Haley Strode

Haley Anne Strode (born June 23, 1987) is an American actress. She has had roles on Comedy Central's Lewis Black's Root of All Evil, ABC's Castle, and NBC's Whitney. In 2012, she co-starred alongside Giovanni Ribisi in Gangster Squad, playing his character's wife. She then starred in the ABC drama The Astronaut Wives Club, playing the role of Jane Conrad.

Early life

Strode was born in Owensboro, Kentucky, and grew up in the nearby town of Stanley on her family's fourth generation farm. Her mother is a retired teacher, and her father is a farmer. She has two older brothers, Jason and Matthew.

Strode graduated from Apollo High School in Owensboro, and went on to attend the University of Mississippi in Oxford, from which she graduated in 2007 with a BFA in Theatre Arts. While at college, Strode appeared in A Streetcar Named Desire as Stella, Noises Off! as Brooke, and The Importance of Being Earnest as Cecily.^[1]

Career

Upon moving to Los Angeles, Strode booked the role of Windy Stevens in the film Las Angeles, directed by Gerardo Flores, which screened at the Los Angeles Film Festival. The role was originally written for a Midwesterner, but producers, impressed by Strode's portrayal of the character as a "wide-eyed" girl from the south, altered the role for her.

Strode's career in television began with a role on Comedy Central's Lewis Black's Root of All Evil, and was soon followed by multiple roles on Important Things with Demetri Martin. In June 2009, Strode performed in the Katselas Theatre Company's production of Le Ronde de Lunch. For her role in the comedy, written by Peter Lefcourt, Backstage wrote: "The cast is outstanding... Strode is perky perfection."^[2]

Strode provided the voice of Jess' Mother in the independent film Jess + Moss, which was screened at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.^[3] The film won Best Feature at the Prague Fresh Film Festival, and Best Narrative at the Dallas International Film Festival. She then guest starred in the Disney Channel pilot Pack of Wolves, playing a secret agent named Dr. Harper. Strode continued 2012 with roles on television series including CSI:NY, Castle, and Whitney, along with the NBC pilot, The New Normal. In 2012, Strode booked a lead role in the Nick at Night series Wendell & Vinnie, starring opposite Jerry Trainor.^[4] That same year, she also filmed the pilot episode of L.A. Noir alongside Jon Bernthal as young Mickey Cohen's first victim.^[5]

Strode appeared in the Warner Bros. release Gangster Squad (2012), directed by Ruben Fleischer. She played the role of Marcia Keeler, alongside Giovanni Ribisi as Detective Conway Keeler. The film also starred Ryan Gosling, Josh Brolin, and Emma Stone.^[6] In independent film, Strode played the nemesis of Laura Bell Bundy's character in the film Watercolor Postcards. The film was directed by Rajeev Dassani and also starred John C. McGinley and Bailee Madison. She next starred in the 2013 film Only in L.A.. The film won Best Drama at the Costa Rica International Film Festival, and Best Experimental Film at Laughlin International Film Festival.

In 2015, Strode portrayed the role of real-life NASA wife Jane Conrad on ABC's drama series The Astronaut Wives Club. Created by Stephanie Savage, the series was based on the best selling book by Lily Koppel. She is set to star, in flashbacks, as Rita Forrester, the mother of Ed Westwick's character, in ABC's crime drama series Wicked City.^[7]

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

• Official website
• Haley Strode at the Internet Movie Database