Early life

Armstrong was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the daughter of Louise Allen (née Parlange), who taught at Bryn Mawr, and Alexander Armstrong, an English teacher at the Gilman School. She attended the Bryn Mawr School for Girls and Brown University, from which she graduated with degrees in Latin and Theater (studying acting with Jim Barnhill and John Emigh). While at Bryn Mawr and Brown, Armstrong appeared in over one hundred stage plays.

Career

Armstrong's professional acting career began in 1975 with the Off-Off Broadway debut, Harmony House. Then, in 1977, Armstrong made her television debut as Julia Peters on the CBS sitcom, On Our Own. In 1978 Armstrong starred opposite Richard Thomas in her first TV-movie Getting Married. She co-starred again with Richard Thomas in a 1981 stage production in Seattle of Neil Simon's Barefoot in the Park, from which a video was made for HBO broadcast that year.

Armstrong continued to make several films for both the big and small screens in the 1980s, among them High Road to China opposite Tom Selleck; Jaws 3-D with Dennis Quaid; Alan Alda's The Four Seasons; the TV miniseries Lace; and Nothing in Common, starring Tom Hanks and Jackie Gleason.

The 1990s brought Armstrong to her best-known role, playing Patty Chase on the critically acclaimed series My So-Called Life. She later starred in several television films. In 2000, she appeared on the NBC sitcom Frasier, in the episode "Mary Christmas." In 2008, Armstrong played Penelope Kendall on ABC's Boston Legal. Armstrong remains active in films, television, and the stage. She had a recurring role in the Showtime series House of Lies as Julianne Hotschragar. She also appeared in Castle, Mad Men and NCIS.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1978	Getting Married	Kristine Lawrence	TV Movie
1978	How to Pick Up Girls!	Sally Claybrook	TV Movie
1979	Walking Through the Fire	Walking Through the Fire	TV Movie
1979	11th Victim	Jill Kelso	TV Movie
1981	The Four Seasons	Ginny Newley
1982	Jekyll and Hyde... Together Again	Mary Carew
1983	High Road to China	Eve	Nominated — Saturn Award for Best Actress
1983	Jaws 3-D	Dr. Kathryn 'Kay' Morgan
1983	This Girl for Hire	B.T. Brady
1984	Lace	Judy Hale	TV miniseries
1984	The House of God	Cissy Anderson
1986	Nothing in Common	Donna Mildred Martin
1989	Mother, Mother	Kate Watson
1989	Second Sight	Sister Elizabeth
1993	Dream Lover	Elaine
1993	The Skateboard Kid	Maggie
1994	Serial Mom	Eugene Sutphin's Nurse	Cameo
1994	Take Me Home Again	Connie	TV Movie
1995	She Stood Alone: The Tailhook Scandal	Barbara Pope	TV Movie
1995	Stolen Innocence	Becky Sapp	TV Movie
1995	Mixed Blessings	Pilar Graham Coleman	TV Movie
1996	Forgotten Sins	Roberta 'Bobbie' Bradshaw	TV Movie
1996	The Perfect Daughter	Jill Michaelson	TV Movie
1996	She Cried No	Denise Connell	TV Movie
1996	Christmas Every Day	Molly Jackson	TV Movie
1997	That Darn Cat	Judy Randall
1998	Pecker	Dr. Klompus
1998	Forever Love	Gail	TV Movie
1998	When It Clicks	Betsy Cummings
2000	Diamond Men	Katie Harnish
2002	Her Best Friend's Husband	Mandy Roberts	TV Movie
2008	Corporate Affairs	Emily Parker
2008	Next of Kin	Susan
2012	I Married Who?	Elaine	TV Movie

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1977-1978	On Our Own	Julia Peters	Series regular, 22 episodes
1978	The Love Boat	Laura Stanton	Episode: "The Man Who Loved Women/A Different Girl/Oh, My Aching Brother"
1986	All Is Forgiven	Paula Winters Russell	Series regular, 9 episodes
1990-1991	Married People	Elizabeth Meyers	Series regular, 18 episodes
1992	Tales from the Crypt	Erma	Episode: "What's Cookin"
1994-1995	My So-Called Life	Patty Chase	Series regular, 19 episodes
1998	Touched by an Angel	Mary	Episode: "How Do You Spell Faith?"
1994, 1998	The Nanny	Sarah Sheffield	Episodes: "I Don't Remember Mama" and "The Wedding"
2002	That Was Then	Mickey Glass	Series regular, 4 episodes
2002	Good Morning, Miami	Louise Messinger	Episode: "If It's Not One Thing, It's a Mother"
2000, 2004	Frasier	Kelly Kirkland	Episodes: "Mary Christmas" and "Frasier-Lite"
2008	Boston Legal	Penelope Kimball	Episodes: "Mad About You" and "Made in China"
2009	Criminal Minds	Sheila Hawkes	Episode: "Zoe's Reprise"
2004, 2010	One Tree Hill	Lydia James	Recurring role, 5 episodes
2010	Castle	Paula Casillas	Episode: "He's Dead, She's Dead"
2012	CSI: Crime Scene Investigation	Patricia Lydecker	Episode: "CSI Unplugged"
2012	Mad Men	Catherine Orcutt	Episode: "Far Away Places"
2013	Reckless	Catherine Harrison	TV pilot
2013-2014	House of Lies	Julianne Hotschragar	Recurring role, 10 episodes
2014	NCIS	U.S. Senator Denise O'Hara	Episode: "Dressed to Kill"
2014	Reckless	Melinda Rayder	Recurring role
2015	Zoo	Dr. Elizabeth Oz	Episode: "Fight or Flight"
2016	Damien	Damien's Mother	Episode: "Temptress"

[ Source: Wikipedia ]