Kim Delaney

Kim Delaney (born November 29, 1961) is an American actress known for her starring role as Detective Diane Russell on the ABC drama television series NYPD Blue, for which she won an Emmy Award. Early in her career, she played the role of Jenny Gardner in the ABC daytime television drama All My Children. She later had leading roles in the short lived TV drama Philly, part of the first season of CSI: Miami, and the first six seasons of Army Wives. She also appeared in the second and third seasons as reporter Alex Devlin in Tour of Duty.

Early life Delaney, an Irish American, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Joan and Jack Delaney, the only daughter of five children. Delaney's mother was a homemaker and her father a senior union official in the United Auto Workers. She was raised Roman Catholic. Upon graduation, she went to New York and found employment there as a model. At the same time, she studied acting with William Esper.

Career Delaney first became known for her stint as innocent teenager Jenny Gardner Nelson on the soap opera All My Children, which also was her first job. as well as a loyal fan base; a profile of the actress a decade later noted,"Delaney left the soap in 1984, but fans still remember her as Jenny. 'They come up and will say they've followed everything I've done, and they stopped watching the show after I left, and they're so happy to see me on NYPD Blue, because they love the character.'"

After leaving All My Children, Delaney began acting in feature films. In 1985, she appeared with Emilio Estevez in That Was Then... This Is Now, a film version of the S. E. Hinton novel of the same name. In 1986, she played a young nun in the military action movie The Delta Force, starring Chuck Norris. In 1987, Delaney was cast as Amanda Jones in Some Kind of Wonderful opposite Peter Gallagher, but new director Howard Deutch recast both roles with his future wife Lea Thompson and Craig Sheffer before filming. Also in 1987, she appeared both as Jessie in Christmas Comes to Willow Creek, and as associate attorney Leslie Kleinberg during the 2nd season of L.A. Law. In 1988, Delaney starred in the thriller The Drifter. In 1994, she appeared in the film The Force.

In 1988, Delaney became a regular on the CBS television series Tour of Duty. After leaving the show in 1989 to give birth to her son with husband Joseph Cortese, her character was killed in an explosion—just as her All My Children character had died five years earlier.

In the years immediately following her departure from her two early television series, her film and TV roles tended to be few and of low quality, in the opinion of both the critics and the actress herself. A 1996 profile article in Entertainment Weekly, on the occasion of her landing a prestigious television role at the end of this period, noted:"Delaney's résumé is spotted with ridiculous roles that range from a nun in the Chuck Norris action movie, The Delta Force, to a possessed nymphomaniac in the soft-core horror film, Temptress. 'There's a lot of things I did to pay the mortgage,' Delaney says resignedly."

In 2001, NYPD Blue producer Steven Bochco chose Delaney for the lead in the new television series Philly and she was written out of NYPD Blue. Despite critical acclaim, the show lasted only one season.

In 2002, Delaney was the female lead on the new CBS drama series CSI: Miami, a spin-off of sorts from the hit CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

After briefly returning in 5 episodes of NYPD Blue (one at the end of season 10 and a four-episode story arc mid-way through Season 11), Delaney starred in the 2004 NBC miniseries 10.5, and its 2006 sequel, 10.5: Apocalypse. The following year, she began a recurring role on The O.C. In 2006, Delaney starred in an episode of Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King titled "You Know They Got a Hell of a Band," about Rock and Roll Heaven. Delaney next appeared twice on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in early 2007, guest-starring on the episodes "Philadelphia" and "Florida".

Delaney played the main role of Claudia Joy Holden on the Lifetime Television series Army Wives. In November 2012, a few weeks after the end of season six, it was announced that Delaney would not be returning for the show's seventh season, with a short storyline that her character had died.

In early 2016, Delaney was cast in God Bless the Broken Road, a feature film based on the song of the same name. It was released in the United States on September 7, 2018. In September 2020, Delaney joined the cast of General Hospital in the role of Jackie Templeton; she made her first appearance on October 6.

Personal life Delaney has been married three times and divorced twice. She married actor Charles Grant, also known as Charles Flohe, on July 22, 1984. She was married to actor Joseph Cortese from 1989 to 1994. They have a son named Jack, born circa 1990.

Like her character in her breakout role on the television series NYPD Blue, Delaney has struggled with alcoholism. In 2002, Delaney was arrested in Malibu, California, for suspicion of drunk driving after she refused to take a breathalyzer test. She subsequently pleaded no contest and was sentenced to two years' probation, fined, and ordered to take a defensive driving course. In 2005, she lost custody of her 15-year-old son after endangering his life by forcing him to ride with her when she drove while intoxicated, that her son testified was not the first such incident. In 2011, Delaney was pulled from the stage before finishing a long, slurred, odd speech at an award ceremony recognizing the work of former United States Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.

In March 2025, Delaney was arrested and charged with felony assault likely to cause great bodily injury, following a domestic dispute with her husband, James Morgan. Morgan was also arrested and charged with misdemeanor domestic violence.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 1983 First Affair Cathy 1985 That Was Then... This Is Now Cathy Carlson 1986 The Delta Force Sister Mary 1986 Hunter's Blood Melanie 1987 Campus Man Dayna Thomas 1987 Cracked Up Jackie 1987 Christmas Comes to Willow Creek Jessie 1988 The Drifter Julia Robbins 1988 Something Is Out There Mandy Estabrook 1988 Take My Daughters, Please Evan 1991 Hangfire Maria Montoya Slayton 1991 Body Parts Karen Chrushank 1994 The Force Sarah Flynn 1995 Project Metalbeast Anne De Carlo 1995 Darkman II: The Return of Durant Jill Randall 1995 Temptress Karin Swann 1995 Serial Killer Selby Younger Direct-to-video 2000 Mission to Mars Maggie McConnell 2004 Sudbury Sally Owens 2018 God Bless the Broken Road Patti Hill 2019Tone-DeafCrystal

Television Year Title Role Notes 1981–1984 All My Children Jenny Gardner Nelson Nominated—Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series 1986 The Equalizer Sally Ann Carter Episode: "Unnatural Causes" 1986 Hotel Marie Lockhart Episode: "Forsaking All Others" 1987 Perry Mason: The Case of the Sinister Spirit Susan Warrenfield Television film 1987 L.A. Law Leslie Kleinberg 4 episodes 1989–1990 Tour of Duty Alex Devlin 18 episodes 1990 Tales from the Crypt Gloria Fleming Episode: "The Sacrifice" 1992 Lady Boss Lucky Santangelo Television film 1992 The Fifth Corner Erica Fontaine Television film 1993 The Disappearance of Christina Lilly Kroft Television film 1995 Tall, Dark and Deadly Maggie Springer Television film 1995–2003 NYPD Blue Det. Diane Russell 137 episodesPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama SeriesNominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama (1998–99)Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (1998–99)Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama (1997–98)Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series (1997–99)Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series (1996–2000)Nominated—Viewers for Quality Television Award for Best Actress in a Quality Drama SeriesNominated—Viewers for Quality Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Quality Drama Series 1996 Closer and Closer Kate Saunders Television film 1997 All Lies End in Murder Meredith 'Mere' Scialo Television film 1997 The Devil's Child Nikki DeMarco Television film 2001 Love and Treason Lt. Kate Timmons Television film 2001–2002 Philly Kathleen Maguire 22 episodesNominated—Satellite Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama 2002 CSI: Miami Megan Donner 10 episodes 2004 Infidelity Danielle Montet Television film 2004 10.5 Dr. Samantha Hill Television film 2005 The O.C. Rebecca Bloom 5 episodes 2006 10.5: Apocalypse Dr. Samantha Hill Television film 2006 Nightmares and Dreamscapes Mary Rivingham Episode: "You Know They Got a Hell of a Band" 2007 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Captain Julia Millfield 2 episodes 2007–2012 Army Wives Claudia Joy Holden 104 episodes 2011 Finding a Family Ileana Television film 2015 To Appomattox Mary Todd Lincoln Television miniseries 2016 Murder in the First Dr. Nancy Redman 2 episodes 2017 Signed, Sealed, Delivered: Home Again Kim Kellser Television film 2018, 2022 Chicago Fire Jennifer Sheridan 4 episodes 2020–2021 General Hospital Jackie Templeton Recurring roleNominated—Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Performer in a Drama Series (2021)2021The Long Island Serial Killer: A Mother's Hunt for JusticeMari GilbertTelevision film