Tovah Feldshuh Biography

Terri Sue "Tovah" Feldshuh (born December 27, 1952) is an American actress, singer and playwright. She has been a Broadway star for more than four decades, earning four Tony Award nominations. She has also received two Emmy Award nominations for Holocaust and Law & Order, and appeared in such films as A Walk on the Moon, She's Funny That Way, and Kissing Jessica Stein. In 2015-2016, she played the role of Deanna Monroe on AMC's television adaptation of The Walking Dead.

Early life

Feldshuh was born to a Jewish family in New York City, the daughter of Lillian (ne Kaplan) and Sidney Feldshuh, who was a lawyer. Her brother David Feldshuh is the Pulitzer Prize-nominated playwright of Miss Evers' Boys.

She was raised in Scarsdale, New York, in Westchester County, and graduated from Sarah Lawrence College. In her high school years she was a student at the National Music Camp (later named the Interlochen Arts Camp) as a star in their drama division. She started her career under British director Michael Langham at the Guthrie Theater where she was awarded the McKnight Fellowship in Acting.

Career

Theater

Feldshuh appeared on the stage under the name "Terri Fairchild" before deciding to incorporate her Hebrew name and her original surname as her professional name, Tovah Feldshuh. She said of her name changes: "I fell in love with a Christian boy, Michael Fairchild, who didn't want to kiss a Terri Sue. He said: 'Terri Sue doesn't fit you at all. What's that other name of yours? Tovah? Now that's a name!" In 1994, she joked that she could have changed her name to "Goody Two-Shoes," since "Tovah" is Hebrew for "good," while "Feldshuh" translates from German as "field shoe."

She made her Broadway debut in the short-lived 1973 musical Cyrano starring Christopher Plummer. She appeared in the title role in Yentl both off-Broadway at the Chelsea Theater Center and later on Broadway. Both productions are detailed in the book, Chelsea on the Edge: The Adventures of an American Theater, which describes tensions between Feldshuh and director Robert Kalfin over the play's interpretation.

Other Broadway credits include Sarav, Lend Me a Tenor, and Golda's Balcony, William Gibson's work about the late Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir. Golda's Balcony set a record as the longest-running one-woman play in Broadway history on January 2, 2005.

Feldshuh made her cabaret debut at the Algonquin Hotel Oak Room with her act, Tovah: Crossovah! From Broadway to Cabaret, which was followed by Tovah: Out of Her Mind! She took the latter show on the road to Philadelphia, Houston, Dallas, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Hong Kong, and Sydney. The West End production sold out an eight-week run at the Duke of York's Theatre. The Boston Globe selected her as "Best Cabaret Artist of 2000." In 2000, she co-wrote and performed in a one-woman play about actress Tallulah Bankhead titled Tallulah Hallelujah!

She returned to Broadway in the Dan Gordon play Irena's Vow in March 2009. She had appeared off-Broadway in this play in September 2008. In 2012, Feldshuh performed as Mama Rose in a revival of Gypsy.

It was announced at the September 21, 2013, Broadway performance of Pippin that Andrea Martin's last performance as Berthe (Pippin's grandmother) would be the following day and that Feldshuh would be subsequently taking over the role. In 2014, she starred in Gypsy at the Bristol Riverside Theatre as Mama Rose.

In February 2015, she performed a one-woman show which she called Aging Is Optional at 54 Below.

Film and television

In 1973, Feldshuh appeared on television in a supporting role in Scream, Pretty Peggy. In 1976, she also had a supporting role in Ryan's Hope, and in the following year, 1977, she played Katharine Hepburn in The Amazing Howard Hughes. However, Feldshuh came to international prominence as Helena Slomova in the 1978 mini-series Holocaust, based on Gerald Green's novel. Between 1991 and 2007, Feldshuh had a recurring role as defense attorney Danielle Melnick on Law & Order.

Feldshuh's feature film appearances have included Lady in the Water, The Triangle Factory Fire Scandal, A Walk on the Moon, Happy Accidents, Brewster's Millions, The Idolmaker, The Blue Iguana, A Day in October, The Believer, Love Comes Lately, Just My Luck, and Kissing Jessica Stein. She also appeared as Ruthie in the 2004 film The Tollbooth.

Feldshuh appeared in Goyband, co-starring Adam Pascal, Amy Davidson, Cris Judd, Dean Edwards, Tibor Feldman and Natasha Lyonne. She was also slated to star in the psychological thriller Acts of Mercy. In 2009, Feldshuh recorded the song "Bein Nahar Prat" for the organization Pioneers For A Cure, with the proceeds benefiting Ellen's Run.

In 2012, she appeared as Mossad agent Rivka in the Covert Affairs episode "Wishful Beginnings". In 2014 she appeared in the film She's Funny That Way.

March 2015 saw her make her debut in a starring role on AMC's highly rated The Walking Dead. Feldshuh had never seen the show before being cast as former politician Deanna Monroe, whose character Feldshuh says she based on Hillary Clinton. She also appeared in the six-part miniseries Flesh and Bone, which debuted in 2015 on Starz.

As of 2015, Feldshuh has a recurring role on the musical-comedy Crazy Ex-Girlfriend as Naomi Bunch, the image-conscious and hypercritical mother of the show's main character Rebecca (played by Rachel Bloom).

Personal life

Feldshuh married New York attorney Andrew Harris Levy in 1977. Actress Ruth Gordon was her maid of honor. They have a son, Garson, an economist and graduate of Harvard and Oxford universities; and a daughter, Amanda, who graduated from MIT. When Amanda married in 2014, Feldshuh gave her the advice, "You know how to have a successful marriage? Shut one eye, and don't leave. Some of it's fun and some of it isn't. It can be challenging, but you do not leave the field of play."? Her nephew, Noah Feldshuh, is a member of alternative rock band X Ambassadors.

For her charity work, she is the recipient of the Eleanor Roosevelt Humanities Award, Hadassah's Myrtle Wreath, and the Israel Peace Medal. The National Foundation for Jewish Culture honored her with the 2002 Jewish Image Award and the Performing Arts award in 2006.

When doing research for her role as Irene Gut Opdyke in the play Irena's Vow, Feldshuh traveled to Borshchiv, Ukraine, and discovered that her own ancestor, Moishe Feldshuh, had lived there in the early 20th century.

In March 2015, Feldshuh hiked Mt. Kilimanjaro with her son. She told Variety she was inspired after the 2014 death of her mother at age 103, and her own athletic role in Pippin, in which she had to swing on a trapeze. "I really do feel we're only in this body once," she said. "I just want enough money to buy experience. I can forego a dress, but the idea of taking a trip and trekking Mt. Kilimanjaro, or going on the Trans-Siberian railroad, or tracking lemurs in Madagascar "? these things are very exciting to me. To see the world until I leave my own body. It"?s now or not at all."

Filmography

Films

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1978	Nunzio	Michelle
1980	The Idolmaker	Brenda Roberts
1981	Cheaper to Keep Her	K. D. Locke
1983	Daniel	Linda Mindish
1984	An All Consuming Passion	Vivian Palmer	Video
1985	Brewster's Millions	Marilyn
1985	Silver Bullet	Older Jane's voice
1988	The Blue Iguana	Detective Vera Quinn
1991	Saying Kaddish
1991	En dag i oktober	Emma Kublitz
1995	The Real Shlemiel	Voices
1995	Trouble	Goldie	Short
1995	Comfortably Numb	Victoria Stevens
1997	Hudson River Blues	Charlotte
1998	Montana	Greta
1998	Charlie Hoboken	Angie Cedars
1999	A Walk on the Moon	Lillian Kantrowitz
1999	The Corruptor	Margaret Wheeler
2000	Happy Accidents	Lillian Weaver
2001	The Believer	Woman in Shul
2001	Kissing Jessica Stein	Judy Stein	Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture
2001	Friends & Family	Alma Jennings
2001	Old Love	Ethel Brockeles	Short
2001	The 3 Little Wolfs	Sarah Wolf
2002	Noon Blue Apples	Sponge-Brush Woman
2002	The End of the Bar	Mrs. Garner
2004	The Tollbooth	Ruthie Cohen	Method Fest Independent Film Festival"?Best Supporting Actress
2005	Alchemy	Senior Editor
2005	Life on the Ledge	Mother
2005	The Reality Trap	Irina Bolton
2006	Just My Luck	Madame Z
2006	Lady in the Water	Mrs. Bubchik
2006	O Jerusalem	Golda Meir
2007	The Shallow End of the Ocean	Jason's Mother	Short
2007	Love Comes Lately	Ethel
2007	Love Life	Hannah
2008	Eavesdrop	Susie
2008	A House Divided	Rebecca Meir
2008	Goyband	Leah
2009	Acts of Mercy	Nurse Ruth Baker
2010	A Buddy Story	Buddy's Mom
2010	Ten Stories Tall	Grace Parker
2010	Heterosexuals	Remy
2012	All the Broken Pieces	Grandmother	Short
2014	A Little Game	Blackstone Head of School
2014	Glinda	Glinda	Short
2014	The Hyperglot	Elaine	Short
2015	Angelica	Nora
2015	She's Funny That Way	Miriam
TBA	Unreachable by Conventional Means	David's Mom

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1973	Scream, Pretty Peggy	Agnes Thornton	TV Movie
1976	Ryan's Hope	Martha McKee	12 episodes
1976	Gibbsville	Carole	Episode: "Trapped"
1976	Serpico	Erica Molinas	Episode: "Rapid Fire"
1977	Family	Susan Bowers	Episode: "Mirror, Mirror on the Wall..."
1977	The Bob Newhart Show	Veronica Kidd	Episode: "The Heartbreak Kidd"
1977	Barnaby Jones	Laura Woods	Episode: "Circle of Treachery"
1977	The Amazing Howard Hughes	Katharine Hepburn	TV Movie
1977	The World of Darkness	Clara Sanford	TV Movie
1977	The Love Boat	Susan Ridley	1 Episode
1978	Holocaust	Helena Slomova	4 episodes
1978	Once Upon a Classic	Sandy	Episode: "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court"
1978	Terror Out of the Sky	Jeannie Devereux	TV Movie
1979	The Triangle Factory Fire Scandal	Florence	TV Movie
1979	Beggarman, Thief	Monika Wolner	TV Movie
1980	The Women's Room	Iso	TV Movie
1980	Murder Ink	Laura Ireland
1984	Airwolf	Sarah Lebow	Episode: "Fight Like a Dove"
1984	The Love Boat	Margo Bush	1 Episode
1985	The Equalizer	Samantha Page	Episode: "Desperately"
1987	Mariah	Deena Hertz	7 episodes
1987	L.A. Law	Lynn Palmer	2 episodes
1990	ABC Afterschool Specials	Mrs. Carr	Episode: "All That Glitters"
1991	Against the Law	Connor	Episode: "Evil Conduct"
1991-2007	Law & Order	Danielle Melnick	13 episodes
1992	Lifestories: Families in Crisis		1 Episode
1992	Citizen Cohn	Iva Schlesinger	TV Movie
1992	CBS Schoolbreak Special	Denise Warshak	Episode: "Sexual Considerations"
1993	TriBeCa	Sheila Goldberg	Episode: "The Loft"
1994	The Cosby Mysteries	Rose	Episode: "Home, Street Home"
1995	Love and Betrayal: The Mia Farrow Story	Eleanor Alter	TV Movie
1997	All My Children	Lila Stevenson	2 episodes
1998	A Will of their Own	Mrs. Rubenstein	1 Episode
1999	Cosby		Episode: "There's Something About Hilton"
2002	The Education of Max Bickford	Sharon Bickford	2 episodes
2003	Queens Supreme	Marie	Episode: "Flawed Heroes"
2003	The Harriman Alaska Expedition Retraced	Narrator	TV Movie Documentary
2006	Crossing Jordan	Mrs. Elaine Brandau	3 episodes
2010	Ugly Betty	Mrs. Varner	Episode: "Blackout!"
2010	The Good Wife	Lena	Episode: "Doubt"
2011	Law & Order: Criminal Intent	Danielle Melnick	Episode: "To the Boy in the Blue Knit Cap"
2012	Beautiful People	Lynch	TV Movie
2012	Covert Affairs	Rivka Singer	2 episodes
2015	Blue Bloods	Sylvia Hayden	Episode: "Bad Company"
2015	Flesh and Bone	Ivana	6 episodes
2015-2016	The Walking Dead	Deanna Monroe	12 episodes
2015-present	Crazy Ex-Girlfriend	Naomi Bunch	Recurring

Awards and nominations

• 2016 Saturn Awards for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series ("The Walking Dead", nominee)
• 2005 Method Fest Independent Film Festival for Best Supporting Actress (The Tollbooth, winner)
• 2004 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play (Golda's Balcony, nominee)
• 2003 Golden Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress (Kissing Jessica Stein, winner)
• 2003 Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series (Law & Order, nominee)
• 2003 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding One-Person Show (Golda's Balcony, winner)
• 1993 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical (Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh, nominee)
• 1989 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play (Lend Me a Tenor, nominee)
• 1989 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play (Lend Me a Tenor, winner)
• 1979 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical (Sarav, nominee)
• 1978 Emmy Award for Outstanding Continuing Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (Holocaust, nominee)
• 1976 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play (Yentl, nominee)
• 1976 Theatre World Award (Yentl, winner)
• 1976 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play (Yentl, nominee)
• 1975 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play (Yentl, nominee)
• 1975 Drama Desk Special Award (Yentl, winner)