An Emmy Award-winning actress for her portrayal of Nancy Weston on the hit drama “Thirtysomething,” Patricia Wettig solidified a nuanced acting career on both stage and screen. Known for the warmth and sensitivity she brought to her roles, this blue-eyed actress most recently appeared on the Fox drama “Prison Break” and also garnered attention for her work as a playwright.
Born Dec. 4, 1951 in Grove City, PA, Wettig attended Temple University in Philadelphia and went on to study acting at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theatre in New York. While pursuing theater work, Wettig worked as a personal dresser to accomplished stage and screen actress Shirley MacLaine. As a member of the Circle Repertory Company in New York, Wettig appeared in stage productions of “The Wool Gatherer,” “A Tale Told,” and “The Diviner” opposite William Hurt.
In 1982, Wettig met husband and later “Thirtysomething” co-star Ken Olin en route to a New Hampshire production of the Tennessee Williams play, “A Streetcar Named Desire,” in which both actors starred. Though both Wettig and Olin were in other relationships at the time, they ended up marrying later that year at her Connecticut home.
Wettig began her screen acting career in the early 1980’s with a series of small television roles on shows such as “Remington Steele” (NBC, 1982-87), “Hill Street Blues” (NBC, 1981-87), and “Stingray” (NBC, 1986-87). In 1986, she landed her first major recurring role on “St. Elsewhere” (NBC, 1982-88). Next came Wettig’s career high mark up – she was cast as series regular Nancy Krieger Weston on the popular, yuppie Ed Zwick and Marshall Heskovitz drama, “Thirtysomething” (ABC, 1987-1991). Wettig’s role as the cancer-stricken Weston won her three Emmy awards and one Golden Globe.
Branching out from television, Wettig made her big screen debut in the film “Guilty By Suspicion” in 1991, before starring opposite Billy Crystal in the comedy “City Slickers” (1991) and in the film “Me and Veronica”(1992). She later reprised her role as Billy Crystal’s wife in the sequel, “City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly’s Gold” (1994). The actress also appeared in a series of TV movies including Stephen King’s “The Langoliers” (1995), “Nothing But the Truth” (1995), and “Kansas” (1995). In 1998 Wettig won small roles in two independent films, “Dancer, Texas Pop. 81” and “Nightmare in Big Sky Country.”
Returning to series television work in 1998, Wettig appeared in a recurring role on “L.A. Doctors” (CBS, 1998-99), as the love interest to her real-life husband Olin. She went on to star in episodes of “The Practice” (ABC, 1997-2004), “Breaking News” (Bravo, 2002), and “Boomtown” (NBC, 2002-03). In 2004, Wettig found herself working opposite her husband once again, this time with Olin behind the camera; she was cast as psycho-therapist Dr. Judy Barnett on the hit ABC series “Alias” (ABC, 2001- ).
Taking time off to raise her two children, Clifford and Roxanne, Wettig returned to school to study writing; she earned her M.F.A. in playwriting from Smith College in 2001. Shifting focus to a career in writing, Wettig penned the play “My Andy”, about Andy Warhol’s relationship with his mother. “My Andy” earned Wettig a finalist position for the 2005 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, a writing award honoring outstanding English-language plays written by women.
In 2005, Wettig returned to acting with a role on the Fox series “Prison Break” (2005- ). Playing against type, the actress portrayed the manipulative and calculating Vice President Caroline Reynolds.