovny's rehab period and were seen frequently together, but on June 29, 2011, it was reported the couple had again separated.

Took a two-year break from Hollywood to give birth and nurture her daughter.

Raised on Manhattan's Upper East Side and sent to exclusive all-girls Brearley School and The Putney School, a progressive boarding school in Vermont. She graduated from Putney in 1984 with the intent on studying anthropology and psychology.

Was accepted to Sarah Lawrence College but dropped out after her freshman year to travel through Italy and Japan. It was following her travels that she ended up in Boston and, on a friend's dare, entered a local casting call for a new TV series to be called "Angels '88," a campy take on "Charley's Angels". With no experience, she won the lead role but the series never materialized.

She and Duchovny appeared together on TV only once, when Tea played herself on the 2000 "The X-Files" (1993) episode, "The X-Files: Hollywood A.D. (#7.19)" (2000).

Personal Quotes

I don't do T&A very well because I haven't got much of either.

David. The best thing about marriage is David's sense of humor. (When asked what is the best thing about marriage to David Duchovny).

"Not to sound like a whore, but I've been with...I've worked with...some very attractive men. Nicolas Cage...Al Pacino...Ben Stiller...and Woody Allen".

"I love tennis. I love very aggressive tennis, and I think I'm quite good. Golf, well, of course you can drink beer when you play that, but I take it pretty seriously, and I'm quite good at that. And I'm a good swimmer, and I used to compete in windsurfing" (on the challenge of playing an athlete in Spanglish (2004)).

We have this incredible cast with Billy Bob Thornton, who is maybe my new favorite person in the world.

I think getting over opening night, his first opening night of his life, was a huge milestone. And he did it with such grace and flying colors. I'm very proud of him. (about husband David Duchovny's off-Broadway debut).

Hollywood means work and getting yourself out there, and for a while I pooh-poohed that idea. My ego still doesn't get stroked by fame. But I've been guided by people who have told me if you aren't out there, then studios and producers are less likely to pull you in to the projects you might want to do.

I am not addicted to, attracted to, or neurotically pursuing stardom.