Polly Draper

Polly Carey Draper (born June 15, 1955) is an American actress, writer, producer, and director. Draper received an Emmy Award nomination, New York Magazine's Best Broadway Actress award, and two Writers Guild of America (WGA) Award nominations, winning one WGA. She also won awards at the Giffoni Film Festival and Hamptons International Film Festival. Draper speaks in a "trademark throaty voice". Draper began her acting career appearing in countless off-Broadway productions, including a role in Split in 1980. She later gained recognition for her role on the ABC prime-time television drama Thirtysomething, which broadcasted from 1987-91 and earned her an Emmy nomination. Draper was cast opposite John Ritter in the TV movie adaption of Danielle Steel's Heartbeat and alongside Cheryl Ladd in the TV film special Broken Promises: Taking Emily Back, both in 1993. Her starring role in the off-Broadway production of Four Dogs and a Bone in 1993 won her a New York Magazine award. Draper's first screenwriting was with The Tic Code (1998), an independent drama film she starred alongside Gregory Hines, securing her the Bronze Gryphon award for Best Actress at the Giffoni Film Festival. Her television cameos include an appearance in the USA detection series Monk and the NBC crime series Law & Order: Criminal Intent, both in 2003. She also starred in, provided lead vocals and lyrics for her play Getting Into Heaven (2003) at The Flea Theater and replaced Dana Reeve in the Broadway production of Brooklyn Boy in 2005. Draper was critically acclaimed for writing her directing debut The Naked Brothers Band: The Movie(2005), which earned her the Audience Award for Family Feature Film at the Hamptons International Film Festival. By early 2007 it became the pilot to the Nickelodeon musical comedy series The Naked Brothers Band which she created, produced, directed, and obtained a WGA for Children's Script: Long Form or Special. In addition, Draper directed her youngest son's play What Would Woody Do? in 2010 at The Flea Theater. In 2011, she wrote and starred in an episode of the Current TV science fiction series Bar Karma. Currently, she is writing and directing a new film which is to be produced by Oscar-winner Fred Roos, of The Godfather Part II fame. --- Draper was born in Gary, Indiana, to Phyllis (née Culbertson), a Peace Corps administrator who is currently battling with Parkinson's disease, and William Henry Draper III, a venture capitalist and civic leader of the United Nations Development Programme. She is the sister of venture capitalist Tim Draper, granddaughter of banker and diplomat William Henry Draper, Jr., and aunt of actress Jesse Draper. She grew up in Palo Alto and Arlington, California, and received her B.A.A. from Yale University in 1977, and her M.F.A. from the Yale School of Drama in 1980.