Early life

Amick was born in Sparks, Nevada, a few miles east of Reno, the daughter of Judy, a medical office manager, and Bill Amick, a musician. Amick's parents are partly German; the name Mädchen (in German ), which means "girl" or "maiden" in German, was chosen by her parents, because they wanted an unusual name. She is also of Norwegian, Swedish, English and Irish descent. As a young girl, Amick was encouraged by her parents to follow her creative instincts. She learned to play the piano, bass, violin and guitar and took lessons in tap, ballet, jazz and modern dance. In 1987, at the age of 16, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting.

Career

After moving to Los Angeles, Amick appeared on Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) as well as in The Borrower (1991). Amick got her first break when director David Lynch chose her to play waitress Shelly Johnson on the TV series Twin Peaks. Amick's character endured terrible sexual and emotional abuse at the hands of her perverted husband, Leo, and was one of the most popular characters, ensuring her return in the feature film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me. In 1992, Amick appeared in the Stephen King horror movie Sleepwalkers. She has also appeared in television movies, such as Love, Cheat and Steal (1993). A highlight of Amick's film career is the 1994 feature film Dream Lover, a thriller in which she co-starred with James Spader. Amick also appeared in the romantic comedy French Exit (1995) and the science fiction thriller Bombshell (1996).

Amick's return to network television came in the fall of 1995 with the much-publicized CBS primetime soap opera Central Park West. In 1998, Amick starred in the updated edition of Fantasy Island. Both shows only lasted one season.

After a decade of roles that failed to ignite the publicity Twin Peaks had, Amick gradually became a noticeable face in television with recurring roles on Gilmore Girls, ER, Jake in Progress, and Joey. In 2006, Amick was a regular in the sitcom Freddie which was subsequently cancelled. Amick guest starred in a number of episodes of the serial thriller Kidnapped on NBC, playing a strange and deadly assassin. She also had a recurring role in the second season of Dawson's Creek as the lead character's substitute film studies teacher. In 2007, she had a lead role in the short-lived CBS musical series Viva Laughlin.

Amick had a recurring role in season 2 of Gossip Girl as Nate Archibald's "cougar" love interest, and she also appears in the second season of the Showtime series Californication. In 2008, Amick starred as Christian Slater's wife on the NBC series My Own Worst Enemy. In 2010, Amick played Danielle Marchetti on the FX series Damages. In 2011 she appeared in the post-apocalyptic film Priest.

In 2013, Amick began starring in the Lifetime supernatural drama Witches of East End opposite Julia Ormond, Rachel Boston and Jenna Dewan-Tatum. Amick's character Wendy Beauchamp was originally a guest star, but she later became a permanent character after shooting the pilot episode. On August 6, 2015 Amick joined the cast of American Horror Story: Hotel as a mother whose son is ailing.

Personal life

Amick has been married to songwriter David Alexis since 1992. They have a son, Sylvester Time, and a daughter, Mina Tobias.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1990	Don't Tell Her It's Me	Mandy
1991	Borrower, TheThe Borrower	Megan
1992	Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me	Shelly Johnson
1992	Sleepwalkers	Tanya Robertson
1993	Dream Lover	Lena Mathers	Nominated - Saturn Award for Best Actress
1993	Love, Cheat & Steal	Lauren Harrington
1994	Trapped in Paradise	Sarah Collins
1995	French Exit	Zina
1996	Bombshell	Angeline
1997	Wounded	Julie Clayton
1998	Twist of Fate	Rachel Dwyer
2000	List, TheThe List	Grace Mitchell
2001	Italian Ties	Jamie
2001	Scenes of the Crime	Carmen
2002	Global Effect	Dr. Sera Levitt
2005	Four Corners of Suburbia	Rachel Samson
2011	Priest	Shannon Pace

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1989	Star Trek: The Next Generation	Teenage girl Anya	Episode: "The Dauphin"
1989	Baywatch	Laurie Harris	Episode: "Panic at Malibu Pier"
1990	Great American Sex Scandal, TheThe Great American Sex Scandal	Miss Doddsworth	TV movie
1990	I'm Dangerous Tonight	Amy	TV movie
1990-91	Twin Peaks	Shelly Johnson	Series regular, 30 episodes Nominated - Soap Opera Digest Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress: Prime Time
1991	For the Very First Time	Rhonda	TV movie
1995	Courtyard, TheThe Courtyard	Lauren	TV movie
1995	Fallen Angels	Mrs. Cordell	Episode: "Love and Blood"
1995-96	Central Park West	Carrie Fairchild	Series regular, 21 episodes
1997	Heartless	Ann 'Annie' O'Keefe	TV movie
1998	Hunted, TheThe Hunted	Samantha Clark	TV movie
1998-99	Fantasy Island	Ariel	Series regular, 13 episodes
1999	Dawson's Creek	Nicole Kennedy	3 episodes
1999	Mr. Rock 'n' Roll: The Alan Freed Story	Jackie McCoy	TV movie
2001	Hangman	Grace Mitchell	TV movie
2002	Rats, TheThe Rats	Susan Costello	TV movie
2002-03	Gilmore Girls	Sherry Tinsdale	3 episodes (Season 2)
2003	Queens Supreme	Lisa Salinger	Episode: "The House Next Door"
2003	Wild Card	Crystal Stevenson	Episode: "Black Sheep"
2003	Ed	Celeste 'CeCe' Royce	Episode: "Home for Christmas"
2004-05	ER	Wendall Meade	10 episodes
2005	Lies and Deception	Jean Brooks	TV movie
2005	Jake in Progress	Kylie	Episode: "Pilot" Episode: "Check Please"
2005	Joey	Sara	5 episodes
2005-06	Freddie	Allison	Series regular, 22 episodes
2006	Law & Order	Alissa Goodwyn	Episode: "Home Sweet"
2006-07	Kidnapped	Yvonne Guttman	3 episodes
2007	Viva Laughlin	Natalie Holden	Series regular, 8 episodes
2008	Shark	Gina Romero	Episode: "One Hit Wonder"
2008	Verdict, TheThe Verdict	Christine	TV pilot
2008	Gossip Girl	Duchess Catherine Beaton	4 episodes
2008	Californication	Janie Jones	5 episodes
2008	My Own Worst Enemy	Angelica 'Angie' Spivey	Series regular, 9 episodes
2009	Law, TheThe Law	Liz	TV pilot
2010	Pleading Guilty	Brushy	TV pilot
2010	Damages	Danielle Marchetti	5 episodes
2010	CSI: NY	Aubrey Hunter	3 episodes
2010	Unanswered Prayers	Ava Andersson	TV movie
2011	White Collar	Seleena	Episode: "Veiled Threats"
2011	Metro	Mary McCarthy	TV pilot
2012	Psych	Jacqueline Maderos	Episode: "Indiana Shawn and the Temple of the Kinda Crappy, Rusty Old Dagger"
2012	Beauty & the Beast	Lois Whitworth	Episode: "Basic Instinct"
2012	Ringer	Greer Sheridan	Episodes: "It Just Got Normal" and "I'm The Good Twin"
2012	In Plain Sight	Associate Director Susan Campbell	2 episodes
2012	Mad Men	Andrea Rhodes	Episode: "Mystery Date"
2012	Drop Dead Diva	Gina Blunt	2 episodes
2012	Political Animals	Mindy Meyers	Episode: "Lost Boys"
2013-14	Longmire	Deena	3 episodes
2013-14	Witches of East End	Wendy Beauchamp	Lead role; 23 episodes
2015	American Horror Story: Hotel	Mrs. Ellison	3 episodes
2016	Second Chance	Joan Solodar	Episode: "May Old Acquaintance Be Forgot"

[ Source: Wikipedia ]