Wiest is also an Emmy, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild Award winner. Executive producer Dick Wolf says of her, “Having a female actor of this caliber is unprecedented on series television. Dianne has won virtually every major film award and has established herself as one of the finest actors of her generation.”

Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Wiest began her career as a member of the American Shakespeare Company. She went on to earn the Obie, Clarence Derwent and Theatre World Awards for Best Actress for her performance in “The Art of Dining” in 1983. She made her stage directorial debut with “Not About Heroes” at the Williamstown (Massachusetts) Playhouse in 1985.

Wiest made her first television appearance in a PBS Great Performances presentation of Elie Wiesel’s “Zalmen, or the Madness of God.” Other notable television appearances include: a guest appearance on the series “Road to Avonlea,” for which she received an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama; the recent movie, “The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn,” starring opposite Sidney Poitier; and the miniseries “The 10th Kingdom.”

Wiest has performed in five of director Woody Allen’s films, winning Best Supporting Actress Oscars for “Hannah and Her Sisters” and “Bullets Over Broadway”; her other Allen films include “The Purple Rose of Cairo,” “September” and “Radio Days.” She has also appeared in many other memorable features, including “Footloose,” “Independence Day,” Joel Schumacher’s “The Lost Boys,” “Bright Lights, Big City,” Ron Howard’s “Parenthood,” Susan Seidelman’s “Cookie,” Tim Burton’s “Edward Scissorhands,” Jodie Foster’s “Little Man Tate,” Mike Nichols’ “The Birdcage,” and Robert Redford’s “The Horse Whisperer.” Wiest will star in the upcoming Merchant-Ivory film “Merci, Docteur Rey” and will be featured in “I Am Sam,” opposite Sean Penn and Michelle Pfeiffer.

Wiest currently resides in New York City. Her birthday is March 28.