Leslie Grossman is an American actress, possibly best known for playing the role of Lauren in WB’s sitcom, “What I Like About You”, and her various roles in “American Horror Story” which is still ongoing. Keep reading to learn about the gorgeous 50-year-old actress.
Early Life, Family, Educational Background
Leslie Erin Grossman was born on 25 October 1971 under the zodiac sign of Scorpio, in Los Angeles, California USA. She is of Jewish ethnicity and holds American nationality. The Grossmans adopted Leslie, and she also has a brother – names of her family members haven’t been disclosed.
She matriculated from the private Crossroads Schools for Arts & Sciences, where she participated in many plays, mainly as the director. Afterwards, she attended Sarah Lawrence College and by her senior year had confirmed an interest in acting.
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Career
Leslie Grossman made her movie debut in 1998, playing a minor role as a female student in Don Roos’ romantic comedy, “The Opposite of Sex”. In the same year, she made her television debut when guest-starring as Amy in an episode of Dan Schneider’s “Guys Like Us”.
The following year, she auditioned for the roles of Nicole Julian and Sam McPherson in “Popular,” but was cast in the part of Mary Cherry, the bubbly cheerleader in the popular group, with mother issues, which she went on to play from 1999 through 2001 for 43 episodes, which was eventually written for her.
She went on to land more TV roles, including in 2000 playing Mindy in the TV film “Girl Band”.
Subsequently, she guest-starred in various TV shows such as “Any Day Now” and “Charmed” both in 2002, and in 2003 both “Nip/Tuck” and “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”.
Later in 2003, Grossman landed the supporting role as Lauren, best friend of the Tyler sisters portrayed by Amanda Bynes and Jennie Garth, in “What I Like About You”, holding the role until the show ended in 2006.
She also played Pam in “Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous” in 2005. Then, in 2006, she had the role of Kimmy Ponder in “The Jake Effect” alongside Jason Bateman, Nikki Cox and Greg Grunberg, among others.
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Between 2006 and 2009, Leslie Grossman appeared in C-list movies such as “Running With Scissors” (2006), “Itty Bitty Titty Committee” and “What We Do Is Secret” both in 2007, and “Spring Breakdown” (2009).
In 2008, she guest-starred in “Grey’s Anatomy”, then “In the Motherhood” in 2009). Through 2009 to 2010, Grossman held the recurring role of Darlene Tharp in “10 Things I Hate About You”.
During the following decade, Leslie started to take on more minor roles in television series, including “Hot in Cleveland” and “Drop Dead Diva” in 2011, “The New Normal” (2012), “Major Crimes” (2013), “Modern Family” (2014), “Nicky, Ricky, Dicky and Dawn” (2015), and “Speechless” (2017).
In 2017 and ‘18, she played the role of Donna Shellstrop in NBC’s fantasy comedy series, “The Good Place”. Meantime, in 2017 Leslie Grossman joined the cast of “American Horror Story”, at first playing the role of Meadow Wilton, wife of homosexual personal trainer Harry, whom she made a pact with in high school. Then she played a flashback version of Manson Family gang member and serial killer Patricia Krenwinkel. In 2018, she was promoted to series regular, and played the role of witch Coco St. Pierre Vanderbilt. For the show’s ninth season, she was Margaret Booth, Camp Redwood’s owner, and in its tenth season, “American Horror Story: Double Feature” she returned as the opinionated literary agent Ursula Khan and Death Valley’s abducted dancer, Calico.
The actress has named the character of Ursula Khan as her favorite role to play since she started filming “American Horror Story”.
In 2019, she portrayed Rochelle Purple in Amazon Studios’ legal drama, “Goliath”. She has recently appeared in “Shrill” as Cindy and “The Goldbergs” as Jane Bales both in 2020, and “Love, Victor” (2021) as Georgina Meriwether.
Speaking on her friendship with Sarah Paulson and career as a whole, she said ‘Isn’t the goal to work with your friends and people that you adore? The fact that I get to do that makes me endlessly happy on my favorite workdays.’
Due to her continuous collaboration with Ryan Murphy over the years, she refers to him as her fairy godfather.
Personal Life, Husband, and Children
Leslie Grossman married Jon Bronson on 16 October 1999, and together they adopted their daughter, Goldie Bronson. After 21 years of marriage, Jon Bronson filed for divorce in April 2020 at the Los Angeles County Courts, but they continue to raise their child together.
In an interview with Decider, she revealed that while dealing with her divorce in 2020, and the pandemic, she also lost a close family member, her sister-in-law, Shannon Grossman, to cancer.
Leslie appeared on the “Drew Barrymore Show” on 21 October 2021, ahead of November, which is tagged National Adoption Month.
Speaking about her adoption and that of her daughter, she said, ‘I know it from both sides, and to me, it’s been the most magical life-affirming experience. I just always feel like if you’re adopted, I don’t know if you could’ve been wanted any more than you are.’
Leslie is active on social media, especially Instagram (@lesliegrossman) on which she has 430,000 followers who keep up with her career and life updates. She still lives in Los Angeles, California, with her daughter.
Appearance, Clothing Style
Leslie Grossman is 5ft 5nins (1.65m) tall and weighs around 127.8lbs (58kgs). She has long blonde hair and hazel eyes. Leslie loves wearing flowing dresses.
Hobbies, Favorite Things, and Interesting Facts
- Leslie Grossman was born on the same date as American actor/comedian Craig Robinson.
- She loves animals, but especially dogs.
- She’s a huge fan of the rapper, Jay Z.
- She loves watching her daughter Goldie during horseback riding lessons.
- To Leslie, family time is everything.
- She advocates for women to have autonomy over their bodies.
- Grossman also loves traveling.
Net Worth and Salary
In late 2021, Ms. Grossman has an estimated net worth of $5 million, earned from her successful acting career. Details of property owned by the actress remain undisclosed.
