Amanda Peet

Amanda Peet (born January 11, 1972) is an American actress. Peet was born in New York City to Charles Peet (a lawyer) and Penny (a social worker). Her father was a Quaker and her mother was Jewish. Amanda attended Friends Seminary , then studied history at Columbia University, where she auditioned for acting teacher Uta Hagen. During her four-year period of study with Hagen, Peet appeared in the off-Broadway revival of Clifford Odets's Awake and Sing.

Career
Peet's first screen performance was a television commercial for Skittles. Her early roles included a guest starring role on the television series Law & Order. She made her film debut in Animal Room (1995). Peet maintained a steady acting career in relatively obscure indie movies.

Her first major role was as "Jack" in the 1999 TV series Jack & Jill (which aired for two seasons). She also appeared in the eighth season finale of Seinfeld (The Summer of George) as a waitress whom Jerry Seinfeld met. Her character is notable for seemingly dating two men at once: Jerry and her apparent roommate ("dude"), Lyle. Peet's first role in a widely-released feature film came in 2000, with The Whole Nine Yards, elevating her status from supporting actress to lead. That same year, she was voted one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World by People magazine. Peet was also in the movie Saving Silverman with Jack Black and Steve Zahn.

She also starred in Something's Gotta Give in 2003. Peet played Diane Keaton's daughter and at one point Jack Nicholson's lover.

In 2005, she starred in the play This Is How It Goes, with Jeffrey Wright and Ben Stiller. In the same year she also starred in the film A Lot Like Love, with Ashton Kutcher. In February 2006, she was performing in Neil Simon's Broadway production of Barefoot in the Park.

On February 3, 2006, it was announced Peet would be joining the cast of the television series Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, which premiered on NBC on September 18, 2006. She stars with Matthew Perry, with whom she worked in The Whole Nine Yards and The Whole Ten Yards, and Sarah Paulson, with whom she co-starred in Jack & Jill. In the show, Peet's character Jordan McDeere is the newly appointed president of the NBS. In 2006, she also starred along with Dermot Mulroney in a Lifetime movie, Griffin and Phoenix, in which she played a terminally ill woman living life to the fullest.

Personal life
Peet became engaged to actor/writer David Benioff on July 19, 2005, and later acknowledged her mother was helping her plan a Jewish wedding. On September 30, 2006, Peet and Benioff married in New York City. They are expecting their first child sometime in early 2007. Amanda said that she is having a daughter, which she had always wanted.