Jess Weixler

{{Short description|American actress (born 1981 / 82)}}

{{Pp-pc1}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Jess Weixler

| birth_name = Jessica Weixler

| education = Juilliard School (BFA)

| occupation = Actress

| yearsactive = 2003–present

| birth_place = Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.

| birth_date = {{Birth based on age as of date|27|2009|January|11}}

| spouse = {{Marriage|Hamish Brocklebank|2015}}

| children = 1

}}

Jessica Weixler (born June 8, 1981) is an American actress. She played Dawn O'Keefe in the comedy horror film Teeth and Jordan in the comedy The Big Bad Swim and played the role of defense lawyer for Lyle Menendez in the Netflix series Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.{{Cite web |last=Mer Eclarinal |first=Aeron |date=2024-09-20 |title=Full Cast of Monsters Netflix 2024: Every Actor & Their Character's Real-Life Counterpart (Photos) |url=https://thedirect.com/article/monsters-netflix-2024-cast-actor-character-real-life-photos |website=thedirect.com}}

Early life

Born in Louisville, Kentucky on June 8, 1981,[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-macon-telegraph/169836282/ "Horoscopes: Birthday Gal"]. The Macon Telegraph. June 8, 2014. p. G2. Retrieved April 8, 2025. "Actress Jess Weixler was born in Louisville, Ky., on this date in 1981. This birthday gal currently co-stars as Robyn Burdine on 'The Good Wife.' She’s also guest-starred on 'Law and Order,' 'Medium' and 'Everwood.' On the big screen, Weixler’s film resume includes such films as 'Best Man Down,' 'Peter and Vandy' and 'The Big Bad Swim.' Weixler is the only child of Mark Weixler, a photo re-toucher, and Donna Emerick, a nurse. The couple divorced shortly after her birth and Weixler was raised by her father in and around Louisville.Egerton, Julie (February 7, 2007). [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-courier-journal/169854455/ "Film Clips: Atherton grad honored for role with 'Teeth'"]. The Courier-Journal. p. E1. Retrieved April 8, 2025. "Weixler, 25, is a former Walden Theatre student and Atherton High School graduate with a theater arts degree from the Juilliard School of New York City. She is the only child of Donna Emerick, a nurse at Highlands Adult Day Care Center for Alzheimer's patients in Louisville, and Mark Weixler, a photographic retoucher and former Louisvillian who now lives in Florida. Her parents divorced when Weixler was young."Ordoña, Michael (October 8, 2009). [https://www.newspapers.com/image/193519390/?clipping_id=169849295 "Finding Order: In the time-jumbled ‘Peter and Vandy,’ the young actress delights in putting together the pieces of a romantic-comedy puzzle"]. The Los Angeles Times. She attended Westport Middle School and graduated from Atherton High School in 1999.Preston, Gayle (March 3, 1993). [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-courier-journal/169836649/ "Learning to Branch Out; Westport Middle humanites/arts program lauded"]. The Courier-Journal. p. 29. Retrieved April 8, 2025. "Jessica Weixler, 11, and Tim Beem, 12, worked on a mobile at Westport Middle School last week. The sixth-grade class was finding new uses for things that otherwise would be thrown away."Elson, Martha (February 15, 1999). [https://www.newspapers.com/image/110387117/?clipping_id=169843943 "Around the World: Eastern Jefferson"]. The Courier-Journal. p. B2. Retrieved April 8, 2025. "Jessica Weixler of the Worthington area is the state winner of the English Speaking Union's Shakespeare Monologue Contest, which was held Feb. 7 at Actors Theatre of Louisville. The Atherton High School senior will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to New York to represent Kentucky in the national contest, which will be April 23-25 at Lincoln Center. Jessica has been a company member of Walden Theatre for five years."[https://www.newspapers.com/image/492931256/?clipping_id=169836572 "The Atherton High School Alumni Association: 17th Annual Hall of Fame Banquet; Congratulations 2018 Hall of Fame Inductees!"]. The Courier-Journal. October 7, 2018. p. E2. Retrieved April 8, 2025. During that period, she also attended the Walden Theatre Conservatory Program.{{Cite news|title=Editorial: Two Notables|author=|date=November 18, 2011|work=Courier-Journal|page=A8|quote=When Nancy Niles Sexton founded Walden Theater in 1976, serious dramatic training for youngsters in Louisville was virtually non-existent. But Mrs. Sexton, who died Nov. 10 at the age of 76, set high standards [...] Among those who received early training were actors Wes Ramsey, Jessica Weixler and Jennifer Carpenter, among many others.|id={{ProQuest|904925842}}}}[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-courier-journal/169844134/ "Weekend Calendar"]. The Courier-Journal Weekend Extra. October 17, 1997. p. 13. Retrieved April 8, 2025. "Jessica Weixler, left, and Sarah Teeple appear in Walden Theatre's 'Jack!' a musical that unravels the mystery of Jack the Ripper, at 7:30 p.m. today and tomorrow at the Kentucky Center for the Arts." In addition, she was in The River City Players acting group and the Chamber Singers choral group.{{Citation needed |date=April 2025}} Subsequently, she attended Juilliard, graduating in 2003 with a BA in theater arts. While there, Weixler befriended classmate—and future onscreen sibling—Jessica Chastain{{cite news|last=Pearlman |first=Cindy |title=Jessica Chastain, Jess Weixler like sisters in 'Rigby' and real life |url=http://entertainment.suntimes.com/entertainment-news/jessica-chastain-jess-weixler-like-sisters-rigby-real-life/ |work=Chicago Sun Times |date=September 22, 2014 |access-date=2015-04-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150415090258/http://entertainment.suntimes.com/entertainment-news/jessica-chastain-jess-weixler-like-sisters-rigby-real-life/ |archive-date=April 15, 2015 }} and was a participant during the first year of Bruce Brubaker's InterArts performance project.{{Citation needed |date=February 2023}}

Career

In November 2003, Weixler made her prime time TV debut alongside David Morse, Andre Braugher and Robert Pastorelli in "Blind Faith", an episode in the CBS crime series, Hack, in which key murder witness Weixler finds her own life under attack even as her sanity is questioned.Dorsey, Tom (November 14, 2003). [https://www.newspapers.com/image/361551736/?clipping_id=169861236 "Atherton grad stars on 'Hack' episode"]. The Courier-Journal. p. 22. Retrieved April 8, 2025. "'It was so cool acting with David Morse, Andre Braugher and Robert Pastorelli,' said Jess Weixler, a 1999 Atherton High School graduate from Louisville who has a major role in 'Hack' tomorrow night at 9 on CBS. Weixler, 22, who once performed at Walden Theatre, plays a young woman who witnesses a murder and finds herself being railroaded into an insane asylum and pursued by a killer to keep her from testifying. The 2003 graduate of the Juilliard School in New York has had roles in 'All My Children' and 'Guiding Light and has appeared in a T.J. Maxx TV/RADIO CRITIC commercial. But 'Hack' is her primetime TV debut." In 2007 Weixler was nominated for a Breakthrough Award at the Gotham Awards,{{cite web|url=https://awards.thegotham.org/past-recipients/|title=Past Recipients|work=Gotham Awards|accessdate=October 24, 2022}} and won the Special Jury Prize "for a juicy and jaw-dropping performance" at the Sundance Film Festival,{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/sundance-jury-honors-padre-nuestro-128910/|title=Sundance jury honors 'Padre Nuestro,' 'Manda Bala'|last=Goldstein|first=Gregg|work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=January 28, 2007|accessdate=October 24, 2022}} both for her role in Teeth. She also appeared in the TV series Law & Order: Criminal Intent. In January 2009, she was named by New York magazine as the "New Indie Queen" of the year and one of the fourteen "New Yorkers you need to know".{{cite journal|url=http://nymag.com/news/features/all-new/53373/|title=New Indie Queen: Jess Weixler|journal=New York magazine|date=January 9, 2009|access-date=2009-01-13}}

In 2013, she joined the cast of CBS series The Good Wife, playing investigator Robyn Burdine. That same year she appeared in The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby as the title character's sister. The part was written specifically for her.{{cite web|url=http://www.comingsoon.net/movies/features/122724-interview-the-disappearance-of-eleanor-rigby-writer-and-director-ned-benson|title=Interview: The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby Writer and Director Ned Benson|website=ComingSoon.net|first=Edward|last=Douglas|date=September 8, 2014|access-date=April 10, 2016}}

Weixler next turned her hand to writing, penning the script for Apartment Troubles with her friend, and former roommate Jennifer Prediger. The two co-directed and co-starred in the movie.{{cite web|last=Topel|first=Fred|title=APARTMENT TROUBLES Exclusive: Jennifer Prediger on the Evils of Low Angle Photography|url=http://nukethefridge.com/2015/04/09/apartment-troubles-exclusive-jennifer-prediger-on-the-evils-of-low-angle-photography/|publisher=nukethefridge.com|access-date=2015-04-10|archive-date=2015-04-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150417033943/http://nukethefridge.com/2015/04/09/apartment-troubles-exclusive-jennifer-prediger-on-the-evils-of-low-angle-photography/|url-status=dead}} Apartment Troubles premiered at the 2014 Los Angeles Film Festival.{{cite web|title=LA FILM FEST SUCCESS STORY—HOW APARTMENT TROUBLES MADE ITS WAY TO THEATERS|url=http://www.filmindependent.org/blogs/filmmaker-spotlight/filmmaker-interviews/la-film-fest-success-story-how-apartment-troubles-made-its-way-to-theaters/|access-date=2015-04-10|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150415154735/http://www.filmindependent.org/blogs/filmmaker-spotlight/filmmaker-interviews/la-film-fest-success-story-how-apartment-troubles-made-its-way-to-theaters/|archive-date=2015-04-15}} It was picked up by Gravitas Ventures and given theatrical and VOD distribution in March 2015.

In June 2015, she joined the cast of Money, directed by Martin Rosete and produced by Atit Shah.{{cite journal |first1=John|last1=Hopewell |first2=Emilio|last2=Mayorga |url=https://variety.com/2015/film/news/bamber-lutz-williams-weixler-set-for-money-exclusive-1201515227/ |title=Lutz, Bamber, Weixler, Williams Are Set To Star in 'Money' |journal=Variety |date=June 9, 2015 |access-date=2015-12-04}}

She played Audra Phillips in the sequel It Chapter Two.{{Cite web|url=https://ew.com/movies/2018/06/25/it-chapter-two-teach-grant-jess-weixler/|title='It: Chapter Two' adds Teach Grant and Jess Weixler to cast|website=EW.com|language=en|access-date=2019-09-12|archive-date=2019-08-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190819003600/https://ew.com/movies/2018/06/25/it-chapter-two-teach-grant-jess-weixler/|url-status=dead}}

Personal life

In December 2015, Weixler married Hamish Brocklebank,{{Cite news|title=Jess Weixler welcomes first child|author=|date=March 8, 2019|work=University Wire|page=|quote=Jess and Hamish, a businessman from the UK, got married in December 2015. [...] The 37-year-old actress - who portrayed Robyn Burdine in the hit crime drama series - has revealed she welcomed a baby daughter named Beatrice Danger Brocklebank into the world, her first child with husband Hamish Brocklebank.|id={{ProQuest|2188986777}}}} an English businessman and co-founder of Flooved, a school textbook distribution company.[https://www.newspapers.com/article/evening-standard/169909612/ "Start-up Stays Afloat by Ditching Shore"]. Evening Standard. February 13, 2013. p. A41. Retrieved April 9, 2025. "Hamish Brocklebank and Nicolas Philippe, founders of educational start-up Flooved, have taken to London’s waterways to launch their venture — on board HMS President. [...] The pair want Flooved — an online subscription service giving university students access to textbooks, journals and course notes — to become the 'Netflix of academia'." In 2019 their first daughter was born.

Filmography

=Film=

class="wikitable sortable"
Year

! Title

! Role

! class="unsortable" | Notes

2005

|Little Manhattan

|TV Cowgirl

|

2006

|{{sortname|The|Big Bad Swim}}

|Jordan Gallagher

|

rowspan="2"|2007

|Teeth

|Dawn O'Keefe

|

Goodbye Baby

|Denise

|

rowspan="4"|2009

|Peter and Vandy

|Vandy

|

Alexander the Last

|Alex

|

Welcome to Academia

|Sophie

|

Today's Special

|Carrie

|

rowspan="4"|2010

|As Good as Dead

|Amy

|Uncredited

A Woman

|Julie

|

Audrey the Trainwreck

|Tammy

|

Yes

|Woman

|Short film

rowspan="3"|2011

|The Lie

|Clover

|

{{sortname|The|Man Who Never Cried|nolink=1}}

|Ginny

|Short film

Periphery

|Madison

|

rowspan="4"|2012

|Somebody Up There Likes Me

|Lyla

|

Free Samples

|Jillian

|

Best Man Down

|Kristin

|

The Normals

|Gretchen

|

rowspan="2"|2013

|{{sortname|The|Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Her|The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby}}

|Katy Rigby

|

{{sortname|The|Face of Love|The Face of Love (2013 film)}}

|Summer

|

rowspan="3"|2014

|Listen Up Philip

|Holly Kane

|

{{sortname|The|Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them|The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby}}

|Katy Rigby

|

Apartment Troubles

|Nicole

|

2015

|Lamb

|Linny

|

rowspan="2"|2016

|Sister Cities

|Austin Baxter

|

Money

|Sylvia

|

rowspan="2"|2017

|Entanglement

|Hanna Weathers

|

Who We Are Now

|Gabby

|

rowspan="3"|2019

|Chained for Life

|Mabel

|

{{sortname|The|Death of Dick Long}}

|Jane Long

|

It Chapter Two

|Audra Phillips

|

rowspan="2"|2020

|Ava

|Judy

|

Fully Realized Humans

|Jackie

|Also writer and associate producer

2021

|The Eyes of Tammy Faye

|Makeup Artist (voice)

|

=Television=

class="wikitable sortable"
Year

! Title

! Role

! class="unsortable" | Notes

rowspan="2"|2003

| Guiding Light

| Caroline Boyle

| 1 Episode

Hack

| Martha Skulnick

| Episode: "Blind Faith"

2004

| Everwood

| Nikki

| Episode: "Do or Die"

2005

| rowspan="2"|Law & Order: Criminal Intent

| Amy Buckley

| Episode: "In the Wee Small Hours"

2009

| Laura Green

| Episode: "The Glory That Was..."

rowspan="2"|2010

| Medium

| Mandy Sutton

| Episode: "An Everlasting Love"

Law & Order

| Carrie Newton

| Episode: "Brilliant Disguise"

2013–2014

| {{sortname|The|Good Wife}}

| Robyn Burdine

| Recurring role (19 episodes)

2017–2019

| The Son

| Sally McCullough

| Main role

2018

| Deception

| Joan

| Episode: "Escapology"

2024

|Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story

|Jill Lansing

|3 episodes

=Web=

class="wikitable sortable"
Year

! Title

! Role

! class="unsortable" | Notes

2020

| Day by Day

| Riley's Mom (voice)

| 2 episodes

References

{{Reflist}}