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IMDbPro

Monica Potter

  • Actress
  • Producer
IMDbProStarmeterTop 5,000572
Monica Potter at an event for Scream Awards 2009 (2009)
A well-to-do family man is forced to struggle through a surprise birthday party moments after hiding the murdered corpse of his mistress.
Play trailer1:40
The Girl in the Pool (2024)
69 Videos
99+ Photos
From Cleveland to Hollywood, actress, producer, entrepreneur, funny woman, tear-jerker, designer, decorator, builder, creator, fixer, cook, cleaner, host, wife, Browns fan, homemaker, (very) amateur bowler and -her favorite title- mom, Monica Potter has achieved success in several different ways....save having a concise bio intro.

Monica Potter was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, the daughter of Nora Marie (Sexton), a homemaker and part-time cleaning lady, and Paul Ely Brokaw, Jr., who -among many other widely-used innovations- invented the first flame-resistant car wax. Her maternal grandparents were Irish.

A passionate creator by genes and trade, Potter, along with her 12-person "Monica Potter Home" team, is producing a line of natural, locally-crafted home and beauty products sold on mrspotter.com as well as the company's first standalone store, which opened in Garrettsville Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, in 2014. Building the company had been a dream for Potter. Through it, she aims to supplement the beauty and comfort of customers' homes at an affordable price, while creating sustainable job opportunities in the area. Appropriately enough, "Monica Potter Home" is headquartered in Potter's own childhood house in Cleveland; a structure Potter recently bought and renovated as part of an initiative to improve the neighborhood's condition.

When not running a company and knocking down walls, Potter is at work producing a sitcom, with Ellen DeGeneres and Warner Bros. Television, in which she will star as a mom, living under the same roof as her three ex-husbands. The script is in development and a pilot will be shot this spring. She is also producing a docu-series, tracking the renovation of her childhood home, with her favorite cast of characters...her family.

To the dismay of its extraordinarily vocal fans, Potter recently wrapped production on five seasons of NBC's acclaimed drama series, Parenthood (2010). For her portrayal of "Kristina Braverman" and her struggles to raise three children (including one with Autism), an emotional battle with breast cancer and run for mayor, Potter has garnered a 2014 Golden Globes nomination, a 2013 Critics Choice Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama, a TCA Award nomination for Individual Achievement in Drama & continued Emmy buzz.

Potter's previous television credits include roles in Boston Legal (2004), for which Potter and her cast mates were nominated for a 2005 Screen Actors Guild award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series, TNT's Trust Me (2009), USA's Reversible Errors (2004) and the beginning of it all, The Young and the Restless (1973).

Potter burst onto the film scene with her co-starring role, opposite Nicolas Cage in Simon West's Con Air (1997). She then starred, with Robin Williams, in the acclaimed dramedy, Patch Adams (1998) and appeared opposite Morgan Freeman in the thriller, Along Came a Spider (2001). Other film credits include the comedies, Head Over Heels (2001) and I'm with Lucy (2002), the mega-hit horror classic Saw (2004), Without Limits (1998), Lower Learning (2008) and The Last House on the Left (2009).

Potter resides in both Cleveland and Los Angeles with her family.
BornJune 30, 1971
  • More at IMDbPro
    • Contact info
    • Agent info
    • Resume
BornJune 30, 1971
IMDbProStarmeterTop 5,000572
  • View contact info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win & 9 nominations total

    Photos195

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    Known for

    The Last House on the Left (2009)
    The Last House on the Left
    6.5
    • Emma
    • 2009
    Robin Williams in Patch Adams (1998)
    Patch Adams
    6.8
    • Carin
    • 1998
    Saw (2004)
    Saw
    7.6
    • Alison Gordon
    • 2004
    Morgan Freeman and Monica Potter in Along Came a Spider (2001)
    Along Came a Spider
    6.4
    • Jezzie Flannigan
    • 2001

    Credits

    Edit
    IMDbPro

    Actress



    • Reward If Found (2025)
      Reward If Found
      Short
      • Maggie
      • 2025
    • Running on Empty (2024)
      Running on Empty
      4.9
      • Elaine
      • 2024
    • The Girl in the Pool (2024)
      The Girl in the Pool
      4.3
      • Kristen
      • 2024
    • Classified (2022)
      Classified
      8.2
      Podcast Series
      • Dr. Bell
      • Doctor Bell
      • 2022
    • Billy Bob Thornton in Goliath (2016)
      Goliath
      8.1
      TV Series
      • Christina Lukin
      • 2019–2021
    • Wisdom of the Crowd (2017)
      Wisdom of the Crowd
      6.6
      TV Series
      • Alex Hale
      • 2017–2018
    • Bonnie Bedelia, Craig T. Nelson, Monica Potter, Joy Bryant, Erika Christensen, Lauren Graham, Sam Jaeger, Peter Krause, Mae Whitman, Dax Shepard, Max Burkholder, Miles Heizer, Tyree Brown, Savannah Paige Rae, and Xolo Maridueña in Parenthood (2010)
      Parenthood
      8.3
      TV Series
      • Kristina Braverman
      • 2010–2015
    • Truckin'
      Short
      • Heather Fairchild
      • 2014
    • Disordered
      Short
      • Monica Lynch
      • 2014
    • Eric McCormack and Tom Cavanagh in Trust Me (2009)
      Trust Me
      7.2
      TV Series
      • Sarah Krajicek-Hunter
      • 2009
    • The Last House on the Left (2009)
      The Last House on the Left
      6.5
      • Emma
      • 2009
    • Jason Biggs, Eva Longoria, and Rob Corddry in Lower Learning (2008)
      Lower Learning
      4.0
      • Laura Buchwald
      • 2008
    • Eric Balfour in Protect and Serve (2007)
      Protect and Serve
      6.8
      TV Movie
      • Lizzie Borelli
      • 2007
    • Candice Bergen, William Shatner, and James Spader in Boston Legal (2004)
      Boston Legal
      8.5
      TV Series
      • Lori Colson
      • 2004–2005
    • Chris O'Donnell, Monica Potter, Jay Harrington, Joel David Moore, and Kathleen Rose Perkins in The Amazing Westermans (2004)
      The Amazing Westermans
      TV Movie
      • 2004

    Producer



    • Ian Harris, Dwayne Perkins, Michael Magid, Wendy Zehder, Claude Stuart, and Samantha Ketcherside in Recycled Babies (2013)
      Recycled Babies
      TV Series
      • executive producer
      • 2013
    • The Lunchbox Chronicles
      5.8
      TV Movie
      • producer
      • 2003

    • In-development projects at IMDbPro

    Videos69

    Partners
    Clip 1:23
    Partners
    The Last House on the Left
    Clip 0:50
    The Last House on the Left
    The Last House on the Left
    Clip 0:50
    The Last House on the Left
    The Last House on the Left
    Clip 0:43
    The Last House on the Left
    The Last House on the Left
    Clip 0:50
    The Last House on the Left
    The Last House on the Left
    Clip 0:50
    The Last House on the Left
    The Last House on the Left
    Interview 1:28
    The Last House on the Left

    Personal details

    Edit
    • Official sites
      • Cameo
      • Facebook
    • Height
      • 5′ 7″ (1.70 m)
    • Born
      • June 30, 1971
      • Cleveland, Ohio, USA
    • Spouses
        Christopher AllisonFebruary 14, 2007 - present (filed for divorce, 1 child)
    • Children
        Daniel Potter
    • Parents
        Paul Ely Brokaw Jr.
    • Relatives
        Brigette Corcoran-Brokaw(Sibling)
    • Other works
      Starred in the country music video for Alan Jackson's "Tall, Tall Trees".
    • Publicity listings
      • 4 Interviews
      • 6 Articles
      • 5 Pictorials
      • 5 Magazine Cover Photos

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The song "Mrs. Potter's Lullaby" by Counting Crows was written about her.
    • Quotes
      "If something strikes me as really funny, very intriguing or really touching, then I just go and do it. It's never about managing my career in a way that this would be a good move. I have enough people telling me what to do, so I think that when I read something, if I admire the writing and who's directing it, I just go for it." Interview, April 2001.
    • Nicknames
      • Mocky
      • Mon

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