Constance Zimmer

Constance Zimmer is an American actress born on October 11, 1970, in Seattle, Washington. She is widely recognized for her television roles, notably portraying studio executive Dana Gordon in the HBO series Entourage and associate attorney Claire Simms in the ABC legal drama Boston Legal. She also gained widespread acclaim for her performance as television producer Quinn King in the Lifetime series UnREAL.

Zimmer was raised by German immigrant parents from East Prussia, who divorced when she was very young. Raised alongside an older sister, she learned to speak fluent German by spending six weeks every summer with her grandmother in Germany. Zimmer fell in love with acting during high school and subsequently pursued formal training at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Pasadena.

Her stage career was highlighted by a winning portrayal in a Los Angeles production of Catholic School Girls, which earned her a Dramalogue Award for Best Actress. Following her stage work and appearances in national television commercials, such as a prominent campaign for Duracell, she began making guest television appearances on shows including Ellen, Seinfeld, The X-Files, Gideon's Crossing, and The King of Queens. She also secured recurring roles on The Wayans Bros., Hyperion Bay, and The Trouble With Normal, as well as roles in independent films like Spin Cycle, Home Room, and Warm Blooded Killers.

Zimmer landed her first television series regular role on the NBC comedy Good Morning, Miami, portraying office assistant Penny Barrington. She followed this with a recurring role as Sister Lilly Waters on CBS's Joan of Arcadia, alongside guest spots on NYPD Blue and Jake in Progress. In 2005, she featured in the short film Just Pray, directed by Tiffani Thiessen and accepted into the Tribeca Film Festival. The following year, she joined the cast of In Justice before taking on her role in Boston Legal. Simultaneously, she portrayed industry powerhouse Dana Gordon on Entourage from 2005 to 2011.

She continued her work with the NBC summer series Love Bites and a guest appearance on Royal Pains, while also performing in the premiere play Girls Talk. Between 2013 and 2018, Zimmer appeared on the Netflix series House of Cards and provided the voice for Strongarm in the animated series Transformers: Robots in Disguise from 2014 to 2017.

In 2014, Zimmer was cast in her critically acclaimed role as Quinn King on UnREAL, which aired for four seasons until July 2018. Her performance brought her a Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series and a Primetime Emmy Award nomination in 2016. In 2015, she played Rosalind Price in a recurring role on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and beginning in 2017, she served as a semi-regular panelist on Match Game.

In her personal life, Zimmer was previously married to special effects artist Steve Johnson. She later gave birth to a daughter, Colette Zoe, in 2008 with director Russ Lamoureux, whom she married in October 2010. Zimmer actively supports several charitable causes, including the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Heifer International, and the Natural Resources Defense Council.