Andrea Martin

American and Canadian actress (born 1947) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Andrea Louise Martin (born January 15, 1947) is an American and Canadian actress and comedian,[2] best known for her work in the television series SCTV and Great News. She has appeared in films such as Black Christmas (1974) and its 2006 remake, Wag the Dog (1997), Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001), My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002), My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 (2016), Little Italy (2018) and My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 (2023). Martin is also a prolific voice actress, lending her voice to many animated series and films, including Anastasia (1997), The Rugrats Movie (1998), and Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (2001). From 2021 to 2024, she co-starred in the supernatural drama series Evil. She plays a recurring role on Only Murders in the Building as of 2021.

Born
Andrea Louise Martin

(1947-01-15) January 15, 1947 (age 79)[1]
Citizenship
  • United States
  • Canada (since 2017)
Occupations
  • Actress
  • comedian
  • singer
Yearsactive1970–present
Quick facts Born, Citizenship ...
Andrea Martin
Martin in 2025
Born
Andrea Louise Martin

(1947-01-15) January 15, 1947 (age 79)[1]
Citizenship
  • United States
  • Canada (since 2017)
Occupations
  • Actress
  • comedian
  • singer
Years active1970–present
Spouse
(divorced)
Children2, including Jack Dolman
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Martin has been equally prolific in the world of theatre, winning Tony Awards for both My Favorite Year and the 2013 revival of Pippin. Martin also appeared on Broadway in Candide, Oklahoma!, Fiddler on the Roof, Young Frankenstein, Exit the King, and Act One. She has received five nominations for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical, more than any other actress in the award's history. She received her first nomination for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for the 2016 revival of Noises Off.

Early life and education

Andrea Martin was born on January 15, 1947, in Portland, Maine,[3][4] the eldest of three children of Armenian-American parents Sybil Martin (Armenian: Սիբիլ Մանուկեան Մարթին; née Manoogian) and John Papazian Martin (Armenian: Ջօն Փափազեան Մարթին; 1917–2010).[5][6] Her paternal grandparents, from Van, present-day Turkey, had escaped the Armenian Genocide.[7] Her maternal grandmother immigrated to the U.S. at the age of 15.[8] Her paternal grandfather, an amateur thespian, changed the family's name from Papazian to Martin.[9] Her maternal grandparents, who were from Constantinople, started the Armenian School at the Chestnut Street Church in Portland, Maine.[10][11][12][8][13][14][15] Andrea's father owned Martin's Foods, a grocery-store chain.[16] She has mentioned that although her grandparents "did not know what assimilation was," her parents worked hard to assimilate into the U.S. As such, Martin only connected with her ancestry later in life.[17]

When she was two years old, her mother was recovering from a broken leg, so she would often read to her daughter. She and her mother would often take turns reading Shakespeare, Paul Revere's Ride, and Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven. She took piano lessons when she was eight, reciting a poem about a kitten at the rotunda of the Portland Museum of Art and playing the piano there. Martin transferred from Nathan Clifford School to St. Joseph's Academy before entering high school. She graduated from Deering High School in 1965, where she was a member of the Dramatic Club and won Miss Deering High 1965.[10]

Career

Martin won a role in a touring company of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. After frequent visits to Toronto, she relocated from New York City to Toronto in 1970 and immediately found steady work in television, film, and theater.

In 1972, Martin played the character Robin in a Toronto production of Godspell, with a company that included future stars Gilda Radner, Martin Short, Eugene Levy, and Victor Garber, and musical director Paul Shaffer.[18] Two of her early film roles were in horror films, 1973's Cannibal Girls (directed by Ivan Reitman), for which she won the Sitges Film Festival Award for Best Actress, and 1974's Black Christmas.

In 1976, she joined then-unknowns John Candy, Dave Thomas, Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Harold Ramis, and Joe Flaherty on the Canadian sketch comedy television series, SCTV, which was set at fictional television station "Second City Television", or SCTV, in Melonville. Martin most notably portrayed leopard print-wearing station manager Edith Prickley, whose dealings with the staff, including president/owner Guy Caballero, clueless newscaster Earl Camembert, and washed-up actor Johnny LaRue, helped to provide much of the show's humor. Other notable characters Martin played included Pirini Scleroso, an immigrant from Eastern Europe, organ saleswoman Edna Boil, feminist TV show host Libby Wolfson, and children's entertainer Mrs. Falbo. Her talent for impersonation was key in her humorous portrayals of Barbra Streisand, Anne Murray, Ethel Merman, Arlene Francis, Pauline Kael, Sally Field, Sophia Loren, Beverly Sills, Lynn Redgrave, Linda Lavin, Bernadette Peters, Liza Minnelli, Connie Francis, Mother Teresa, Joni Mitchell, Alice B. Toklas, Patti Smith, Brenda Vaccaro, and Indira Gandhi.[19] In 1981, Martin was Emmy-nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Variety Show for her work in SCTV.

Her 1970s stage work eventually included the Toronto branch of the improvisational comedy troupe The Second City, a group which produced almost the entire cast of SCTV. In 1992, she made her Broadway debut in the musical My Favorite Year, for which she won the Tony Award, Theatre World Award, and Drama Desk Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.[20]

Her additional Broadway credits include Candide (1997) and Oklahoma! (2002), and the Broadway premiere of Young Frankenstein (2007), all of which brought her Tony Award nominations for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.[21]

Martin starred alongside Geoffrey Rush and Susan Sarandon in the Broadway revival of Exit the King. For her performance as Juliette, she was nominated for a Drama Desk and an Outer Critics Circle Award. She wrote and performed in the critically acclaimed one-woman show Nude, Nude, Totally Nude in Los Angeles and New York City,[22] receiving a 1996 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding One Person Show.

Her other theater credits include the leads in The Rose Tattoo and Betty's Summer Vacation, for which she won the Elliot Norton Award for Best Actress, both produced at the Huntington Theatre in Boston. During the winter of 2012–2013, she played Berthe, Pippin's grandmother, in the American Repertory Theater production of Pippin in Cambridge, Massachusetts, singing the classic song "No Time At All".[23] The show transferred to Broadway at the Music Box Theatre and opened in April 2013. For Pippin Martin won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical, the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical and the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. Martin's last performance as Berthe in the Broadway production of Pippin was on September 22, 2013. She appeared on Broadway in the new play written and directed by James Lapine, Act One, for which she received the Outer Critics Circle Award.[24][25]

Martin played Wanda Falbo the Word Fairy in a series of short segments on Sesame Street, debuting in 1989. The character was based on Mrs. Falbo, one of Martin's SCTV characters. She also appeared on Kate & Allie as the executive producer of a low-rated cable channel, which was spun-off into her own CBS series, Roxie. Martin is known to Star Trek fans as one of two actresses to play Ishka, Quark's mother, in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

Martin has won two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program in 1982 and 1983. She has done considerable voice work in animated film and television productions such as Anastasia, The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, Rugrats, The Secret of NIMH 2: Timmy to the Rescue, The Simpsons, Recess, The New Woody Woodpecker Show, Earthworm Jim, Kim Possible, The Buzz on Maggie, SpongeBob SquarePants, and Brother Bear 2. She also appeared in the 1993 television adaptation of Gypsy starring Bette Midler.[26]

In 1997, Martin starred in the television series Life... and Stuff.[27]

Her screen credits include All Over the Guy, in which she played Dr. Ellen Wyckoff—Dan Bucatinsky's therapist mother, Club Paradise, Wag the Dog, All I Want for Christmas, Worth Winning, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Stepping Out, The Producers, and My Big Fat Greek Wedding, in which she portrayed Aunt Voula, a role she reprised in the small-screen adaptation, My Big Fat Greek Life, the 2016 sequel, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 and My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 (2023).

In 2006, she played a major role in the remake of Black Christmas. She played Helaine in the 2009 breakout independent film Breaking Upwards. In the episode titled Pupil, she played an emergency room patient on the Showtime series, Nurse Jackie, which was aired July 27, 2009. In 2012, she provided the voice of Penny in the American Dad! episode "Stan's Best Friend" and appeared in an episode of 30 Rock titled "My Whole Life Is Thunder." Martin appeared in Night at the Museum 3 and Hulu's original series, Difficult People, starring Billy Eichner and Julie Klausner, and produced by Amy Poehler. It premiered August 5, 2015. She played Prudy Pingleton on Hairspray Live!, which aired on December 7, 2016.

She appears in the NBC sitcom Working the Engels.

In late 2015 to early 2016, Martin performed as Dotty Otley in the limited-run Roundabout Theatre Company revival of Noises Off, directed by Jeremy Herrin. Martin was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her performance.

Martin tours throughout Canada and the United States in her one-woman show, Andrea Martin: Final Days, Everything Must Go! with her musical director Seth Rudetsky.

In 2018, Martin, along with fellow Canadians Seth Rogen and Leonard Cohen, was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame.[28]

Martin was set to perform on Broadway opposite Nathan Lane beginning March 2019 in the world premiere of Taylor Mac's new comedy Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus, directed by George C. Wolfe. On March 4, 2019, Martin withdrew from the production, having broken four ribs in an accident during rehearsal.[29]

In 2024, Martin appeared on Broadway, in the Lincoln Center production of Ayad Akhtar's McNeal, along with Robert Downey Jr., who played the title character.[30]

Personal life

Martin divides her time between Los Angeles and Toronto,[31] and, in 2017, became a Canadian citizen.[32][33] She was previously married to Bob Dolman and had two sons with him, Joe and Jack. She has a grandchild via her elder son.[34] Through her marriage to Dolman, she was the sister-in-law of actor/comedian Martin Short, who married Dolman's sister Nancy.

Martin, alongside Tina Fey, is a frequent attendee of the annual Children of Armenia Fund (COAF), a benefit that aims to raise money for impoverished children in Armenia.[35]

Martin is a close friend of Tina Fey, citing an Armenian-Greek kinship that she felt on the set of Hulu’s Difficult People.[36]

Filmography

Film

More information Year, Title ...
Year Title Role Notes Ref.
1971Foxy LadyGirl Next Door
1973Cannibal GirlsGloria Wellaby
1974Black ChristmasPhyllis "Phyl" Carlson
1980Wholly Moses!Zipporah
1982Soup for OneConcord Seductress
1986Club ParadiseLinda White
1987InnerspaceWaiting Room Patient
1988Martha, Ruth and EdieRuth
Kid Safe: The VideoKathy TudorEducational video
1989Rude AwakeningApril Stool
Worth WinningClaire Broudy
1990Too Much SunBitsy
1991Stepping OutDorothy
All I Want for ChristmasOlivia
Ted & VenusBag Lady
1992Itsy Bitsy SpiderMusic TeacherShort
The Trial of Red Riding HoodGrandma
1993GypsyMiss Cratchitt
1996BogusPenny
1997AnastasiaPhlegmenkoff, Old Woman (voices) [37]
Wag the DogLiz Butsky
1998The Rugrats MovieAunt Miriam Pickles (voice) [37]
The Secret of NIMH 2: Timmy to the RescueMuriel (voice) [37]
1999Bartok the MagnificentBaba Yaga (voice) [37]
2000BelieveMuriel Twyman
LoserProfessor
2001Hedwig and the Angry InchPhyllis Stein
Recess: School's OutLunchlady Harriet (voice) [37]
All Over the GuyDr. Ellen Wyckoff
Jimmy Neutron: Boy GeniusMs. Fowl (voice) [37]
2002My Big Fat Greek WeddingAunt Voula
2004New York MinuteSenator Anne Lipton
2005The ProducersKiss Me-Feel Me
2006The TV SetBecky
Brother Bear 2Anda (voice) [37]
How to Eat Fried WormsMrs. Bommley
Young TriffieMrs. Grace Melrose
Black ChristmasBarbara 'Ms. Mac' MacHenry
2007Barbie as the Island PrincessQueen Ariana (voice) [37]
2008The Toe TacticHoney
2009Breaking UpwardsHelaine
2012BuzzKillLil Albright
Girl Most LikelyStage Zelda
Delivering the GoodsAnna
2014Night at the Museum: Secret of the TombRose
2016My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2Aunt Voula
Tom and Jerry: Back to OzHungry Tiger (voice) [37]
2017They Shall Not PerishBaidzar Bakalian [38]
2018DianeBobbie
Little ItalyFranca
2023My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3Theia Voula
2025Fantasy LifeHelen
A Very Jonas Christmas MovieDeb
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Television

More information Year, Title ...
Year Title Role Notes
1971The Hart and Lorne Terrific HourBaffin Islander, Anthem Singer #2Episode dated September 18
1975King of KensingtonWilma WilloughbyEpisode: "The Joy of Kensington"
1976The Sunshine HourRegular
The RimshotsTelevision film
1976–77The David Steinberg ShowJulie Liverfoot3 episodes
1976–84Second City TelevisionVariousMain role
1981TitansGeorge SandEpisode: "George Sand"
1986Kate & AllieEddie Gordon2 episodes
1987RoxieRoxie Brinkerhoff6 episodes
1987–2009Sesame StreetWanda Falbo, Various8 episodes
1988The Elephant ShowHerselfEpisode: "Unicef"
PoisonMelissa
The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed GrimleyDeidre FreebusMain role
1989The Tracey Ullman ShowTherapy PatientEpisode #3.20
1991The Carol Burnett ShowSkit characters
1992Camp CandyMrs. WoodenhouseEpisode: "Lucky Dog"
Maniac MansionDr. Fontana BlueEpisode: "Idella's Breakdown"
Darkwing DuckSplatter PhoenixEpisode: "Paint Misbehavin'"
Goof TroopMrs. WilloughbyEpisode: "Goofin' Up the Social Ladder"
Frosty ReturnsMiss CarbuncleTV special [37]
Boris and Natasha: The MovieTootsTelevision film
1992–2002RugratsAunt Miriam Pickles (voice)Recurring character [37]
1992–95Bobby's WorldNafoodjia/Constance (voice)3 episodes
1994Aaahh!!! Real MonstersGromble's Mom (voice)Episode: "Mother, May I" [37]
The Martin Short ShowAlice Manoogan3 episodes
Batman: The Animated SeriesMighty Mom/Lisa Lorraine (voice)Episode: "Make 'Em Laugh" [37]
DuckmanMadame Rosebud (voice)Episode: "A Civil War"
1995Star Trek: Deep Space NineIshkaEpisode: "Family Business"
1995–96Earthworm JimQueen Slug-For-A-Butt (voice)12 episodes
1996DuckmanMayor Gallagher (voice)Episode: "The Longest Weekend"
Freakazoid! Jeepers' Neighbor (voice) Episode: "Statuesque" [37]
1996–97 Waynehead Ms. Neggleoff (voice) 2 episodes [37]
1997Life... and StuffChristineEpisode: "Life... and Fisticuffs"
MeegoConnieEpisode: "The Truth About Cars and Dogs"
The SimpsonsMrs. Nahasapeemapetilon (voice)Episode: "The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons"
1998DamonCarol Czynencko7 episodes
The LionheartsAdditional voicesEpisode: "But Some of My Best Friends Are Clowns"
CatDogTalluhla, Indian (voices)Episode: "All About Cat/Trespassing" [37]
The Wild ThornberrysMother Condor (voice)Episode: "Flight of the Donnie" [37]
Pinky, Elmyra & the BrainMs. Entebee (voice)3 episodes [37]
1998–99HerculesAdditional voices5 episodes
1998–2000Superman: The Animated SeriesMad Harriet (voice)4 episodes [37]
1999Timon & PumbaaQueen Bee (voice)Episode: "To Be Bee or Not to Be Bee"
The Outer LimitsLil VaughnEpisode: "Joyride"
The Norm ShowMillieEpisode: "Norm vs. Death"
1999–2000George and MarthaMartha (voice)26 episodes [37]
1999–2002The New Woody Woodpecker ShowMs. Meany (voice)Main role
2000–01 Recess Lunchlady Harriet (voice) 2 episodes [37]
2001CommittedFrances Wilder2 episodes
DAGBetty WinnEpisode: "Basketball Jones"
Primetime GlickAnne Heche2 episodes
2002Just for LaughsEdith Prickley
EdKaye PazzutiEpisode: "Two Days of Freedom"
Crossing JordanNora KaminskiEpisode: "Miracles & Wonders"
2002–06The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy GeniusMs. Winifred Fowl (voice)Main role (37 episodes) [37]
2003My Big Fat Greek LifeVoula7 episodes
Ozzy & DrixAunti Histamine (voice)Episode: "Aunti Histamine" [37]
2003–07Kim PossibleMrs. Stoppable (voice)Recurring role
2005Chilly BeachLucretia MarinaraEpisode: "You've Got Meat"
Hope & FaithMadame ElizabethEpisode: "Season Finale"
2006Kitchen ConfidentialMargieEpisode: "The Robbery"
Cracking UpCarol BaxterEpisode: "The Fixer"
The Grim Adventures of Billy & MandyMonster Wife (voice)Episode: "Be A-Fred, Be Very A-Fred"
2007St. Urbain's HorsemanSarah HershEpisode: "Part 1 & 2"
SpongeBob SquarePantsMiss Gristlepuss (voice)Episode: "Banned in Bikini Bottom"
2009Nurse JackieMrs. GreenfieldEpisode: "Pupil"
2010Little Mosque on the PrairieDr. Lois KettlebaumEpisode: "The Letter"
Dino DanMrs. Hahn3 episodes
2010–11The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That!Various3 episodes
201230 RockBonnieEpisode: "My Whole Life Is Thunder"
2012–13Fugget About ItThe Virgin Mary, Nonna (voices)3 episodes [37]
2013Crash & BernsteinMother GreenEpisode: "Crash on the Run"
2014Working the EngelsCeil Engel12 episodes
American Dad!Sri Lankan Worker (voice)Episode: "Now and Gwen"
2015The Jack and Triumph ShowElena EkalakavarakovaEpisode: "The Commercial"
Modern FamilyFig WilsonEpisode: "White Christmas"
2015–17Difficult PeopleMarilyn Kessler26 episodes
2016Hairspray Live!Prudy PingletonTV special
2017Unbreakable Kimmy SchmidtLinda P.Episode: "Kimmy Googles the Internet!"
2017–18Great NewsCarol WendelsonMain role
2017–19The Good FightFrancesa Lovatelli6 episodes
2019Will & GraceZusanna ZogginEpisode: "The Pursuit of Happiness"
Elena of AvalorQueen Abigail (voice)2 episodes
2019–21Mickey and the Roadster RacersMrs. Bigby (voice)5 episodes
2020Corner Gas AnimatedHerself (voice)Episode: "The Fat and The Furious" [37]
2021–24EvilSister Andrea20 episodes
2021HarlemRobin Goodman3 episodes
2022Would I Lie to You?HerselfEpisode: "Child Toy Model"
2022–presentOnly Murders in the BuildingJoyRecurring role
2023The Patrick Star ShowAgnes Steelhead (voice)Episode: "Which Witch is Which?"
2025OvercompensatingYates DeanEpisode: "Crown on the Ground"
The Gilded AgeMadame DashkovaSeason 3
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Stage credits

More information Year, Play ...
Year Play Role Venue Notes
1969–70 You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown Lucy US tour
1971 Salvation Performer Manitoba Theatre Center, Winnipeg
1972–73 Godspell Performer Royal Alexandra Theatre and Bayview Playhouse, Toronto
1973–74 Winnie-the-Pooh Rabbit St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, Toronto
1974–75 What's a Nice Country Like You Doing in a State Like This? Performer Theatre in the Dell, Toronto
1978 Candide Old Lady Stratford Festival, Regional
Private Lives Sibyl Chase
1980 She Loves Me Miss Ritter Playwrights Horizons Theatre-in-the-Park, Off-Broadway
1984 Once Upon a Mattress Princess Winnifred Kenley Players, Regional
1992–93 My Favorite Year Alice Miller Vivian Beaumont Theater, Broadway
1994 The Merry Wives of Windsor Mistress Quickly Delacorte Theater, Off-Broadway
1995 Out of This World Juno New York City Center, Encores! concert
1996 The Royal Family Kitty Dean Williamstown Theatre Festival, Regional
1997 Candide Old Lady Gershwin Theatre, Broadway
1998 The Matchmaker Mrs. Levi Williamstown Theatre Festival, Regional
2001 Betty's Summer Vacation Mrs. Siezmagraff Huntington Theatre Company, Regional
2002 Oklahoma! Aunt Eller Gershwin Theatre, Broadway
2004 The Rose Tattoo Serafina Huntington Theatre Company, Regional
A Midsummer Night's Dream Robin Starveling Williamstown Theatre Festival, Regional
The Matchmaker Mrs. Levi Ford's Theatre, Regional
2005 Fiddler on the Roof Golde Minskoff Theatre, Broadway Replacement
2007–08 Young Frankenstein Frau Blucher Hilton Theatre, Broadway
2008 On the Town Madame P. Dilly New York City Center, Encores! concert
2009 Exit the King Juliette Ethel Barrymore Theatre, Broadway
The Torch-bearers Mrs. Nelly Fell Williamstown Theatre Festival, Regional
2012–13 Pippin Berthe American Repertory Theater, Regional
2013–14 Music Box Theatre, Broadway
2014 National tour
Act One Aunt Kate et al. Vivian Beaumont Theater, Broadway
2016 Noises Off Dotty Otley American Airlines Theatre, Broadway
2019–20 A Christmas Carol Ghost of Christmas Past Lyceum Theatre, Broadway
2024 McNeal Stephie Banic Vivian Beaumont Theater, Broadway
2025 Meet the Cartozians Second Stage Theater, Broadway
2026 High Spirits Madame Arcati New York City Center, Encores! concert
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Awards and nominations

Film and TV

Theatre

More information Year, Award ...
YearAwardCategoryWorkResult
1993 Tony Award Best Featured Actress in a Musical My Favorite Year Won
Drama Desk Award Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical Won
Theatre World Award Honoree
1996 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Solo Performance Nude Nude Totally Nude Nominated
1997 Tony Award Best Featured Actress in a Musical Candide Nominated
Drama Desk Award Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical Nominated
2002 Tony Award Best Featured Actress in a Musical Oklahoma! Nominated
Drama Desk Award Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical Nominated
Outer Critics Circle Award Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical Nominated
Elliot Norton Award Outstanding Actress, Large Company Betty's Summer Vacation Won
2008 Tony Award Best Featured Actress in a Musical Young Frankenstein Nominated
Drama Desk Award Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical Nominated
2009 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play Exit the King Nominated
Outer Critics Circle Award Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play Nominated
2013 Tony Award Best Featured Actress in a Musical Pippin Won
Drama Desk Award Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical Won
Drama League Award Distinguished Performance Nominated
Outer Critics Circle Award Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical Won
Astaire Award Outstanding Female Dancer in a Broadway Show Nominated
Elliot Norton Award Outstanding Musical Performance by an Actress Won
2014 IRNE Award Best Supporting Actress in a Musical Won
Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award Featured Performance Nominated
Outer Critics Circle Award Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play Act One Won
2016 Tony Award Best Featured Actress in a Play Noises Off Nominated
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Published works

  • Martin, Andrea (2014). Andrea Martin's Lady Parts. Harper. ISBN 978-0062387288.

References

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