A dark-haired, froggy-voiced American second lead of television and occasional films ("The Pick-Up Artist" and "Making Mr. Right", both 1987), the stage-trained Draper is perhaps best known for the jittery energy and self-mocking humor she brought to the role of the wry, sensitive but insecure and edgy Ellyn Warren on ABC's acclaimed yuppie expose, "thirtysomething" (1987-91). Since that show's demise, Draper has made occasional appearances in TV-movies like "Danielle Steel's 'Heartbeat'" (NBC, 1993) and "LaVyrle Spencer's 'Home Song'" (CBS, 1996) and big screen outings like "Gold Diggers: The Secret of Bear Mountain" (1995) and "The Tic Code" (1998). The latter, which also marked her debut as a screenwriter, was loosely based on her second husband Michael Wolff, a musician who suffers with Tourette's syndrome.
Family
-
Father: William Draper.
-
Mother: Phyllis Draper. Draper claims her mother was the real-life inspiration of A.R. Gurney s WASP heroine of Love Letters
-
Son: Alexander Draper Wolff. born on November 1, 1997
-
Son: Nathaniel Marvin Wolff. born on December 17, 1994
Education
-
Yale College, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, BA
-
Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, MFA
Milestones
-
1986 Appeared in first notable feature film role, in Seven Minutes in Heaven
-
1987 Played Ellyn Warren on ABC s primetime serial drama, thirtysomething
-
1998 Wrote screenplay for The Tic Code , about a jazz musician with Tourette syndrome; also produced and played female lead
-
1999 Replaced Natasha Richardson in the Broadway production Closer
-
2001 Appeared in the Off-Broadway show Blur
-
Acted in such off-Broadway productions as Rum and Coke , Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You , Hooters , and Thorn Hill
-
Grew up in Palo Alto, California
-
Played Winnie Robin on daytime serial, Ryan s Hope
-
Played first professional role while pursuing her MFA at Yale, in an off-Broadway play, Split , starring John Heard and Brooke Adams