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Kathryn Bridget Moynahan (born April
28, 1971) is an American model and actress. After graduating from
Longmeadow High School in 1989, Moynahan pursued a career in modeling. She
was signed by a modeling agency, which led her to appear in department
store catalogs to grace the covers of widely known magazines. After doing
television commercials, she began taking acting lessons, in order to
change occupations.
Moynahan made her television debut in a guest appearance in the comedy
series Sex in the City in 1999, where she would later have a recurring
role as the character Natasha. The following year, she made her feature
film debut in Coyote Ugly. She was then cast in a supporting role in
Serendipity (2001). Moynahan has appeared in an eclectic range of films,
including the action film The Sum of All Fears (2002), spy thriller The
Recruit (2003), the science-fiction movie I, Robot (2004), and the
political thriller Lord of War (2005).
Away from film, Moynahan starred in the ABC television series Six Degrees,
which premiered in September 2006. The show, however, was not successful,
as it was canceled after one season. Since then, she has returned to film,
starring in low-budget features. Moynahan has completed work in Elizabeth
Allen's Ramona and Beezus scheduled for release in August 2010.
In her personal life, Moynahan was in a three-year relationship with
screenwriter Scott Rosenberg. She was then in a high-profile relationship
with NFL quarterback Tom Brady from 2004 to 2006. In February 2007, it was
announced that Moynahan was pregnant with Brady's child. On August 22,
2007, she gave birth to a son, John Edward Thomas.
Moynahan was born in Binghamton, New York, the daughter of Irish American
parents Mary Bridget (née Moriarty), a former school teacher, and Edward
Bradley Moynahan, a scientist and former administrator at the University
of Massachusetts at Amherst. She has two brothers, Andy and Sean. When she
was seven, her parents moved to Longmeadow, Massachusetts. Moynahan
attended Longmeadow High School, where she was active with school
athletics, where she captained the girls' soccer, basketball and lacrosse
teams. In 1989, she graduated from Longmeadow High School. She admits that
during her childhood, she grew up as a tomboy.
After graduating from Longmeadow High School, Moynahan pursued a modeling
career, though admits she never read fashion magazines growing up.
Moynahan accompanied a friend to a modeling audition in Springfield,
Massachusetts. Instead of her friend being signed, Moynahan was signed by
the modeling agency. She began her career appearing in department store
catalogs in Springfield. During this time, she attended the University of
Massachusetts Amherst. During her freshman year, Moynahan moved to New
York at age 18, and a year later began appearing in magazines such as
Vogue and Elle, and appearing on numerous covers of widely known
magazines. In a July 2004 interview, Moynahan, in discussion about her
early work, said: "It was a crazy world that paid a lot of money. I liked
being a model, but I knew it would never last, so I looked into acting."
During that time, she began doing soap and shampoo commercials, and taking
acting and art classes. It was this that led her to pursue a career in
acting. She studied acting at the Caymichael Patten Studio in New York. In
1999, Moynahan made her television debut as the character Natasha in HBO's
romantic comedy Sex in the City. She would later have a recurring role in
the show, until the divorce of her character from Mr. Big (Chris Noth).
The following year, she appeared in smaller film roles, including parts in
In the Weeds and Whipped.
Moynahan made her feature film debut in the 2000 comedy-drama Coyote Ugly,
as Rachel, a bartender/dancer in a wild New York bar. Her decision to
accept the role was because "I thought it was interesting that the whole
movie revolved around five women ... and my character was so strong and
independent." The film received generally unfavorable reviews by critics,
but was a box office success, earning $133 million worldwide. The role is
considered Moynahan's breakthrough role. Her next role came in a
supporting role in Serendipity as Hally, the fiancée of John Cusak's
character.
Moynahan was then cast opposite Ben Affleck and Morgan Freeman in the
action film The Sum of All Fears, based on the book of the same by Tom
Clancy. In the film, she plays Dr. Catherine Muller, a strong independent
woman, and love interest for Affleck's Jack Ryan. Dave Larsen of the
Dayton Daily News reported that the subplot involving Moynahan and Affleck
was "the film's weakest point." The Sum of All Fears received ambivalent
reviews, but was a critical success, earning $193 million at the box
office. In 2003, she starred as a CIA trainee in The Recruit. The movie
was not well received, with Mike Clark of USA Today commenting that The
Recruit is "less-than-middling melodrama whose subject matter and talent
never click as much as its credits portend."
In 2004, Moynahan starred alongside Will Smith in Alex Proyas'
science-fiction movie I, Robot, loosely based on Isaac Asimov's
short-story collection of the same name. In the movie, Moynahan portrays
Dr. Susan Calvin, as a specialist in robot psychology. Upon release, it
received broadly mixed reviews. Despite the movie's reception, her
performance was met with good reviews, with Richmond Times-Dispatch
contributor Daniel Neman, who disliked the film, concluding that she
"turns in an able performance as Dr. Calvin, the convenient character."
With revenue of $347 million worldwide, the film remains Moynahan's most
commercially successful picture to date. Her next movie was in Lord of
War, a political crime thriller, as Ava Fontaine Orlov, the wife of
Nicolas Cage's character. The following year, Maxim magazine named her
number 96 on its annual "Hot 100" list.
In September 2006, away from film, Moynahan starred as Whitney Crane in
the ABC television drama series Six Degrees, co-starring alongside Jay
Hernandez, Erika Christensen, Hope Davis, Dorian Missick, and Campbell
Scott. The series centered around six residents of New York City and their
respective relationships and connections with one another, based on the
idea of six degrees of separation. It debuted on September 20, 2006, and
was watched by almost 13.3 million viewers. Six Degrees debuted to mixed
reception, with David Hinckley of the New York Daily News writing, "In
theory, it's an intriguing concept for a series. But in practice, Six
Degrees doesn't work at all in drawing you in at the start." The series,
however, was canceled after one season in May 2007.
Moynahan's next film role was in the November 2006 thriller Unknown, about
a group of individuals kidnapped, and trying to work together how to
escape from the people that captured them. She next was seen in Gray
Matters (2007), co-starring alongside Heather Graham and Tom Cavanaugh.
She was then cast in Henry Bean's comedy-drama Noise as Helen Owen, the
wife of David Owen, played by Tim Robbins. The movie was screened at a
special presentation at the 2007 Rome Film Festival and was released in
theaters in 2008.
In December 2008, Moynahan guest starred in two episodes of the ABC
television comedy-drama Eli Stone, playing the titular character's (Jonny
Lee Miller) former girlfriend. She has agreed to star in Ramona and
Beezus, directed by Elizabeth Allen, as the mother to Joey King and Selena
Gomez's character. The film is set for release in August 2010. In July
2009, it was announced that Moynahan would star in Battle: Los Angeles,
alongside Aaron Eckhart, Michelle Rodriguez, and Michael Peña, scheduled
for release in 2011.
Moynahan was in a three-year relationship with screenwriter Scott
Rosenberg. Moynahan dated NFL quarterback Tom Brady from 2004 until
December 14, 2006. On February 18, 2007, Moynahan's representative
confirmed to People that she was more than three months pregnant and that
Brady was the father. On August 22, 2007, she gave birth to a baby boy,
John Edward Thomas Moynahan, at Saint John's Health Center in Santa
Monica. In a July 2008 interview in Harper's Bazaar, Moynahan discussed
her willingness to raise her son (nicknamed "Jack") as a single mother.
Despite media reports that Moynahan and Brady have an acrimonious
relationship, it was revealed that the two have maintained "a civil
relationship" since the birth of their son.
Moynahan resides in Pacific Palisades, California. In November 2009, it
was announced that Moynahan had signed a deal with Garnier to appear in
television and print advertising promoting their Nutrisse hair products. |
