Popular

Background:

“I was lucky to be involved in that. I mean, I wish I could take you with me through pilot season and see just how hard it is to get a show on the air. It's crazy. There's so much stuff that's really good that will never make it and we'll never know about it. So the fact that that freaky show with my character was on American television for two years, that's pretty cool.” (Leslie Grossman about the series “Popular”)

American actress Leslie Grossman portrayed Mary Cherry on the series “Popular” from 1999 until 2001. She then played Lauren in the sitcom “What I Like About You” (2003-2006), Kimmy Ponder in the short-lived series “The Jack Effect” (2006) and had a recurring role in “Nip/Tuck” (2003, 2007 and 2008). Grossman’s big screen credits include “The Opposite Sex” (1998), “Can't Hardly Wait” (1998), “Miss Congeniality 2” (2005), “Running with Scissors” (2006), the festival screened “What We Do Is Secret” (2007), “Itty Bitty Titty Committee” (2007) and the comedy “Spring Breakdown” (2008). Her more recent credits include appearances in the series “Trust Me” (2009), “10 Things I Hate About You” (6 episodes, 2009 and 2010), “Dexter” (2010) and “Hot in Cleveland” (2011).

Grossman has been married to John Bronson since May 2000. The couple currently resides in Los Angeles with their adoptive daughter. Grossman counts “All My Children,” “Friends” and “The View” as her favorite TV shows and Don Rickles, Gilda Radner and David Letterman as her favorite actors.

Los Angeles

Childhood and Family:

Leslie Erin Grossman was born on October 25, 1971, in Los Angeles, California, to an attorney father and an architect mother. She attended a WeightWatchers camp as a child and later enrolled in Crossroads School, a performing art high school in Los Angeles, where she directed plays. She did not begin acting until her senior year at Sarah Lawrence College in New York.

In May 2000, Leslie was married to John Bronson in a ceremony attended by many of the “Popular” cast and crew members, including Tammy Lynn Michaels, Tamara Mello, Bryce Johnson and Ryan Murphy. In 2006, Leslie and her husband adopted a baby girl.

Spring Breakdown

Career:

“This is something that has truly fallen into my lap. I can't put restrictions on it and say, 'I have to keep acting for the next fifty years,' as acting doesn't work like that. It could all go away and you could not work for years and years.” (Leslie Grossman on acting)

Los Angeles native Leslie Grossman had her first taste of show business directing high school theater productions in Crossroads School. She did not begin acting until after moving to New York where she was a student at Sarah Lawrence College. Prior to this, she had ambitions of becoming a psychologist or social worker. Grossman's first professional acting job arrived when she landed a starring role in a theater production of “Cereal.” The soap opera spoof was popular and ran for a year off-Broadway. It also made its way to Los Angeles at the Hudson Theater.

Grossman appeared in motion pictures two years later with small parts in the comedies “The Opposite Sex” (1998), starring Christina Ricci, Martin Donovan and Lisa Kudrow, and “Can't Hardly Wait” (1998), with Jennifer Love Hewitt and Ethan Embry. The same year, she also appeared as Amy in the pilot of the UPN sitcom “Guys Like Us.”

In 1999, Grossman received the role of Mary Cherry on The WB's teen series “Popular,” opposite Leslie Bibb, Carly Pope, Tamara Mello, Bryce Johnson, Tammy Lynn Michaels and Ron Lester, among others. Before having the part of the spoiled affluent girl written for her, she auditioned for the roles of Nicole Julian and Sam McPherson. She stayed with the award winning show until it came to an end in 2001. Meanwhile, in 2000, she also appeared in the television film “Girl Band,” with Matthew Lawrence and Beverley Mitchell. She next received guest spots in the series “Any Day Now,” “Charmed” (both 2002), and “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” (2003) before returning as a series regular in the comedy “What I Like About You,” which starred Amanda Bynes. In the series, Grossman portrayed Lauren from 2003 to 2006. She resurfaced on the big screen as Pam in Sandra Bullock's vehicle “Miss Congeniality 2” (2005).

After the demise of “What I Like About You,” Grossman costarred with Jason Bateman, Greg Grunberg, Nikki Cox and Kyle Gass in the sitcom “The Jake Effect,” playing Kimmy Ponder. Slated to premiere in 2003 as a mid-season replacement, the show was canceled by NBC before it was broadcasted. The series did not hit the airwaves until three years later in 2006 on NBC's Bravo Network. It was also in 2006 that Grossman appeared as Sue in the film “Running with Scissors,” which was directed by Ryan Murphy and starred Annette Bening, Brian Cox, Joseph Fiennes, Evan Rachel Wood, Alec Baldwin and Joseph Cross. She also made a guest appearance in an episode of “Help Me Help You.”

The actress next portrayed Misti Lake in the TV film “What News” (2007), with Chris Dougherty and John Farley, and starred with John Cho in “Up All Night,” a WB television film directed by Scott Silveri. Still that year, she also received the supporting role of Maude in the comedy “Itty Bitty Titty Committee,” for director Jamie Babbit, and appeared opposite Shane West and Bijou Phillips in the biopic “What We Do Is Secret,” which premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival in June 2007 before receiving a theatrical release in 2008. She then portrayed Bliss Berger in an episode of the Ryan Murphy created “Nip/Tuck” called “Lulu Grandiron,” which was her third appearance in the show since 2003.

In 2009, Grossman had a small role in the comedy “Spring Breakdown,” which was directed by Ryan Shiraki. Her more recent credits include appearances in the series “Trust Me” (2009), “In The Motherhood” (also 2009), “10 Things I Hate About You” (6 episodes, 2009-2010), “The Gentlemen’s League” (2010), “Dexter” (2010), “Outsourced” (2011) and “Hot in Cleveland” (also 2011).

Awards:
---