Amy Aquino Biography

Amy Aquino (born March 20, 1957) is an American television, film, and stage actress. A graduate of Harvard and Yale University, Aquino has appeared in television series such as Brooklyn Bridge, ER and Being Human. She was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for her role in Picket Fences. She is currently co-Secretary/Treasurer of the SAG-AFTRA. Aquino currently stars in Amazon Studios's Bosch (TV series) as Lt. Grace Billets.

Early life

Aquino was born in Teaneck, New Jersey, to Adele Frances (ne Mesiti) and Salvatore Aquino. She first acted in junior high school productions. She went on to Harvard University, studying pre-med with biology as a major. In her final year, she realised that she was spending more time acting than studying and so left to travel to New York to take acting classes while working at a law firm. She stayed there for three years without landing any acting jobs, before traveling to Minneapolis on a recommendation where she gained her first roles. She enrolled at Yale University School of Drama in 1986 after two years of rejections.

Career

After three years at Yale, she spent the following five years based in New York. Whilst there she appeared with Kevin Spacey at Playwrights Horizons and joined the Circle Repertory Company. She appeared in Wendy Wasserstein's The Heidi Chronicles, which won the Tony Award for Best Play in 1989. During the same year she appeared in both Moonstruck (as Loretta's hairdresser) and Working Girl where she played Melanie Griffith's secretary at the end of the film, her first film roles.

In 1991, she was cast as one of the leads in the CBS series Brooklyn Bridge. After the show was renewed for a second series, Aquino moved to California to be closer to where it was being filmed. After moving, she has primarily been in television roles, including ER, and Everybody Loves Raymond.

In 1995, Aquino was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for playing the part of Dr Joanna "Joey" Diamond in Picket Fences.

She appeared in another play of Wasserstein's, Third, in the off-Broadway production at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in 2005. Aquino also appeared off-Broadway at the 59E59 Theaters in Secrets of the Trade by Jonathan Tolins.

In 2013, Aquino was cast as the witch Donna in the second series of Being Human. Later that year, Aquino was cast in the ABC Television pilot Divorce: A Love Story. However, the role was recast when the producers decided that she looked too young to play Jason Jones's mother. The actor was sixteen years younger than her. Aquino played college President Dalley in The Lazarus Effect, also starring Sarah Bolger, Mark Duplass and Olivia Wilde.

Aquino currently stars in Amazon's Bosch as Lt. Grace Billets, commanding officer of LAPD Homicide. The show was renewed for a third season on April 1, 2016.

Personal life

Aquino met Drew McCoy after moving to California. They were married in 1995 at Saint Malachy's Roman Catholic Church in Manhattan. Together they purchased the Villa Royale, an Inn in Palm Springs, California, which they renovated over a two-year period.

She joined the Screen Actors Guild in 1987, and was named the co-secretary-treasurer on September 24, 2009. She was elected for a second term in 2011 without opposition. She previously served two terms as 1st Vice-President.

Filmography

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1991	Roseanne	Linda Wagner	Episode: Dances with Darlene
1991-1993	Brooklyn Bridge	Phyllis Berger Silver	32 episodes
1995-1996	Madman of the People	Sasha Danziger	16 episodes
1995-1996	Picket Fences	Dr. Joanna "Joey" Diamond	12 episodes
1996-2009	ER	Dr. Janet Coburn	26 episodes
1996	The Larry Sanders Show	Rabbi Marcy Klein	Episode: My Name Is Asher Kingsley
1999-2000	Judging Amy	Judge Greta Anastassio	3 episodes
2000	Freaks and Geeks	Mrs. Schweiber	2 episodes
2000-2002	Felicity	Dr. Toni Pavone	10 episodes
2001-2004	Crossing Jordan	Detective Lois Carver	8 episodes
2001-2003	Curb Your Enthusiasm	Susan Braudy	2 episodes
2002-2005	Everybody Loves Raymond	Peggy Ardolino	4 episodes
2005	Weeds	School Psychologist	Episode: Lude Awakening
2009	Monk	Rhonda	Episode: Mr. Monk Goes To Group Therapy
2009	Brothers & Sisters	Dr. Joan Avadon	5 episodes
2009	Prison Break: The Final Break	Warden Alice Simmsis	2 episodes
2010	Private Practice	Claire	Episode: In the Name of Love
2013	The Mentalist	Judge Patricia Davis	2 episodes
2013	Glee	Funny Girl Producer/Casting Agent	2 episodes
2014-	Bosch (TV series)	Lieutenant Grace Billets	20 episodes

Select Filmography

Year	Title	Role
1987	Moonstruck	Bonnie
1988	Working Girl	Alice Baxter
1990	Descending Angel	Catherine
1992	Alan & Naomi	Ruth Silverman
1995	Boys on the Side	Anna
1995	White Oleander	Miss Martinez
2004	In Good Company	Alicia
2005	A Lot Like Love	Diane Martin
2009	In My Sleep	Detective Curwen
2015	The Lazarus Effect	President Dalley
2016	Ctrl Alt Delete	Mushira