Kim Delaney (born 29 November 1958) is an Emmy Award-winning American actress, best known for her role as Detective Diane Russell on the ABC drama NYPD Blue But it was her iconic role as Jenny Gardner on the ABC daytime drama All My Children that first brought her fame, and a permanent place in the heart of many daytime television viewers. After All My Children, she went on to star in several other television series and films. She currently stars on the Lifetime television drama Army Wives.

Biography

Early life

Delaney, an Irish American, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Joan and Jack Delaney.KIM DELANEY | NYPD Blue | Cover Story | News + Notes | Entertainment Weekly Delaney's mother was a homemaker and her father a union official and former head of the United Auto Workers.TELEVISION/RADIO; Another Series Sees What It Needs in Kim Delaney - New York TimesKim Delaney Biography - Yahoo! Movies She grew up in Roxborough and has four brothers: Ed, John, Keith, and Patrick. While she was attending John W. Hallahan Catholic High School for Girls, (as part of the class of 1976) she worked as a model for the Elite agency. After her graduation, she went to New York and found employment there as a model. At the same time, she studied acting with renowned trainer William Esper.

Career

Delaney first became a Star for her stint as innocent teenager Jenny Gardner Nelson on the soap opera All My Children, a character she portrayed from August 1981 to August 1984. Her leading man was "Greg Nelson," played by Laurence Lau. After her marriage to "Greg," and at the height of her popularity (indeed, her Q rating in 1984, a ratio of an actor's likeability and recognizability, was the highest in daytime, outranking other daytime icons of the era like Susan Lucci, Deidre Hall, Genie Francis, and Tony Geary), Kim decided to leave the series; consequently, Jenny later died in an explosion of a jet ski. Delaney began acting in feature films after leaving All My Children. In 1985, she appeared with Emilio Estevez in "That Was Then, This is Now." In 1986, she played a young nun in the military action movie "The Delta Force," starring Chuck Norris. In 1987, she was cast as Amanda Jones in "Some Kind of Wonderful" opposite Peter Gallagher, but before filming, new director Howard Deutch replaced her with his future wife Lea Thompson (Gallagher's role was also recast, with Craig Sheffer). In 1988, Delaney tried to establish herself in more adult roles by starring in "The Drifter.", which featured her first on screen nude scene. The film failed to do well at the box office. In 1994, she acted in the film The Force, with Yasmine Bleeth and Jason Gedrick.