Jennifer Westfeldt

Jennifer Westfeldt (born February 2, 1970) is an American actress, director, screenwriter, and producer. She is best known for co-writing, co-producing, and starring in the 2002 indie film Kissing Jessica Stein, for which she received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best First Screenplay. She is also known for writing, producing, starring in, and making her directorial debut in the indie film Friends with Kids.

Westfeldt's television work includes recurring roles on Notes from the Underbelly (2007–2009), Grey's Anatomy (2009), 24 (2010), and Younger (2017–2021) as well as guest starring on shows such as Girls, and This Is Us. Westfeldt made her Broadway debut in 2003 in the revival of Wonderful Town, earning a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.

Early life and education Westfeldt is the daughter of Constance, a therapist, and Patrick M. Westfeldt Jr., an electrical engineer. Her mother later married Michael Perelson, also a therapist. Her older sister is journalist Amy Westfeldt. She grew up in Guilford, Connecticut, and attended Guilford High School, later attended Yale University, where she sang as a member of the a cappella group Redhot & Blue.

Career 1997–2005: Early roles and breakthrough Upon graduating from Yale University with a B.A. in Theater Studies, Westfeldt started her career as a New York-based theater actress, starring in dozens of regional and Off-Broadway productions, including the long-running Off-Broadway musical The Fantasticks. In 1997, she was cast as a series regular on the 20th Century Fox/ABC sitcom Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place, alongside Ryan Reynolds, Traylor Howard and Richard Ruccolo. In 1997 Westfeldt co-wrote and co-starred with Heather Juergensen in a six-night-engagement The play was optioned by Interscope Communications The film was released by Fox Searchlight Pictures in March 2002. Westfeldt received the Golden Satellite Award for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy for her role as Jessica, and an Indie Spirit Nomination for Best First Screenplay. The film won the Audience Favorites Award at the Chicago International Film Festival, the Audience Award at the Miami Film Festival, Best Feature at the Louisville Jewish Film Festival, and the GLAAD Media Award, and it was included on more than a dozen top ten lists in 2002. Variety wrote, "A fresh take on sex and the single girl, this buoyant, well-crafted romantic comedy blends pitch-perfect performances with deliciously smart writing." In Newsweek David Ansen said the film "knows what it wants, what its limits are, and delivers its delights accordingly." In 2014, The Advocate listed the movie as an essential film for LGBTQ+ viewers that "encourages exploration and self-awareness." In 2020, Kveller writer Mara Reinstein looked back on the impact that this "authentic" and "nuanced" movie had, writing, "I can't overstate how much Kissing Jessica Stein pioneered the gay rom-com."

Westfeldt made her Broadway debut in the fall of 2003 in the critical and commercial hit Wonderful Town, starring opposite two-time Tony winner Donna Murphy and directed by three-time Tony winner Kathleen Marshall. Westfeldt received a 2004 Tony nomination, a Theater World Award for Outstanding Broadway Debut, and a Drama League Award for her role as Eileen Sherwood. Of her Broadway debut, John Simon of New York magazine wrote: "Jennifer Westfeldt leaps onto the Broadway stage in full-fledged acting and singing splendor as the adorable Eileen." Ben Brantley of the New York Times wrote, "Jennifer Westfeldt makes a charming Broadway debut as Eileen, Ruth's boy-magnet of a sister." "Ms. Westfeldt's delightfully un-self-conscious interpretation suggests a virginal answer to the Vargas pinup girls," he added.

2006–2011: Acting work and directorial debut Westfeldt's next feature, Ira & Abby, marked her first solo screenwriting effort. The film debuted at the Los Angeles Film Festival in 2006, where it won the Audience Award for Best Feature. It was acquired by Magnolia Pictures and released in the fall of 2007 to strong reviews. Westfeldt won Best Actress at the HBO U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen in 2006 for her performance as Abby, where Ira & Abby also took home the Jury Prize for Best Feature. The film won Audience Award for Best Feature at the Boston Jewish Film Festival.

After one season on Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place, 20th Century Fox Studios cast Westfeldt as the lead of another series, the short-lived Holding the Baby on Fox. She went on to star in multiple pilots, including the WB's The Gene Pool opposite Chris Eigeman; The Untitled Paul Reiser Pilot on F/X; and Steve Levitan's Dante on NBC, opposite Morris Chestnut and Kevin Hart. In 2002, Westfeldt, along with her journalist sister Amy, sold a one-hour newsroom drama pitch to Touchstone/ABC; Westfeldt was attached to star. Called The Independent, the series was loosely inspired by her sister's experiences as a career journalist at the Associated Press. In 2006, she was cast as the female lead in ABC's Notes from the Underbelly, which ran for two seasons. Andrew Johnston wrote in TimeOut: "Jennifer Westfeldt is a total babe, with physical-comedy skills that, if properly honed, could approach Lucille Ball territory. In other words, she was basically born for TV. [Westfeldt] gets to show her serious side, too, and if the series gives her enough exposure to start competing with Hope Davis and Laura Linney for blond-WASP roles, Underbelly will have more than justified its existence." In 2010, with Alan Ball attached as executive producer, she sold a TV dramedy to HBO with her attached to star about the bird's nest custody agreement in divorce cases.

In 2011, Westfeldt wrote, produced, starred in, and made her directorial debut in Friends with Kids, which was a breakout hit at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival. Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions obtained the rights to the film, and it was released in 2012. Westfeldt starred opposite Adam Scott, with a cast including Maya Rudolph, Kristen Wiig, Chris O'Dowd, Ed Burns, Megan Fox and Jon Hamm. Peter Travers of Rolling Stone called Friends with Kids "an indelibly funny and touching comedy with a real sting in its tail," and deemed Westfeldt "an actress of rare wit and grace, and now a filmmaker with a keen eye for nuance. In front of the camera and behind it, she's the live current that pulls us in and makes us care. Westfeldt is the pulse of Friends With Kids, presenting us with life in all of its vibrant, messy sprawl." The film was included on New York Magazine's Top Ten Movies of 2012 list, as well as NPR's Top 12 of 2012.

2012–present Her varied TV credits include memorable arcs on Younger, Queen America (opposite Catherine Zeta-Jones), Grey's Anatomy, 24, Judging Amy, and Hack; and guest-starring turns on NBC's hit drama This Is Us, HBO's Girls, and Childrens Hospital, among others. She provided the voice of Kit Luntayne in the Martha Speaks episodes "Cora! Cora! Cora!" and "Cora Encore!" on PBS.

Westfeldt's other stage work includes the world premieres of Scott Z. Burns' The Library at The Public Theater opposite Chloe Grace-Moretz, directed by Steven Soderbergh; Nell Benjamin’s The Explorers Club at Manhattan Theater Club, directed by Marc Bruni; Nicky Silver's Too Much Sun at The Vineyard Theater opposite Linda Lavin, directed by Mark Brokaw; Cusi Cram's A Lifetime Burning at Primary Stages, directed by Pam MacKinnon; Joe Gilford’s Finks opposite Josh Radnor at The Powerhouse Theater/NYSAF, directed by Charlie Stratton; Stephen Belber's The Power of Duff opposite Greg Kinnear at The Powerhouse Theater/NYSAF, directed by Peter Dubois; and Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros' Big Sky at The Geffen opposite Jon Tenney, directed by John Rando. In 2022 she received glowing reviews from the New York Times for her performance as Mama in Liba Vaynberg' s play The Gett.

Other film roles include the 2016 short Lemon opposite Noah Bean, which premiered at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival and, in 2017, a supporting role in director Marielle Heller’s Can You Ever Forgive Me? opposite Melissa McCarthy, which later ended up on the cutting room floor. In 2017, Westfeldt produced the documentary Circus Kid, based on Lorenzo Pisoni's life growing up in a circus family, which was bought and distributed by Sundance Now. In 2022 she wrote several episodes of the Showtime series The First Lady.

Westfeldt sold to Amazon The Idea of You, an adapted screenplay based on the novel of the same name by Robinne Lee starring Anne Hathaway. The film completed shooting in December 2022 and was released in May 2024. With a self-reported 50 million viewers in the first two weeks it was Amazon MGM’s No. 1 romantic-comedy debut of all time, according to the studio. She is currently working on a film adaptation of Amy Poeppel's novel The Sweet Spot.

Personal life Westfeldt was in a long-term relationship with actor Jon Hamm from 1997 to 2015.

Filmography Film YearTitleRole Notes 2001 See Jane Run Unknown Film debut Kissing Jessica Stein Jessica Stein Also co-producer and writer 2004 How to Lose Your Lover Val 2005 Keep Your Distance Melody Carpenter 2006 Ira & Abby Abby Willoughby Also executive producer and writer 2011 Friends with Kids Julie Keller Also director, producer and writer 2016 10 Crosby Elegant Woman Short film Lemon Penelope Short film 2017 Circus Kid Documentary; producer only 2018 Can You Ever Forgive Me? Ms. Whitman Deleted scenes 2023 Parachute Lisa 2024 Writer only

Television YearTitleRole Notes Ref. 1998 Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place Melissa Series regular (13 episodes) Holding the Baby Kelly O'Malley Series regular (13 episodes) 1999 Snoops Irene Hollis Episode: "Separation Anxiety" 2000 Judging Amy Leisha Eldon 3 episodes 2001 The Gene Pool Jane Anderson Television movie 2003 Hack Emily Carson 2 episodes Untitled New York Pilot Catherine Television movie 2005 Numb3rs Dr. Karen Fisher Episode: "Man Hunt" Dante Unknown Television movie 2007 Wainy Days Nora Episode: "Dorvid Days" 2007–2008 Notes from the Underbelly Lauren Stone Series regular (23 episodes) 2009 Private Practice Jen Harmon Episode: "Ex-Life" Before You Say 'I Do' Jane Gardner Television movie Grey's Anatomy Jen Harmon 3 episodes 2010 24 Meredith Reed Recurring role (6 episodes) 2012 Martha Speaks Kit (voice role) Episode: "Cora! Cora!/Cora Encore!" Childrens Hospital Jessica Meetcher Episode: "Behind the Scenes" 2014 Girls Annalise Pressler-Goings Episode: "Only Child" 2017–2021 Younger Pauline Turner-Brooks Recurring role (13 episodes) 2018 Queen America Mandi Green Recurring role (3 episodes) 2019 Mad About You Donna Lawson Episode: "Real Estate for Beginners" 2020 This Is Us Claire Episode: "A Hell of a Week: Part Two" 2022 The First Lady Writer only; 4 episodes

Theater YearTitleRoleVenue 2003–2004 Wonderful Town Eileen Sherwood Al Hirschfeld Theatre 2008 Finks Natalie Meltzer The Powerhouse Theater/NYSAF 2009 A Lifetime Burning Emma Primary Stages 2011 Three Sisters Masha LA Theaterworks 2012 The Power of Duff Sue The Powerhouse Theater 2013 The Explorers Club Phyllida Spot-Hume Manhattan Theater Club 2014 Too Much Sun Kitty The Vineyard Theater The Library Elizabeth Gabriel The Public Theater 2016 Big Sky Jen The Geffen The Money Shot Karen LA Theaterworks 2022 The Gett Mama Rattlestick Theater 2025 The Assembled Parties Julie Hampstead Theatre

Awards and nominations