Amanda Peet (born January 11, 1972; age: 45) is an American actress and writer. Her performance in the 2000 comedy film The Whole Nine Yards gained her much acclaim.

She then went on to play secondary roles in the films Saving Silverman (2001), Something’s Gotta Give (2003), Identity (2003), Syriana (2005), The Ex (2006), The X-Files: I Want to Believe (2008) and 2012 (2009).

Peet also played a role in the 1999 drama series Jack & Jill, the 2006 drama series Studio 60 On the Sunset Strip, and the HBO comedy-drama series Togetherness (2015–2016).

AMANDA PEET BIO: EARLY LIFE AND 1990s CAREER, RELIGION

Peet was born in New York City, the daughter of a social worker mother and a corporate lawyer father. Her parents eventually divorced Her mother is Jewish and her father is a Quaker.

When she was seven, Peet’s family moved to London and then returned to New York four years afterward. She was raised as a Quaker, and attended Friends Seminary in New York City, a school of the Quaker Christian denomination. She then enrolled in Columbia University, from which she graduated with a Bachelor’s in American history. She studied there with the legendary actress and theater practitioner Uta Hagen, which is how she decided to pursue acting as a career after taking a class with Hagen.

One of Peet’s first screen acting gigs was an uncredited cameo in an episode of The Larry Sanders Show in 1992.

Her feature film debut came in the 1995 drama Animal Room, which also starred Neil Patrick Harris. She then had a cameo in a 1995 episode of Law and Order, and then went on to star in several independent films for the rest of the 1990s.

Among the films she had minor roles in were two romantic comedies in 1996: One Fine Day, which starred George Clooney and Michelle Pfeiffer, and She’s The One, which starred Edward Burns (who also wrote and directed the film), Cameron Diaz and Jennifer Aniston. 

Peet’s first major television part was that of Jacqueline Barrett in the 1999 WB series Jack & Jill, although this only lasted two seasons. That same year, she appeared alongside Sarah Michelle Gellar in the fantastical romantic comedy Simply Irresistible.

AMANDA PEET BIO: LATER CAREER (2000-PRESENT)

In 2000, Peet starred in several films, including the biographical comedy-drama Isn’t She Great opposite Nathan Lane and Bette Midler, and the crime comedy The Whole Nine Yards, which also starred Bruce Willis and Matthew Perry. The latter film earned several strong reviews and was a box office success.

That same year, Peet was voted one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World by People magazine.

Peet then played the love interest of Jason Biggs‘s character in the 2001 comedy Saving Silverman. The film, which also starred Jack Black and Steve Zahn, received mostly terrible reviews but did modestly well at the box office.

Peet also played Ben Affleck’s character’s wife in the 2002 thriller Changing Lanes, and also appeared in Nancy Meyers’ 2003 romanic comedy Something’s Gotta Give, opposite Diane Keaton, Jack Nicholson and Keanu Reeves. She then starred in the 2003 psychological thriller/horror film Identity, which marked the first of three films she starred in with John Cusack. The other two are Martian Child and 2012. 

In 2004, she starred in The Whole Ten Yards, the widely-panned sequel to The Whole Nine Yards, and in Woody Allen’s comedy-drama Melinda and Melinda. 

In 2005, Peet starred in the political thriller Syriana opposite Clooney and Matt Damon. 

In 2006, she acted in Neil Simon’s Broadway play Barefoot in the Park. That same year, she played a lead role in the romantic drama Griffin & Phoenix, a remake of the 1976 ABC TV movie.

Peet then starred in the 2007 romantic comedy The Ex, alongside Zach Braff, Jason Bateman, Mia Farrow and Amy Adams. 

In 2008, Peet had a major role as an FBI agent in the supernatural thriller The X-Files: I Want to Believe, which is based on the television series that began in 1993.

She then starred in the 2009 apocalyptic disaster film 2012 alongside Cusack, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Danny Glover.


In 2010, she starred in the fantastical adventure comedy Gulliver’s Travels alongside Jack Black, Emily Blunt and Jason Segel. 

In 2013, Peet starred in three films: as Bateman’s wife in Identity Thief, in The Way, Way Back and in Trust Me. 

Her last appearance was in the 2015 romantic comedy Sleeping with Other People, which starred Jason Sudeikis and Alison Brie. 

AMANDA PEET: VIDEO INTERVIEW ON ‘2012’

In November 2009, Peet sat down with uInterview for an exclusive interview on her apocalypse film 2012. All of the questions came from fans.

Peet discussed — among other things — the challenges of doing stunts, particularly water stunts, for the movie.

“It wasn’t so bad,” she said. “I wore a wetsuit and Roland is incredibly considerate so we never did consecutive days and he would try to keep the hours to a minimum so we all got pruny and cold but it wasn’t so bad. I was really scared because there were often a lot of real elements. Like the floor was shaking and when we were in the plane it was banking left and banking right and it was really quite scary. I guess I’m a wimp but I was kinda scared.”

What items would she keep with her if she knew the world was going to end? Peet said: “Books, pictures, matches, a wetsuit, flashlight, canned food.”

Peet also added that she agreed with NASA’s then-assessment that the world was not going to end on Dec. 21, 2012 as the Mayans had predicted.

“I didn’t hear about that but I’m going to stand with NASA on that one,” she said with a laugh.

AMANDA PEET BIO: HEIGHT, WIEGHT, MARRIAGE TO DAVID BENIOFF, QUOTES, NET WORTH, SOCIAL MEDIA HANDLES

Peet is 5-foot-7 and weighs about 115 pounds. Since 2006, she has been married to David Benioff, one of the two co-writers of HBO’s Game of Thrones. The pair have three children together: Frances “Frankie” Pen Friedman, born in February 2007; Molly June Friedman, born in 2010; and Henry Peet Friedman, born in December 2014.

It is unknown who Peet dated before Benioff.

Peet started acting as a spokesperson in 2008 for Every Child By Two (ECBT), a non-profit organization that promotes childhood vaccination.

Peet has co-written a children’s book — published in 2015 — called Dear Santa, Love, Rachel Rosenstein that tells the story of a Jewish girl during Christmastime.

Peet’s net worth is estimated at $18 million.

Her Twitter handle is @realamandapeet.

Quotes:

“Whenever I was with Kevin Pollak, I had to leave the room.”

“I’d love to work with Joan Cusack again – I’m obsessed with Joan Cusack.”

“I’d like to be someone on ‘Games of Thrones.'”

“Since I got a really bad review when I was, like, 28 in ‘The New York Times,’ I don’t read reviews anymore.” 

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