Laura San Giacomo

Laura San Giacomo (born November 14, 1961 or 1962 ) is an American actress. She played Cynthia in the film Sex, Lies, and Videotape for which she won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female, Kit De Luca in the film Pretty Woman (1990), Crazy Cora in the film Quigley Down Under (1990), Nadine Cross in The Stand (1994), and Maya Gallo on the sitcom Just Shoot Me! (1997–2003). A BAFTA and two-time Golden Globe Award nominee, she played the regular role of Rhetta Rodriguez on the drama Saving Grace (2007–2010), and the recurring role of Dr. Grace Confalone on the drama NCIS (2016–2024).

Early life and education San Giacomo is an Italian-American. She grew up in Denville, New Jersey, and went to school at Morris Knolls High School where she became involved in drama, starring in school plays. Thereafter, she graduated with a fine arts degree from Carnegie Mellon University where she studied acting.

Career After graduating, she moved to New York. San Giacomo then went on to appear in several theater productions, including the Garry Marshall–Lowell Ganz production of Wrong Turn at Lungfish in Los Angeles, the Princeton/McCarter Theatre production of Three Sisters, and off-Broadway in Beirut. She starred in Italian American Reconciliation, regional productions of Shakespeare's The Tempest, As You Like It and Romeo and Juliet as well as Crimes of the Heart. In a review of the Walnut Street Theatre 1986 presentation of As You Like It, San Giacomo received a special mention: "although doll-like Laura San Giacomo had only a minor role as a wilful shepherdess, she sank her fangs into it and received the only show-interrupting applause of the evening."

Early career San Giacomo's first television appearances were four episodes on three television series during 1987. Two notable appearances were in Crime Story in 1988 for the episode "Protected Witness" (season 2/episode 13) as Theresa Farantino and in Miami Vice in 1989 for the episode "Leap of Faith" (season 5, episode 21) as Tania Lewis. The Miami Vice episode also featured a guest appearance by her future husband, actor Cameron Dye, one year before their marriage. Previously, she was featured on the daytime soap opera All My Children as Louisa Sanchez, the Latina common-law wife of Mitch Beck (Brian Fitzpatrick) whose presence threatened to thwart his relationship with Hillary Martin (Carmen Thomas).

San Giacomo first drew international attention in Steven Soderbergh's Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989), which was her film debut as a credited actor (in the 1988 movie Miles from Home, her role as Sandy was not credited).

San Giacomo also has appeared in Quigley Down Under (1990), Vital Signs (1990), Under Suspicion (1991), Once Around (1991), Where the Day Takes You (1992), Nina Takes a Lover (1994), and Suicide Kings (1997). She also appeared as Nadine Cross in the Stephen King miniseries The Stand with Rob Lowe, which landed them on the cover of the May 7–13, 1994 issue of TV Guide. She continued doing films, and as 1999 ended, she appeared in the film Eat Your Heart Out. In 2001, San Giacomo landed the starring role in the Jenifer Estess bio-pic Jenifer.

San Giacomo did voice work for the animated series Gargoyles (as the character of Fox). However, she went uncredited for the role because her agent believed it would damage her reputation to have worked on an animated series.

Just Shoot Me!

Needing to work, but not wanting to be away from her newborn son for months at a time, San Giacomo shifted to television in the role of hot-tempered, sassy journalist Maya Gallo in Just Shoot Me! (1997–2003). Her character was partially based on an unproduced idea that executive producer Steven Levitan once had in mind for actress Janeane Garofalo when he was a writer for The Larry Sanders Show. San Giacomo was cast in the starring role because the series was meant to center on her character; however, the show soon adopted an ensemble style. Despite the shift in focus, San Giacomo remained an integral part of the show, and she received top billing. She and the four other main cast members appeared in all 148 episodes of the series, which lasted until 2003.

San Giacomo's work during season 2 (1997–1998) earned her a Golden Globe Award nomination in 1998 for Best Actress in a Television Comedy or Musical.

Continued work After NBC cancelled Just Shoot Me! in 2003, San Giacomo appeared sporadically on television and in films. She made guest appearances on several television series, including the short-lived crime drama The Handler in 2003 and Unscripted in 2005. She was the narrator for the series Snapped: Killer Couples. San Giacomo also appeared in the 2005 films Checking Out and Havoc as well as the 2006 film Conquistadora. San Giacomo was to have made her return to television on The WB's new drama Related in 2005, but the character was recast due to creative differences. Kiele Sanchez took her place as Anne Sorelli on the show. San Giacomo made her first public appearance in nearly a year on 19 October 2005 at the 15th Annual Environmental Media Awards. She made two more public appearances at the Crystal and Lucy Awards on 6 June 2006 and at the 3rd Annual Alfred Mann Foundation Innovation and Inspiration Gala on 9 September 2006.

In 2006, San Giacomo returned to network television with three guest appearances on the third season of Veronica Mars. She reunited with Enrico Colantoni from Just Shoot Me!, playing Harmony Chase. Both Colantoni and San Giacomo enjoyed their reunion so much that they lobbied for their characters to appear together in more episodes.

In September 2006, San Giacomo secured her first starring role on a television program after Just Shoot Me! when she reunited with fellow Carnegie-Mellon alum Holly Hunter in the series Saving Grace. San Giacomo played Grace's best friend Rhetta Rodriguez.

In June 2010, San Giacomo guest-starred in the episode titled "Death Becomes Her" on the series In Plain Sight. She played a woman from an organized crime family with a terminal illness. In December 2011, San Giacomo appeared on the episode titled "Beards" on Hot in Cleveland as Caroline, Melanie's estranged sister.

Personal life San Giacomo has been married twice. Her first marriage (1990–1998) was to actor Cameron Dye, with whom she had a son who was born with cerebral palsy. In 2000, she remarried, to actor Matt Adler. She is a cousin of Torry Castellano, former drummer of the rock group The Donnas.

She lives in the San Fernando Valley, California.

Philanthropy San Giacomo has been honored by the American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine, by Media Access for a TV public service announcement on "Inclusive Education" (in The More You Know), by Shane's Inspiration with its Humanitarian Award, and Redbook's Mother and Shaker Award. She has been a keynote speaker at various conferences for TASH and CalTASH, which promote an inclusive society, and at two conferences sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education, and at the Young Neuroscientists' Workshop for the Children's Neurobiological Solutions Foundation (now the Pediatric Brain Foundation).

In 2021, she was listed as the board secretary of the international wheelchair-charity Momentum Wheels for Humanity, and honorary chair of the Environment of People Foundation, Inc., a charity promoting music opportunities for children.

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1988 Miles from Home Sandy Uncredited 1989 Sex, Lies, and Videotape Cynthia Patrice Bishop Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting ActressChicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising ActressIndependent Spirit Award for Best Supporting FemaleLos Angeles Film Critics Association: New Generation AwardNominated – BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting RoleNominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion PictureNominated – New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress 1990 Pretty Woman Kit De Luca Vital Signs Lauren Rose Quigley Down Under Crazy Cora 1991 Once Around Jan Bella Under Suspicion Angeline 1992 Where the Day Takes You The Interviewer 1994 Nina Takes a Lover Nina 1995 Stuart Saves His Family Julia The Snow Queen Robber Girl Voice; English dub 1997 The Apocalypse Goad Suicide Kings Lydia 1998 With Friends Like These... Joanne Hersh 1999 Eat Your Heart Out Jacqueline Fosburg 2003 A House on a Hill Gaby 2005 Checking Out Flo Applebaum Palm Beach International Film Festival Award for Best Actress Havoc Joanna Lang 2011 Few Options Bus Ticket Agent 2012 Least Among Saints Jolene 2015 The Meddler TV Mom 2019 Honey Boy Dr. Moreno 2021 Violet Janice

Television Year Title Role Notes 1987 All My ChildrenLuisaEpisode #1.46002 Spenser: For Hire Sharon Episode: "On the Night He Was Betrayed" 1988 Crime Story Theresa Farantino Episode: "Protected Witness" 1989 The Equalizer Trudy Collins Episode: "The Caper" Miami Vice Tania Louis Episode: "Leap of Faith" 1993 For Their Own Good Jo Mandell TV movie 1994 The Stand Nadine Cross TV miniseries 1994–1997 Gargoyles Fox Voice, recurring role 1995 Fallen Angels Peggy Episode: "Fly Paper" 1996 The Right to Remain Silent Nicole Savita TV movie 1997–2003 Just Shoot Me! Maya Gallo 149 episodesNominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy1999 The Secret Files of the Spy Dogs Agent Nine Voice, episode: "Zero" Batman Beyond Mary Michaels / Freon Voice, episode: "Heroes" 2001 Sister Mary Explains It All Angela DiMarcoTV movie Jenifer Jenifer Estess TV movie 2003 The Electric Piper Mrs. Robinson Voice, TV movie 2003 The Handler Karen Episode: "Homewrecker's Ball" 2006 Related Ann Sorelli Episode: "Pilot" Veronica Mars Harmony Chase Recurring 2007–2010 Saving Grace Rhetta Rodriguez 46 episodes 2010 In Plain Sight Mia Cusato Episode: "Death Becomes Her" The Defenders Judge Anna Desanti Episode: "Nevada v. Sen. Harper" Medium Susannah Collings Episode: "The People in Your Neighborhood" 2011 Hot in Cleveland Caroline Episode: "Beards" 2012 TalhotBlond Carol Television film 2013 The Mentalist Miriam Gottlieb Episode: "Red John's Rules" 2016 Recovery RoadGinaEpisode: "(Be)Coming Clean" Full Circle Elena Medina10 episodes 2016–2024 NCIS Grace Confalone Recurring 2017–2018 Animal Kingdom Morgan Wilson Recurring 2018 Grey's Anatomy Marjorie Kersey Episode: "Caught Somewhere in Time" 2021 The Movies That Made Us Herself Episode: "Pretty Woman" 2022 Barry Annie Eisner 4 episodes As We See ItDeb2 episodes 2022–2023 The Santa Clauses La Befana 7 episodes 2026 Margo's Got Money Troubles Tessa Recurring 2026 Sugar Peg Recurring