Portia de Rossi
Portia de Rossi
Arrested Development, Ally McBeal
Portia de Rossi is best known for her roles as lawyer Nelle Porter in FOX's legal comedy drama ALLY MCBEAL and as Lindsay Bluth Funke in ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT.
Born Mandy Rogers in Melbourne, Australia, she acted in TV commercials as a teen but entered college to become a lawyer. She changed course when she was cast as one of the titular beauties tempting the wife of stuffy Hugh Grant in John Duigan's comedy SIRENS (1994). She relocated to Los Angeles and appeared in a couple of TV sitcoms and the blockbuster horror sequel SCREAM 2 (1997) as one of the terrorized sorority sisters.
After a starring role in the TV crime movie PERFECT ASSASSINS (1998), de Rossi joined ALLY MCBEAL in its second season as icy legal hotshot Nelle. The series opened her up to a wider audience, and she continued to act in films like THE INVISIBLES and CURSED.
In 2002, another critically-acclaimed Fox show, the ensemble sitcom ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT, cast her as the self-righteous twin sister of Jason Bateman's Michael Bluth. The show was cancelled after three seasons and she spent the next decade starring in other shows such as NIP/TUCK and BETTER OFF TED. However, the power of ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT'S fanbase brought it back after a decade. The entire cast announced in 2012 that they would reunite for a new season of the show, released directly on Netfix.
She supports a variety of charitable organizations including Gentle Barn, a California-based sanctuary for abused animals.
Portia de Rossi at the Internet Movie Database