Stephanie Kurtzuba

Stephanie Kurtzuba (born March 20, 1972) is an American film, television, and theater actress. She is best known for her roles in the films The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), Annie (2014), and The Irishman (2019), and on television in a recurring role on The Good Wife.

Stephanie Kurtzuba
Born (1972-03-20) March 20, 1972
Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Alma materNYU Tisch School of the Arts
OccupationActress
Years active2003–present
Spouse(s)
Joshua Coakley
(
m. 2005)
Children2
Websitestephaniekurtzuba.com

Early life and education

Kurtzuba was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska, where she graduated from Omaha Central High School.[1] Growing up, she performed in local theater productions,[1] with her first role at the age of 10 as an orphan pickpocket in the musical Oliver, and won the Miss Nebraska Pre-Teen pageant.[2] She briefly attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where she studied journalism, before being accepted to New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, where she earned an acting degree.[1][2]

Career

Theater

After graduating, she spent time performing in experimental off-off-Broadway productions, before going into commercial theater.[2] Her first Broadway show was as part of a backup trio to Hugh Jackman in The Boy From Oz in 2003.[3] As a member of the original Broadway casts of Mary Poppins in 2006 and Billy Elliot the Musical in 2008, she performed at the 2007 and 2009 Tony Awards.[2]

Film

Kurtzuba portrayed Mrs. Kovacevic, a social services clerk with a Russian accent, in the 2014 film adaptation of Annie.[2] Her performance was praised in the Los Angeles Times[4] and Variety.[5] She is featured on the song "I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here" on the Annie soundtrack album.[6] In The Wolf of Wall Street, directed by Martin Scorsese, she played Kimmie Belzer, a single mom hired by Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) and the only female stockbroker at the company.[2][7] In the Scorsese Netflix film The Irishman, starring Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, she portrays Irene, the wife of De Niro's character.[8] She also appeared in Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close and Away We Go opposite John Krasinski.[2]

Television

Kurtzuba had recurring roles as Olivia on The Good Wife on CBS, as cult member Sabrina on The Leftovers on HBO, and on the Paramount Network miniseries Waco.[2] She has also appeared on Law & Order: SVU on NBC, Elementary on CBS, and Bull on CBS.[2][8]

Personal life

Kurtzuba married Joshua Coakley in 2005. They met when Kurtzuba was performing in a show at the Alley Theatre in Houston, and Coakley was working on the show in the props department.[2] They live in New York City and have two sons.[1]

Kurtzuba co-owns West Lanes Bowling Center in Omaha with her father and two siblings. Her maternal grandparents built the bowling alley in 1955.[2]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
2004 Knots Sheila
2008 Parting Words Brenda Turko
2009 Away We Go Performance Mom
2011 Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close Elaine Black
2013 The Wolf of Wall Street Kimmie Belzer
2014 Before I Disappear Blonde Woman
Annie Mrs. Kovacevic
2018 To Dust Receptionist
2019 Bad Education Carol Schweitzer
The Irishman Irene Sheeran

Television
Year Title Role Notes
2004 Law & Order Janet Season 15, episode 3
2006 Related Waitress Season 1, episode 16
Numb3rs Publicist Season 2, episode 18
2010-14 The Good Wife Olivia 4 episodes
2013 Elementary Eileen Rourke Season 1, episode 22
Do No Harm Nadia Cross Season 1, episode 7
2014 The Leftovers Sabrina 2 episodes
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Joan Harris Season 16, episode 6
2016 Chicago P.D. Detective Ricci Season 4, episode 1
2017 #MotherJudger Deb Web series
2018 Bull Rebecca Lexington Season 2, episode 13
Waco Carol Noesner Miniseries; 3 episodes
2019 Blue Bloods Sergeant McNichols 2 episodes
2020 Grey's Anatomy Opal Season 16, episode 18

Broadway theater
Year Title Role Notes
2003-04 The Boy From Oz Trio member
2006-07 Mary Poppins Swing
2008-09 Billy Elliot: The Musical Lesley Also played Mum and dancer
gollark: Also, check out Lemmmy's cool squid laser farm!
gollark: I have no idea how to.
gollark: Okay, wow, that's quite a lot...
gollark: How many krists would you need?
gollark: I can fund some of the black concrete if you like.

References
  1. Leo Adam Biga, "From Bowling Alley, to Broadway, and Back," Omaha Magazine, August 8, 2016.
  2. Bob Fischbach, "Central grad, 'Annie,' 'Wolf of Wall Street' actress also co-owns Omaha bowling alley," Omaha World-Herald, December 23, 2014.
  3. Ben Brantley, "Flash Of 70's Sequins," New York Times, October 17, 2003.
  4. Betsy Sharkey, "An 'Annie' without the expected sunshine, spirit or energy," Los Angeles Times, December 18, 2014.
  5. Ronnie Scheib, "Film Review: 'Annie'," Variety, December 14, 2014.
  6. Halee Makhan, "'Annie: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack' is Set to Drop on November 17," The Source, October 23, 2014.
  7. Corinna Clendenen, "The Wolf of Wall Street – Saint or Sinner?" Huffington Post, January 6, 2014.
  8. "Who Is Wealthy Widow Rebecca Lexington on 'Bull'? Stephanie Kurtzuba," 2paragraphs, January 23, 2018.
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