Piper Perabo - Actresses, Career and Family

Piper Lisa Perabo was born on October 31, 1976, in Dallas, Texas, US as the eldest child among three children of George William Perabo, a professor of poetry at Ocean County College and Mary Charlotte (née Ulland), a physical therapist. She was named after American stage and screen actress Piper Laurie by her parents.

She gets her English, German, Irish descent from her father and Norwegian descent from her mother. She grew up in Toms River, New Jersey with her two younger brothers Noah and Adam.

She studied at the ‘Toms River High School North’ and completed her graduation from there in 1994. Thereafter she attended ‘Honors Tutorial College’ at Ohio University and obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Theater in 1998. The last year of her college also saw her studying Latin, poetry and physics.

During her college days she went to New York to visit her then boyfriend. It was during this time that she was spotted by casting director Denise Fitzgerald while she accompanied her boyfriend in an audition. Although she did not earn any part, Fitzgerald helped her in getting an agent.

Following her graduation she relocated to New York and sustained herself as a waitress. There she started studying acting at the off-Broadway theatre ‘La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club’ and performed in various on-stage productions.

She endeavoured into on-screen acting with the short film ‘Single Spaced’ (1997). Her first feature film was the September 10, 1999 released American comedy ‘Whiteboyz’.

She essayed the starring role of Violet "Jersey" Sanford in the American romantic musical comedy drama film ‘Coyote Ugly’ based on the real American drinking establishment ‘Coyote Ugly Saloon’.

Considered Perabo’s breakthrough ‘Coyote Ugly’ released on August 4, 2000 and became a blockbuster hit grossing $113.9 million at box office. It earned her a MTV Movie Award in the category of Best Music Moment for ‘One Way or Another’.

Her next feature was as FBI Agent Karen Sympathy in the live action/animated adventure comedy flick ‘The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle’ that was based on Jay Ward’s TV cartoon ‘The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show’. Released on June 30, 2000 (US) the film that also featured animated characters Rocky and Bullwinkle failed commercially.

She then turned her focus on independent films and essayed a lead role of Pauline "Paulie" Oster in the Léa Pool directed 2001 Canadian drama ‘Lost and Delirious’. Her brilliant performance in the film earned her widespread acclaim as well as kudos from critics.

She furthered her popularity with the Shawn Levy directed American family comedy film ‘Cheaper by the Dozen’ essaying the part of Nora Baker, eldest child of the Baker’s played by Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt. The December 25, 2003 released film became a smashing hit grossing $190.2 million at box office.

Moving on she showcased her versatility performing in films of different genre. These included psychological thriller ‘The I Inside’ (2004), Sci-Fi Channel Historical fantasy ‘George and the Dragon’ (2004), action horror ‘The Cave’ (2005) and romantic comedy ‘Imagine Me & You’ (2005).

She reprised the role of Nora in the 2005 sequel of ‘Cheaper by the Dozen’ titled ‘Cheaper by the Dozen 2’ that released on December 21 that year. The film thrived commercially as its predecessor grossing $129.1 million at box office.

Moving on she featured in many other films. Some notable ones are ‘The Prestige’ (2006), ‘Beverly Hills Chihuahua’ (2008), ‘The Lazarus Project’ (2008) and ‘Looper’ (2012).

While making a mark on big-screen, she forayed into television with the popular American television medical drama ‘House’. She featured as Honey, a nutritionist in the 22nd episode of its Season 3 (overall 68th episode) titled ‘Resignation’ that aired on May 8, 2007.

She went on to feature in other TV productions namely in the segment ‘In Vivid Detail’ in ‘Backdrop NYC’ (2008); in TV film ‘The Prince of Motor City (2008); and in the episode ‘Folie à Deux’ in ‘Law & Order: Criminal Intent’ (2009).

Meanwhile in 2008 she performed in the Neil LaBute play ‘Reasons to Be Pretty’ at the Lucille Lortel Theatre that marked her Off-Broadway debut. Her other performance at the Lucille Lortel Theatre was in the play ‘Lost Girls’ in 2015.

One of the most remarkable portrayals of Perabo so far is that of the lead role of CIA Agent Annie Walker in the USA Network action drama TV series ‘Covert Affairs’. She landed up reading the script of the series while performing in ‘Reasons to Be Pretty’.

Although at that time she had no plans of doing television, not finding much interest in the film scripts at hand Perabo went through the script of ‘Covert Affairs’ as suggested by her agent. The character of CIA agent Annie Walker fascinated her so much that she took up the role and eventually it proved to be the most memorable role of her career.

‘Covert Affairs’ starring Perabo along with Christopher Gorham premiered on July 13, 2010 and ran for five seasons encompassing 75 episodes till December 18, 2014. The popular series received positive reviews from critics. It not only furthered Perabo’s rising popularity but also earned her huge acclaim as an actress.

She won the Outstanding Female Actor in a Breakthrough Role award at the 2011 Gracie Award for ‘Covert Affairs’. The series also earned her a nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama at the 68th Golden Globe Awards.

Other TV series features of Perabo includes as Simone in the NBC aired American sitcom ‘Go On’ (2013) and in the leading role of Julia George in the ABC aired American crime and legal drama TV series ‘Notorious’ (2016). The latter fetched her nomination for Favorite Actress in a New TV Series award at the 2017 People's Choice Award.

She got engaged to Stephen T. Kay, a New Zealand actor, director, and film and television writer in 2013. Kay directed and produced ‘Covert Affairs’ that had Perabo in the lead. The two married in New York City on July 26, 2014.

She is the co-owner of the prohibition-themed bar, ‘Employees Only’, located in West Village, Manhattan and the ‘Jack's Wife Freda’ restaurant located in SoHo, Lower Manhattan.

She is also a proponent for LGBT rights.