Kyra Sedgwick enjoyed a steady dramatic career in film, stage and television for nearly two decades before breaking through to “household name” status as the lead in the TNT crime drama, “The Closer.” Prior to her Emmy, S.A.G. and Golden Globe award nods for the show – with a Golden Globe win in 2007 – Sedgwick had been seen primarily in independent films and on New York stages, currying favor with critics for her thoughtful, focused presence in much-coveted roles of smart, complex women. Whereas she might have gone far relying only on her sparkling eyes, high cheekbones and enormous smile, she – as did her husband, Kevin Bacon – remained dedicated to projects rooted in substance and depth, rather than studio glitz and box office receipts.
Kyra Minturn Sedgwick was born on Aug. 19, 1965, in Manhattan, NY. Her father was a venture capitalist; her mother a family therapist, with a family pedigree which included six generations of eminent New England figures, including a signer of the Declaration of Independence, founder of the Groton School, bankers, politicians, author John Sedgwick, and Andy Warhol’s 1960s actress/muse, protégé Edie Sedgwick. When young Kyra’s parents divorced, her mother remarried an art dealer. The environment of her eclectic and accomplished family was further enhanced by Kyra’s schooling at the Friends Seminary, a renowned Manhattan private school based in Quaker traditions. It was here, that she made her acting debut at the age of 12 in a production of “Fiddler on the Roof.” Immediately, she began to pursue acting, first landing in the off-Broadway play “Time Was” in 1981. When she was 15, she began two years of regular appearances on the daytime soap “Another World” (NBC, 1964-1999). After high school, the budding young actress attended one semester of Sarah Lawrence College, before transferring to Los Angeles, eventually graduating with a theater degree from the University of Southern California.
While still studying at U.S.C., Sedgwick made her feature debut in the period feature drama, "War and Love" (1985) as well as starring opposite Pearl Bailey in the Hallmark Hall of Fame TV movie, "Cindy Eller: A Modern Fairy Tale" (ABC, 1985) – an ‘80s take on the Cinderella fairy tale. In 1988, she landed a prominent and well-received screen role as a prostitute/drifter opposite Matt Dillon in "Kansas." That same year, while shooting PBS' "Lemon Sky," she met soon-to-be husband and frequent collaborator, Kevin Bacon, as well as made a Theater World Award-winning turn on Broadway in Eugene O'Neill's play, "Ah, Wilderness!" (1988). The couple would tie the knot in 1988, proving wrong the popular belief that marriages made in Hollywood did not last.
In 1989, Sedgwick’s film career got a profile boost with Oliver Stone’s blockbuster "Born on the Fourth of July," where she was memorable as Ron Kovic’s (Tom Cruise) girlfriend, who undergoes a radical transformation from steadfast helpmate to independent woman. Building on that momentum, she played the rebellious daughter of Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward in James Ivory's feature drama, "Mr. & Mrs. Bridge" (1990). Throughout the beginning of the 1990s, Sedgwick was the portrait of the working movie actress, with roles in independent films like "Singles" (1992), and upper echelon TV pics like "Family Pictures" (ABC, 1993) with Anjelica Houston and "Miss Rose White" (NBC, 1992), which chronicled a woman in search of her Jewish roots – a part which resonated with Sedgwick’s own mixed-religious ethnicity. In 1995, Sedgwick scored a scene-stealing performance in Lasse Hallstrom's infidelity-themed drama, "Something to Talk About," playing the tart-tongued sister of megastar Julia Roberts. She followed up her big screen success with a role opposite John Travolta in "Phenomenon" (1996), but her labor of love that year was her producing debut, the Showtime movie, "Losing Chase" – directed by Bacon – in which she played a companion hired to care for a convalescing woman (Helen Mirren).
Sedgwick served as associate producer and star of HBO’s telefilm "Montana" (HBO, 1998), before returning to Broadway in Nicholas Hytner's acclaimed Lincoln Center staging of "Twelfth Night,” which was broadcast live on PBS. In 2000, she appeared in Craig Lucas’ off-Broadway play, “The Stranger,” and also appeared at Sundance in “What’s Cooking,” co–starring with Julianna Margulies. The versatile actress next took a foray into series television, starring in and executive producing the ABC midseason replacement sitcom, "Talk to Me,” (2000), which was unfortunately short-lived.
Following several more independent film projects, Sedgwick played a supporting role in the multiple award-winning TNT telepic, "Door to Door" (2002), opposite William H. Macy. Showtime recruited her for their telepic, "Behind the Red Door" (2002), handing her a plumb role of the angry sister of an AIDS-infected designer (Kiefer Sutherland); both of them trying to reconcile their pasts. A second shot at serial television followed with the little-seen judicial drama, "Queens Supreme" (CBS, 2003), before Sedgwick returned to feature films with "Second Lions" (2003). In 2004, Sedgwick and husband Bacon released a pair of critically lauded films, the character dramas "The Woodsman" and “Cavedweller,” for which she was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead.
In 2005, Sedgwick was cast as the female lead in the mostly-male ensemble drama, “The Closer.” Seemingly out of nowhere, her third go-round in TV proved to be the charm. She helmed the show as Brenda Johnson, a crack police investigator brought in from Atlanta to head Los Angeles' new high-priority homicide division. Sedgwick’s “real” quality – to say nothing of that accent – and the multi-dimensional character resonated with audiences and critics alike. In 2006 alone, Sedgwick was nominated for an Emmy, S.A.G. and a Golden Globe award. In 2007, she took home the Golden Globe for Best Lead Actress in a Drama. Later in 2007, she was slated to co-star opposite The Rock in the broad, big screen comedy “The Game Plan.” Also that year, Sedgwick earned her second consecutive Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. Sedgwick had the chance to repeat her Golden Globe win from 2007 the following year when she was again nominated for Best Actress in a television drama.