Kyra Sedgwick

Kyra Sedgwick (born Kyra Minturn Sedgwick on August 19, 1965) is an American actress, director, and producer whose career spans over four decades. She was raised in New York City as the daughter of Patricia Rosenwald, a speech teacher and therapist, and Henry Dwight Sedgwick V, a venture capitalist; her mother’s Jewish heritage and her father’s Episcopalian English roots gave her a diverse cultural background that she has publicly embraced, even participating in Passover seders. A descendant of Declaration signer William Ellery and Atlantic Monthly editor Ellery Sedgwick, Kyra grew up surrounded by artistic relatives, including actor brother Robert Sedgwick and half‑brother jazz guitarist Mike Stern. After attending Friends Seminary, she briefly enrolled at Sarah Lawrence College before transferring to the University of Southern California, where she earned a theater degree that launched her entry into professional acting. Her first credited role came in 1982 on the soap opera Another World, where she portrayed Julia Shearer, marking the start of a prolific on‑screen presence that would soon extend to television films and major motion pictures. Throughout the 1990s she appeared in notable films such as Born on the Fourth of July, Singles, Heart and Souls, and Something to Talk About, earning a Golden Globe nomination for the latter and cementing her reputation as a versatile leading lady.