Peter Gallagher Wiki Bio

American actor Peter Killian Gallagher was born in New York City, USA, on 19 August 1955, making Leo his zodiac sign. He’s appeared in 114 TV series and movies, and is perhaps still known best for portraying Buddy Kane in the critically acclaimed 1999 drama movie “American Beauty”, directed by Sam Mendes, and which starred Kevin Spacey, Annette Benning and Thora Birch. It follows a sexually frustrated father who’s attracted to his daughter’s friend, and the film won 117 of its 219 award nominations, including five Oscar wins for Best Director, Best Picture and Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen, amongst others.

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Education and early life

Peter was raised in Armonk, New York State by his father Thomas Francis Gallagher, Jr. who was an advertising executive, and mother Mary Ann (nee O’Shea) who was a bacteriologist; he has two older siblings.

Peter grew up being focused on his studies, as his parents wanted him to pursue an education rather than a career in the film industry. He was mostly into appearing in school plays and playing football with his peers while attending Byram Hills High School, and upon matriculating in 1973, Peter enrolled at Tufts University, from which he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in 1977.

He then honed his acting skills at the William Esper Studio and appeared in a number of off-Broadway plays.

Roles in TV series

Peter’s debut TV series role was playing John Skagska in six episodes of the 1980 drama “Skag”, and the ‘80s saw him appear in an episode or two of a couple of series, such as the adventure comedy “ABC Weekend Specials”, the 1987 crime drama “Private Eye” and the 1988 historical crime drama “The Murder of Mary Phagan”.

In 1993, Peter played Dr. Yorgrau in three episodes of the crime mystery “Fallen Angels”, created by William Horberg, and which starred Dan Hedaya, Lynette Walden and Miguel Ferrer. It follows the lives of God’s fallen angels, the series aired from 1993 through 1996 and won three of its 24 award nominations.

Peter’s following notable performance was playing the lead character Michael in all the 13 episodes of the comedy “The Secret Lives of Men”, created by Susan Harris, and which starred Bradley Whitford, Mitch Rouse and Peter Gallagher. It follows three friends Andy, Phil and Michael, who’ve founded their own exclusive club.

The 2000s saw Peter appear in only five TV series, but including portraying the main character Sandy Cohen in all the 92 episodes of the romantic drama “The O. C.”, which Josh Schwartz created, and which also starred Adam Brody and Mischa Barton. It follows the lives of several troublesome teenagers, the series aired from 2003 through 2007 and won 15 of its 37 award nominations.

From 2010 through 2014, Peter played Arthur Campbell in 68 episodes of the crime action “Covert Affairs”, created by Matt Corman and Chris Ord, and which starred Piper Perabo, Christopher Gorham and Kari Matchett. It follows the life of new CIA operative Annie Walker, and the series won one of its two award nominations.

Peter’s three most recent TV series roles have been in the 2022 episode “Who’s the Boss” of the comedy “Reboot”, five episodes of the 2023 crime mystery “Truth Be Told” and three episodes of the 2023 animated action adventure “The Owl House” (voice role).

Roles in movies

Peter made his debut film appearance in the 1980 biographical musical drama “The Idolmaker”, while some of his following roles were in the 1982 romantic comedy “Summer Lovers”, the 1986 drama “My Little Girl” and the 1988 war drama “The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial”.

He gained recognition in 1992, when cast to play Larry Levy in the crime comedy “The Player”, directed by Robert Altman, and which starred Tim Robbins, Greta Scacchi and Fred Ward. It follows a Hollywood studio executive who’s begun receiving death threats from a man whose script he’s rejected, and the movie won 24 of its 60 award nominations, including Oscar nominations for Best Film Editing, Best Director and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Published. Some of Peter’s notable roles in the remainder of the decade were in the 1993 comedy “Watch It”, the 1996 thriller “Last Dance”, and the 1999 mystery horror thriller “House on Haunted Hill”.

In 2002, he portrayed Chuck Cedar in the popular romantic comedy “Mr. Deeds”, directed by Steven Brill, and which starred Adam Sandler, Winona Ryder and John Turturro. It follows a small-town man who’s become the majority owner of a media conglomerate, and has begun changing things around; the movie won five of its 14 award nominations. Peter could then have been seen appearing in the 2008 romantic musical “Center Stage: Turn It Up”, the 2009 romantic comedy “Adam” and the 2009 romantic crime drama “The War Boys”.

He played Willy Williams in the 2015 romantic comedy “Hello, My Name Is Doris”, written and directed by Michael Showalter, and which starred Sally Field, Max Greenfield and Tyne Daly. It tells the story of a woman in her 60s who’s been inspired by a self-help seminar to pursue her younger co-worker, and the movie won two of its 13 award nominations.

Peter’s three most recent film roles have been in the 2020 fantasy mystery comedy “Palm Springs”, and in 2021 the musical fantasy “One December Night” and the fantasy comedy “Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas”; he’s currently shooting for the upcoming movie “Humane”.

Other credits

Peter wrote the 1991 musical mystery movie “The Cabinet of Dr. Ramirez”.

He’s sung songs in 11 movies, TV series and TV specials, including the 2015 TV special “The 69th Tony Awards”, the 2020 fantasy mystery comedy movie “Palm Springs”, and the 2022 musical family movie “One December Night”.

Some of Peter’s most recent talk-show appearances have been in “Welcome to the OC, Bitches!”, “Stars in the House” and “Hollywood Insider”.

Awards and nominations

Peter’s won four of his nine award nominations, including his 1994 Golden Globe win for Best Ensemble Cast, for his and his colleagues’ performance in “Short Cuts”.

He also won a 1984 Clarence Derwent Award for Best Supporting Male, a 1993 Venice Film Festival Special Volpi Cup Award, for “Short Cuts” (shared with colleagues) and a 2000 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Theatrical Motion Picture, for “American Beauty” (shared with colleagues).

Love life and relationships

Peter avoids speaking about his love life in public, but it’s known that he and American non-celebrity woman Paula Harwood have been married since 7 May 1983.

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Neither of the two has spoken about how they met and how long they’d dated prior to marrying, but it’s believed that they met on a blind date in 1981. Paula gave birth to their son James Gallagher in 1990, while their daughter Kathryn Gallagher followed in 1993; James is today a screenwriter and director, while Kathryn’s a successful actress and producer, who’s appeared in 12 TV series and movies, and is probably known best for playing Annika Atwater in eight episodes of the hit romantic crime series “You”.

Peter’s yet to speak of the women whom he had dated prior to meeting Paula, whom he’s married to as of April 2023, and they have two children together.

Interesting facts and hobbies

Peter’s passionate about music, and was a member of the male a cappella group Beelzebubs while attending Tufts University.

Unlike what some people believe to be true, Peter’s not related to Oasis musicians Noel Gallagher and Liam Gallagher.

His mother had struggled with Alzheimer’s disease for 20 years, prior to dying in 2004.

Peter’s revealed that he prefers to play the bad guy rather than the good guy, as the former’s more interesting to portray.

He’s described the new pop culture as ‘no culture, all pop, no pleasure, all guilt’.

Peter’s followed by more than 110,000 people on Instagram, and has posted over 170 pictures and videos; he’s a huge dog-lover, and often features his pet dog in his pictures.

Peter’s favorite actor is Richard Gere, and some of his favorite movies include “Internal Affairs”, “Mr. Jones” and “Red Corner”.

Height, eyes and wealth

Peter’s age is 67. He has blue eyes and black hair, is 5ft 9ins (1.75m) tall, and weighs around 170lbs (78kgs).

Peter’s net worth’s been estimated at over $12 million, as of April 2023.

Who is Dean Cain?

American actor, screenwriter and producer Dean George Cain (né Tanaka) was born in Mount Clemens, Michigan USA, on 31 July 1966, meaning that Leo’s his zodiac sign. He’s appeared in nearly 200 TV series and movies, and is probably known best for playing Marc Shelley in the 2014 adventure comedy movie “God’s Not Dead”, directed by Harold Cronk, and which starred Shane Harper, Kevin Sorbo and David A. R. White. It follows the life of philosophy professor Radisson, and the film won a 2015 MovieGuide Award for Most Inspiring Movie.

Dean’s still highly active in the film industry and is currently working on 11 projects, including the upcoming movies “Not for Sale: Florida”, “The Phantom Warrior” and “Little Angels”.

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Education and early life

Dean and his older brother Roger were raised in Los Angeles, California solely by their actress mother Sharon Thomas, as Dean’s father abandoned the family before he was born; his mother married American movie director Christopher Cain in 1969, and he adopted both Dean and Roger.

Dean fell in love with acting at a very early age, and was 10 when he made his debut film appearance, playing Dean Russell in the 1976 family drama “Elmer”; hiss following roles were in the 1979 fantasy movie “Charlie and the Talking Buzzard”, and the 1984 drama film “The Stone Boy”.

He studied at Santa Monica School and was mostly into sports during his time there, playing baseball for the school’s team. Upon matriculating in 1984, Dean enrolled at Princeton University, at which he played football, and from which he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history in 1988.

Dean initially wanted to pursue football, and signed a contract with the Buffalo Bills of National Football League (NFL) upon graduation, but suffered a knee injury while exercising, ending his career before it could even properly start.

Roles in TV series

Dean made his debut TV series appearance in the 1989 episode “Things That Go Bump in the Night” of the drama “Christine Cromwell”, and the following years saw him appear in an episode of the drama “Life Goes On”, the comedy “Grapevine” and the musical comedy “Noel’s House Party”.

From 1993 through 1997, he starred as Clark Kent aka Superman in the critically acclaimed adventure comedy “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman”, created by Deborah Joy LeVine and Joe Shuster, and which also starred Teri Hatcher and Lane Smith. It follows the life of superhero Superman, and the series won two of its 20 award nominations.

Dean started off the 2000s by appearing in an episode of the comedy “Just Shoot Me!” and the comedy “Frasier”, and in 2003 and 2004, he portrayed Inspector Jack Ellis in the crime mystery “The Division”, created by Deborah Joy LeVine, and which starred Bonnie Bedelia, Nancy McKeon and Lisa Vidal. It follows five female police officers as they’re working in San Francisco, the series aired from 2001 through 2004 and won six of its 13 award nominations. Some of Dean’s TV series roles in the remainder of the decade were playing supporting characters in the family sports drama “Clubhouse”, the crime drama “Las Vegas” and the comedy “Entourage”.

Here is the brief appearance of Supergirl's adoptive parents, Dean Cain and Helen Slater, in the pilot. #supergirl pic.twitter.com/5mMlFXzWhY

— Lois & Clark (@LoisandClark_CK) October 30, 2015

From 2015 through 2017, he played Dr. Jeremiah Danvers in the popular action adventure “Supergirl”, which starred David Harewood, Melissa Benoist and Chyler Leigh, and was created by Greg Berlanti and Ali Adler. It follows the life of Superman’s cousin, who’s also a superhero, the series aired from 2015 through 2021, and won 15 of its 67 award nominations.

Dean’s since appeared in only two TV series, but including playing Pete Davenport in 34 episodes of the romantic drama “Hit the Floor” from 2013 through 2018, and John in eight episodes of the 2020 drama “The Platform”.

Roles in movies

Dean played Guy in Bar in the 1981 comedy “Going Under”, and some of his following support roles were in the 1995 short drama “Just Like Him”, the 1996 crime drama “Cutty Whitman” and the 1997 action crime comedy “Best Men”.

In 2001, he portrayed Shawn Kent in the critically acclaimed action adventure comedy “Rat Race”, directed by Jerry Zucker, and which starred Breckin Meyer, Amy Smart and Whoopi Goldberg. It follows a millionaire from Las Vegas, Nevada who’s set up a race for money, and the film was nominated for three awards. Some of Dean’s other notable performances in the 2000s were in the 2002 horror mystery “The Glow”, the 2005 action “Mayday” and the 2008 romantic comedy “Making Mr. Right”.

He played the lead character Sheriff Brody in the 2012 family fantasy “I Am… Gabriel”, directed by Mike Norris, and which also starred Gavin Casalegno and Elise Baughman; it follows a mysterious boy who’s trying to help the citizens of Promise, Texas.

Dean’s also known for playing Lue in the 2017 family drama “Horse Camp”, which Joel Paul Reisig wrote and directed, and which starred Elyse Ahmad, Syndney Anderson and Bonnie Ball. It follows Kathy who’s just arrived at a horse camp, and has begun feuding with mean local girl Stacy.

Dean’s three most recent film roles have been in the 2022 family drama “Miracle at Manchester”, the 2023 drama “Casting Stones” and the 2023 crime mystery thriller “Condition of Return”.

Other credits

Dean wrote the 1995 comedy series “Off Camera with Dean Cain”, the 2010 musical movie “Pure Country 2: The Gift” and the 2012 short film “The Read Pill”.

Dean has 16 producing credits to his name, with some of his most recent work having been on the 2019 documentary movie “Hate Among Us”, the 2020 drama film “Faith Under Fire”, and the 2022 drama movie “No Vacancy”.

Dean received special thanks for the 2005 short documentary movie “From Rivals to Romance: The Making of Lois and Clark”, the 2008 action adventure movie “Maximum Impact”, and the 2017 short comedy film “Extra School”.

Some of his recent talk-show appearances have been in “Lawrence Jones Cross Country”, “America Out Loud Podcast Network” and “Prime Time with Alex Stein”.

Awards and nominations

Dean’s won eight of his 14 award nominations. Some of his wins include a 2018 Festigious International Film Festival Award for Best Ensemble, for his and his colleagues’ performance in “2050”, a 2021 Green Mountain Film Festival Award for Best Supporting Actor, for his performance in “Break Every Chain”, and a 2022 Christian Film Festival Award for Best Supporting Actor, for “One Cop’s Journey”.

Love life and relationships

Dean avoids speaking about his love life in public, but it’s known that he and later famous American actress and model Brooke Shields dated while he was attending Princeton.

In 1991 and 1992, he dated American actress and producer Ami Dolenz, while the following year saw him date Teri Hatcher, a famous American actress; he also dated American professional volleyball player Gabrielle Allyse Reece around the same time. Dean then became engaged to American country music singer Mindy McCready, but there are no further details.

In 1998 and 1999, Dean was in a relationship with Spanish model Samantha Torres, and they have a son Christopher together, born on 11 June 2000; Samantha and Dean fought over their son’s custody, which was awarded to her in 2003.

He seems to be unattached as of April 2023, hasn’t married and has a son with his former girlfriend Samantha Torres.

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Interesting facts and hobbies

Dean enjoys being active on Instagram and is today followed by more than 110,000 people, while he’s posted nearly 400 pictures, with most of these having been taken during his everyday life.

He’s a fan of tattoos, and has his own name in Japanese tattooed on his ankle.

Dean has a half-sister Krisinda Cain, who’s today an actress with 10 credits to her name.

He became a reserve police officer of the St. Anthony Police Department on 19 June 2018.

Dean voted for Bill Clinton twice, but is today a registered Independent, although voting for Donald Trump in both the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections.

Dean’s favorite actor is Russell Crowe, and some of his favorite movies include “The Nice Guys”, “A Beautiful Mind” and “Cinderella Man”.

Height, eyes and wealth

Dean’s age is 56. He has brown eyes and black hair, is 5ft 11ins (1.82m) tall and weighs around 190lbs (85kgs).

Dean’s net worth’s been estimated at over $8 million, as of April 2023.

Who is Courtney Thorne-Smith?

American actress Courtney Thorne-Smith was born in San Francisco, California USA, under the Scorpio her zodiac sign on 8 November 1967. She’s had roles in 36 TV series and movies, and is perhaps still known best for playing Georgia Thomas in 69 episodes of the fantasy comedy series “Ally McBeal”, which starred Jane Krakowski, Calista Flockhart and Greg Germann, and which David E. Kelley created. The series is about American attorney Ally, it aired from 1997 through 2002, and won 50 of its 165 award nominations.

Courtney Thorne-Smith #beautiful #grace #cheryl #blonde #courtney #thorne #smith pic.twitter.com/rYRaqgZhnx

— ????! (@aboutdaydreamin) January 8, 2016

Education and early life

Courtney was raised alongside her older sister Jennifer in San Francisco, by their mother Lora Thorne who’s a therapist, and father Walter Smith who was a computer market researcher; her sister is today an advertising executive.

Courtney’s parents divorced when she was seven, and she then spent several years living with her mother prior to moving in with her father. She studied at Menlo-Atherton High School, and transferred to Tamalpais High School two years later; it was at Tamalpais that Courtney became passionate about acting, joining the school’s drama club and appearing in school plays, while she also joined the Ensemble Theatre Company.

Upon matriculating in 1985, she chose to pursue acting rather than a college degree.

Roles in movies

Courtney’s debut film role was playing Alise in the 1986 romantic comedy “Lucas”, written and directed by David Seltzer, and which starred Corey Haim, Kerri Green and Charlie Sheen. It follows a 14 years old boy who’s experienced heartbreak for the first time now that his crush has fallen for his best friend; the film was nominated for three awards.

A couple of Courtney’s following roles were in the 1986 comedy “Welcome to 18”, the romantic drama “Infidelity” and the  comedy “Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise” both in 1987. The year 1990 saw her play Samantha, one of the main characters in the popular romantic comedy “Side Out”, directed by Peter Israelson, and which also starred C. Thomas Howell and Peter Horton. It follows a law student who’s now become a professional volleyball player. Courtney could then have been seen playing Helen Lutz in the 1994 thriller “Breach of Conduct”, heard voicing Shiho Tsukishima in the English version of the 1995 animated family drama “Whisper of the Heart”, and the same year seen playing Cheryl Ann Davis in the thriller “Beauty’s Revenge”.

In 1997, she starred as Natalie Stockwell in the comedy “Chairman of the Board”, written and directed by Alex Zamm, and which also starred Scott ‘Carrot Top’ Thompson and Larry Miller. It follows a surfer who’s become the CEO of a successful company, and the film was nominated for three awards.

Courtney’s since been focused on appearing in TV series, and has had only three film roles: in the 1997 romantic comedy “The Lovemaster”, the 2005 short animated action “Batman: New Times” (voice role), and the 2009 comedy “Sorority Wars”.

Roles in TV series

Courtney played the lead character Stacey Hamilton in all the seven episodes of the 1986 comedy “Fast Times”, created by Allen Rucker, and which also starred Claudia Wells and James Nardini; it follows the lives of teenagers attending Ridgemont High.

She gained recognition in 1988 and 1989, when she starred as Kristin Carlson in the comedy “Day by Day”, created by Andy Borowitz and Gary David Goldberg, and which also starred Doug Sheehan and Linda Kelsey. It follows a wealthy couple who’ve quit their jobs to start a day care center at their home, and the series was nominated for six awards.

Courtney appeared in an episode of several series in the ‘90s, but notably from 1992 through 1997 starred as Allison Parker in 158 episodes of the popular romantic drama “Melrose Place”, which follows several friends living in Melrose Place, California and which won six of its 14 award nominations.

She spent the entirety of the 2000s – 182 episodes – shooting for the romantic comedy “According to Jim”, created by Jonathan Stark and Tracy Newman, and in which Courtney starred alongside Jim Belushi and Larry Joe Campbell. It follows the lives of a macho man, his wife and their three children, and the series was nominated for 25 awards.

Courtney’s three most recent TV series roles have been in two episodes of the 2017 comedy “Fresh Off the Boat”, three episodes of the 2019 crime mystery mini-series “Past Malice” and the 2020 episode “Beef Baloney Dan and a Sarcastic No” of the romantic comedy “Mom”.

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Other credits

Courtney received special thanks for the 2006 short romantic movie “Shade”.

She produced two episodes of the crime mystery series “Past Malice” in 2017 and 2019.

Some of her recent talk-show appearances have been in “Home & Family”, “Stars in the House” and “Extra”.

Awards and nominations

Courtney and her colleagues were nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series in 1998, 1999 and 2000, all for “Ally McBeal”, winning one in 1999.

Love life and marriages

Courtney’s married twice. She dated her “Melrose Place” colleague Andrew Shue sometime in the first half of the ‘90s, but in June 2000 exchanged vows with American geneticist Andrew Conrad, after two years of dating; however, the two divorced six months later.

Courtney married her second husband, American businessman and author Roger Fishman on 1 January 2007; he’s probably known best for authoring the book “What I Know” and being the president of the marketing company The Zizo Group. Their son Jacob Emerson Fishman was born on 11 January 2008.

She hasn’t mentioned other men whom she’s maybe dated, Courtney’s married to her second husband Roger Fishman as of April 2023, and they have a son together.

Interesting facts and hobbies

Courtney’s also an author, having published her novel “Outside In” on 18 September 2007.

She became a spokeswoman for the cosmetics brand Almay in 1997, and is today a spokeswoman for the Atkins diet.

Courtney isn’t active on Instagram, but there’s a fan page of her on the social media network; it’s followed by close to 500 people, and there are 12 pictures uploaded onto it.

She’s into travelling and has been a number of countries all around the world, while her favorite’s England.

Courtney’s a lover of animals, with dogs and sheep being her favorites.

Her two favorite actresses are Amanda Seyfried and Angelina Jolie, while some of her favorite movies include “Things Heard & Seen”, “Girl, Interrupted” and “Chloe”.

Eating disorder

There was a lot of pressure on Courtney while she was shooting for the series “Ally McBeal”, as the producers believed that she needed to lose weight. She thus began starving herself, eating only fruits for entire weeks, while she also exercised too much and pushed herself too had, thus developing an eating disorder.

She was eventually asked to do a nude scene, and this was when Courtney chose to leave the show, and to start taking better care of her body; she began having normal meals every day, and in only two months regained 10-15lbs (4-7kgs).

Age, height and wealth

Courtney’s age is 55. Her hair’s blonde and eyes are blue, she’s 5ft 6ins (1.68m) tall and weighs around 130lbs (59kgs).

Courtney’s net worth’s been estimated at over $8 million, as of April 2023.