Monica Potter

From Cleveland to Hollywood, actress, producer, entrepreneur, funny woman, tear-jerker, designer, decorator, builder, creator, fixer, cook, cleaner, host, wife, Browns fan, homemaker, (very) amateur bowler and -her favorite title- mom, 'Monica Potter' (qv) has achieved success in several different ways....save having a concise bio intro.'Monica Potter' (qv) was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, the daughter of Nora Marie (Sexton), a homemaker and part-time cleaning lady, and Paul Ely Brokaw, Jr., who -among many other widely-used innovations- invented the first flame-resistant car wax. Her maternal grandparents were Irish.A passionate creator by genes and trade, Potter, along with her 12-person "'Monica Potter' (qv) Home" team, is producing a line of natural, locally-crafted home and beauty products sold on mrspotter.com as well as the company's first standalone store, which opened in Garrettsville Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, this February. Building the company had been a dream for Potter. Through it, she aims to supplement the beauty and comfort of customers' homes at an affordable price, while creating sustainable job opportunities in the area. Appropriately enough, "'Monica Potter' (qv) Home" is headquartered in Potter's own childhood house in Cleveland; a structure Potter recently bought and renovated as part of an initiative to improve the neighborhood's condition.When not running a company and knocking down walls, Potter is at work producing a sitcom, with 'Ellen DeGeneres' (qv) and Warner Bros. Television, in which she will star as a mom, living under the same roof as her three ex-husbands. The script is in development and a pilot will be shot this spring. She is also producing a docu-series, tracking the renovation of her childhood home, with her favorite cast of characters...her family.To the dismay of its extraordinarily vocal fans, Potter recently wrapped production on five seasons of NBC's acclaimed drama series, _Parenthood (2010)_ (qv). For her portrayal of "Kristina Braverman" and her struggles to raise three children (including one with Autism), an emotional battle with breast cancer and run for mayor, Potter has garnered a 2014 Golden Globes nomination, a 2013 Critics Choice Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama, a TCA Award nomination for Individual Achievement in Drama & continued Emmy buzz.Potter's previous television credits include roles in _Boston Legal (2004)_ (qv), for which Potter and her castmates were nominated for a 2005 Screen Actors Guild award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series, TNT's _Trust Me (2009)_ (qv), USA's _Reversible Errors (2004)_ (qv) and the beginning of it all, _The Young and the Restless (1973)_ (qv).Potter burst onto the film scene with her co-starring role, opposite 'Nicolas Cage' (qv) in Simon West's _Con Air (1997)_ (qv). She then starred, with 'Robin Williams' (qv), in the acclaimed dramedy, _Patch Adams (1998)_ (qv)" and appeared opposite 'Morgan Freeman' (qv) in the thriller, _Along Came a Spider (2001)_ (qv). Other film credits include the comedies, _Head Over Heels (2001)_ (qv) and _I'm with Lucy (2002)_ (qv), the mega-hit horror classic _Saw (2004)_ (qv), _Without Limits (1998)_ (qv), _Lower Learning (2008)_ (qv) and _The Last House on the Left (2009)_ (qv).Potter resides in both Cleveland and Los Angeles with her family.::SS