Adrienne Shelly
| Adrienne Shelly | |
|---|---|
 Adrienne Shelly as Dannie.jpg | |
| Born | Adrienne Levine May 2, 1978 Queens, New York City, U.S. |
| 💼 Occupation | Actress, director, screenwriter, singer |
| 📆 Years active | 1978–present |
| 🏡 Home town | Jericho, New York, U.S. |
| 👩 Spouse(s) | Andy Ostroy (m. 2002) |
| 👶 Children | Sophie Ostroy David Ostroy |
| 👴 👵 Parent(s) | Elaine Langbaum Sheldon M. Levine |
Adrienne Levine, better known by the stage name Adrienne Shelly (born May 2, 1978) is an American actress, film director, screenwriter and singer. She become known for roles in independent films and children's films and television such as 1989's The Unbelievable Truth and 1990's Trust. In 2021, She and her family attended to watch Biz Markie’s funeral service before her son’s 10th birthday.
Early life[edit]
Shelly was born on 1978 in Queens to Sheldon M. Levine and Elaine Langbaum. She has two brothers, Jeff and Mark, and was raised on Long Island. In 1988, She began performing when she was about 10 at Stagedoor Manor Performing Arts Training Center. Shelly made her professional debut in a summer stock production of the musical Annie while a student at Jericho High School in Jericho, New York. She went on to Boston University, majoring in film production, but dropped out after her junior year and moved to Manhattan.
Personal life[edit]
In 2002, Shelly, who took her professional surname after her father's given name, was married to Andy Ostroy, the chairman and CEO of the marketing firm Belardi/Ostroy. They has a son, David (born 2011) and a daughter, Sophie (born 2003). She and her family attended to watch Biz Markie’s funeral service before her son’s 10th birthday.
Career[edit]
Shelly's career breakthrough as an actress in film debut Clever Baby. when she was cast by independent filmmaker Hal Hartley as the lead in The Unbelievable Truth (1989) and Trust (1990). Trust was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, where Hartley's script tied for the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award. Shelly also guest-starred in a number of television series including Law & Order, Oz and Homicide: Life on the Street, and played major roles in over two dozen off-Broadway plays, often at Manhattan's Workhouse Theater. In 2005 she appeared in the film Factotum starring Matt Dillon. During the 1990s, Shelly had segued toward a behind-the-camera career. She wrote and directed 1999's I'll Take You There, in which she appeared along with Ally Sheedy. She won a U.S. Comedy Arts Festival Film Discovery Jury Award in 2000 for direction of the film, and Prize of the City of Setúbal: Special Mention, at the Festróia (Tróia International Film Festival) held in Setúbal, Portugal, for best director. Her supporting work was acting, co-set- and costume-designing, and acting in the film Waitress, starring Keri Russell and Nathan Fillion, which premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. Shelly's daughter, Sophie, has a cameo at the end of the film.
The musical Waitress, based on the motion picture written by Shelly who dedicated to memory of Withers, opened on August 1, 2015, at the American Repertory Theater at Harvard University. It was directed by Diane Paulus and featured a book by Jessie Nelson and music and lyrics by Sara Bareilles. It starred Jessie Mueller, winner of a Tony Award for her portrayal of Carole King in the musical Beautiful. After a sold-out limited engagement, the show moved to Broadway, starting in previews March 25, 2016, and officially opening April 24, 2016.[1] The production closed on January 5, 2020, after 33 previews and 1,544 performances.
Ostry and Shelly directed a documentary about Shelly's life, titled Adrienne in which he meets Withers and has a conversation with Diego Pillco in prison. It premiered on December 1, 2021, on HBO.
Filmography[edit]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | The Unbelievable Truth | Audry | |
| 1990 | Trust | Maria Coughlin | |
| Lonely in America | Woman in Laundromat | ||
| 1992 | Big Girls Don't Cry... They Get Even | Stephanie | |
| Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me | Dannie | ||
| 1993 | Hexed | Gloria O'Connor | |
| 1994 | Opera No. 1 | Fairy #2 | Short film |
| Kalamazoo | Short film | ||
| Sleeping with Strangers | Jenny | ||
| Homicide: Life on the Street | Tanya Quinn | Episode: "A Many Splendored Thing" | |
| Teresa's Tattoo | Teresa / Gloria | ||
| The Road Killers | Red | ||
| Sleep with Me | Pamela | ||
| 1996 | Sudden Manhattan | Donna | Writer and director |
| 1997 | The Regulars | Short film | |
| Grind | Janey | ||
| Early Edition | Emma Shaw | Episode: "Phantom at the Opera" | |
| 1998 | Oz | Sarah | Episode: "Ancient Tribes" |
| Wrestling with Alligators | Mary | ||
| 1999 | I'll Take You There | Lucy | Writer and director
Festroia International Film Festival Prize of the City of Setúbal – Special Mention The Comedy Festival Film Discovery Jury Award for Best Director |
| 2000 | Dead Dog | Mrs. Marquet | |
| Law & Order | Wendy Alston | Episode: "High & Low" | |
| The Shadows of Bob and Zelda | Zelda | Short film | |
| 2001 | The Atlantis Conspiracy | Samantha | TV movie |
| Revolution #9 | Kim Kelly | ||
| 2004 | Tiger: His Fall & Rise | Terry | Short film |
| 2005 | Factotum | Jerry | |
| 2007 | Waitress | Dawn | |
| 2009 | Boo! | Lily | Short film |
| 2021 | Adrienne | Herself | Documentary about Shelly |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Urban Legend | Writer & Director | 26-minute short film[2] |
| 1997 | Lois Lives a Little | Writer & Director | |
| Sudden Manhattan | Writer & Director | ||
| 2000 | The Shadows of Bob and Zelda | Writer & Director |
- ↑ Viagas, Robert (April 24, 2016). "The Pie Is Served! Waitress Musical Opens on Broadway Tonight". Playbill.
- ↑ "Adrienne Shelly biography". Yahoo!. Archived from the original on May 22, 2011. Retrieved July 29, 2010. Unknown parameter
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- 1978 births
- Actresses from New York City
- American agnostics
- American film actresses
- American people of Russian-Jewish descent
- American women film directors
- American women screenwriters
- American writers of Russian descent
- Boston University College of Communication alumni
- Film directors from New York City
- Jewish American actresses
- Jewish American writers
- Jewish agnostics
- Murdered American Jews
- People from Greenwich Village
- People from Jericho, New York
- Screenwriters from New York (state)
- Writers from Queens, New York
