Constance Zimmer

Constance Zimmer
Zimmer at the 21st Annual Environmental Media Awards in October 2011
Born	(1970-10-11) October 11, 1970 Seattle, Washington, United States
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1993–present
Spouse(s)	Russ Lamoureux (2010–present)
Children	1 daughter
Website
www.constancezimmer.com

Constance Zimmer (born October 11, 1970) is an American actress perhaps best known for her role as Dana Gordon in HBO's Entourage and as Claire Simms on the critically acclaimed ABC legal comedy-drama Boston Legal. She also starred on NBC's short-lived series Love Bites. She currently stars in the Netflix Original Series House of Cards.

Early life

Zimmer was born in Seattle, Washington, to Ingrid Mueller and Gunter Zimmer.^{[citation needed]} She has German ancestry.^[1] Zimmer decided to pursue a career in acting after she fell in love with the craft as a high school student.^[2] Following high school, she was accepted to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Pasadena.^[2] After finishing there, she continued to study with Stella Adler and Arthur Mendoza.^{[citation needed]} Between acting projects, Zimmer earned a living as a professional fundraiser for charitable foundations such as AIDS Project Los Angeles, Tuesday's Child, and The American Cinematheque.^{[citation needed]}

Career

Her stage career was highlighted with her award-winning portrayal in a Los Angeles production of Catholic School Girls, where she won a Dramalogue for Best Actress.^[2] After starring in several national commercials,^[2] most notably for Duracell, she started making guest appearances in such shows as the comedy Ellen, Seinfeld, The X-Files, Gideon's Crossing, and The King of Queens,^[2] as well as having recurring roles in The Wayans Bros., Hyperion Bay, and The Trouble With Normal. During that same period, she was cast in a few independent movies such as Spin Cycle,^[2] Home Room, and Warm Blooded Killers.^[2]

Zimmer eventually booked her first TV series regular role on the NBC comedy Good Morning, Miami as the lazy and burned-out office assistant, Penny Barrington. After the series got cancelled, she spent the second season recurring as Sister Lilly Waters in the CBS drama, Joan of Arcadia, as well as guest-starring in episodes of NYPD Blue and Jake in Progress.^{[citation needed]} Also in 2005, she acted in the short film Just Pray, directed by Tiffani Thiessen.^[2] It was accepted into the Tribeca Film Festival.

In early 2006, Zimmer was cast as Brianna, the competitive law undergrad, in the ABC crime/drama series In Justice. She joined the cast of Boston Legal, where she played associate attorney Claire Simms on the show's third season. Her character did not return in season 4. Zimmer also portrayed industry powerhouse and studio executive Dana Gordon in the HBO original series Entourage from 2005 to 2011, arguably her most known role to date.

More recently, she performed in the world-premiere play, Girls Talk, alongside Brooke Shields, Andrea Bendewald, and Nicole Paggi.^{[citation needed]} The play was written and directed by Roger Kumble. She also starred in the NBC summer series Love Bites as Colleen Rouscher and had a guest appearance on USA’s Royal Pains, playing psychiatrist Dr. Abby Burton.^[2]

Personal life

On January 5, 2008, Constance Zimmer gave birth to daughter, Colette Zoe.^[3] The father is Zimmer's partner, Russ Lamoureux. On June 20, 2010, it was announced that Zimmer and Lamoureux were engaged ^[4] with the couple getting married in October of the same year.^[5]

Zimmer is an involved AIDS activist and attends a lot of celebrity benefits for charity.^{[citation needed]} Among those she supports are the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Heifer International.^[2] She has also become a partner in the store opening of House of Petro Zillia in Los Angeles.^{[citation needed]}

Filmography

References

External links

• Official website
• Constance Zimmer at the Internet Movie Database