Blair Brown was born in Washington D.C. Her father, Milton Henry Brown, worked at the Central Intelligence Agency, while her mother Elizabeth Ann Brown worked as a teacher.
Brown graduated from the National Theatre School of Canada in 1969 and took to the stage, where she performed in the New York Shakespeare Festival’s 1975 production of “The Comedy of Errors” and in Joe Papp’s 1976 production of “The Threepenny Opera,” directed by Richard Foreman.
From 1987 to 1991, Brown starred as Molly Dodd in the critically acclaimed NBC TV series “The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd,” which moved to Lifetime after Season 2.
In 1989, Brown played a major role in onetime partner David Hare’s Broadway play “Secret Rapture.” She continued to work steadily in theater, winning a Tony award in 2000 for her role in Michael Frayn’s “Copenhagen.”
Brown’s numerous film credits include 1973’s Oscar winning film “The Paper Chase,” Robert Aldrich’s “The Choirboys,” and the John Belushi film “Continental Divide,” which landed her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Motion Picture Actress in a Comedy/Musical.
Brown is also known for her television appearances in “Frasier,” “Smallville,” “ER” and for her role as “Nina Sharp” in the Fox series “Fringe.” On “Orange is the New Black,” Brown memorably appears as inmate Judy King, a role that was inspired by Martha Stewart.
The actress has narrated more than 50 documentary films and audio books. She has one son by the late actor Richard Jordan.
