# Christine Estabrook

Christine Estabrook (born Mary Christine Estabrook; September 13, 1952) is an American actress, known for her roles on the television series The Crew, Nikki, Desperate Housewives, and American Horror Story; she had a recurring role on the drama Mad Men during the show's fifth, sixth, and seventh seasons. Estabrook has received an Obie Award and Drama Desk Award.

## Early life

Estabrook was born to Julianne Shed in East Aurora, New York, and graduated from East Aurora High School. She has three brothers and one sister.

## Career

At the O'Neill National Playwrights Conference, she created the role of the young daughter in Kevin O'Morrison's Ladyhouse Blues, which then moved to off-Broadway. On Broadway, she was in The Inspector General and Andrei Șerban's production of The Cherry Orchard. She won an Obie Award for her off-Broadway performance in Deborah Eisenberg's Pastorale, at the Second Stage Theater. She created the role of Helen opposite William H. Macy in Durang's Baby with the Bathwater at Playwrights Horizons. On Broadway, she took over the role of Feni in Wendy Wasserstein's The Sisters Rosensweig. In the fall of 2006, she returned to Broadway in the musical Spring Awakening, playing all the adult female roles.
Since the 1990s, she has mostly done TV and movies, the latter including include Second Sight, Sea of Love, Presumed Innocent, and Spider-Man 2.
She had a recurring role on the ABC television series, Desperate Housewives playing Martha Huber, the widowed, nosy neighbor of the street. Her other appearances include a 2002 episode of the HBO series, Six Feet Under, wherein she played Emily Previn, a woman who died alone without any family or friends. The episode sparked much discussion in the following days about the character's death. Estabrook has also guest-starred on 7th Heaven, Dharma and Greg, The Guardian, Veronica Mars, and NYPD Blue. In 2009, she guest-starred in two episodes of the CBS drama Ghost Whisperer as Evelyn James, Eli's mom.
In 2011, she appeared on the first season of FX series Murder House as Marcy. She later appeared in a recurring role in the AMC cable-television series Mad Men, playing Joan Harris' mother, Gail Holloway.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1979 | The Bell Jar | Student editor | |
| 1982 | The Wall | Rutka | |
| 1984 | The Lost Honor of Kathryn Beck | Janet Reiss | Television movie |
| 1985 | Almost You | Maggie | |
| 1989 | Sea of Love | Gina Gallagher | |
| 1989 | Second Sight | Priscilla Pickett | |
| 1990 | Presumed Innocent | Lydia MacDougall | |
| 1991 | One Special Victory | Ruthie | Television movie |
| 1995 | The Usual Suspects | Dr. Plummer | |
| 1995 | Kidnapped: In the Line of Duty | — | Television movie |
| 1996 | Special Report: Journey to Mars | — | Television movie |
| 1997 | Murder Live! | Dr. Christine Winter | Television movie |
| 2002 | Chance | Desiree | |
| 2003 | Living in Walter's World | Robin | Short film |
| 2003 | Grind | Sarah Jensen | |
| 2004 | Catch That Kid | Sharon | |
| 2004 | Spider-Man 2 | Mrs. Jameson | |
| 2006 | Lovers, Liars & Lunatics | Elaine Rayne | |
| 2008 | Meet Marker | Mom | |
| 2010 | Backyard Wedding | Joanne Blake | Television movie |
| 2016 | Is That a Gun in Your Pocket? | Shirley Parsons | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1984 | George Washington | Abigail Adams | 3 episodes |
| 1985 | Hometown | Jane Parnell | 9 episodes |
| 1987 | Tales from the Darkside | Irene | Episode: "The Enormous Radio" |
| 1990 | L.A. Law | Susan Parral | Episode: "Blood, Sweat and Fears" |
| 1993 | Frasier | Lou | Episode: "Miracle on Third or Fourth Street" |
| 1994 | The X-Files | Agent Henderson | Episode: "Young at Heart" |
| 1995 | Cybill | Patty | Episode: "The Replacements" |
| 1995–96 | The Crew | Lenora Zwick | 21 episodes |
| 1997 | The Practice | Judge Maureen Zisk | Episode: "Part VI" |
| 1997 | Dharma & Greg | Lindsay | Episode: "Haus Arrest" |
| 1997 | Almost Perfect | Lindsay Wolf | Episode: "Where No Man Has Gone Before" |
| 1998 | The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer | Mary Todd Lincoln | 4 episodes |
| 1999 | Ally McBeal | Bonnie Mannix | Episode: "The Green Monster" |
| 2000 | Chicago Hope | Rene Sederberg | Episode: "Boys Will Be Girls" |
| 2000 | Titus | Juanita Titus | Episode: "Mom's Not Nuts" |
| 2000 | Touched by an Angel | Kate Radcliff | Episode: "Pandora's Box" |
| 2000–02 | Nikki | Marion | 11 episodes |
| 2002 | Six Feet Under | Emily Previn | Episode: "The Invisible Woman" |
| 2002 | Crossing Jordan | Anne Lauer | Episode: "Scared Straight" |
| 2002–03 | The Guardian | Aunt Liz | 2 episodes |
| 2004 | 7th Heaven | Ruthie's teacher | Episode: "Don't Speak Ill of the Living or the Dead" |
| 2004–12 | Desperate Housewives | Martha Huber | 12 episodes |
| 2004 | Strong Medicine | Berri Kaplan | Episode: "Quarantine" |
| 2004 | NYPD Blue | Lynn Cahill | Episode: "The 3-H Club" |
| 2005 | Veronica Mars | Madame Sophie | Episode: "Blast from the Past" |
| 2006 | Numb3rs | Laura Price | Episode: "Dark Matter" |
| 2006 | Bones | Lisa Supac | Episode: "The Titan on the Tracks" |
| 2008 | Law & Order | Hensley's attorney | Episode: "Angelgrove" |
| 2009 | Ghost Whisperer | Evelyn James | 2 episodes |
| 2010 | Nip/Tuck | Sheila Carlton | Episode: "Sheila Carlton" |
| 2011 | American Horror Story: Murder House | Marcy | 6 episodes |
| 2012–15 | Mad Men | Gail Holloway | 8 episodes |
| 2012 | Anger Management | Judy | Episode: "Charlie Gets Romantic" |
| 2013 | Rules of Engagement | Moderator | Episode: "Baby Talk" |
| 2014 | State of Affairs | Therapist | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2015 | Looking | Realtor | Episode: "Looking for Sanctuary" |
| 2015 | Blunt Talk | Mel | Episode: "The Queen of Hearts" |
| 2015–16 | American Horror Story: Hotel | Marcy | 3 episodes |
| 2016 | Designated Survivor | Governor Chris Nichols | Episode: "The Interrogation" |
| 2016, 2018 | Crazy Ex-Girlfriend | Mrs. Patricia Davis | 2 episodes |
| 2018 | American Woman | Peggy | 3 episodes |
| 2018-2019 | 9-1-1 | Gloria Wagner | 2 episodes |
| 2019 | Why Women Kill | Joyce Dubner | 1 episode |
| 2020 | Brooklyn Nine-Nine | Margaret Fogle | Episode: "Debbie" |
| 2020 | Bless This Mess | Maryanne | Episode: "The Table" |

### Stage

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1976 | Ladyhouse Blues | Eylie | |
| 1976–77 | Marco Polo | Princess Kogatin | |
| 1977 | The Cherry Orchard | Dunyasha | |
| 1978 | The Inspector General | Marya Antonovna | |
| 1978 | City Sugar | Nicola Davies | |
| 1979 | Ladyhouse Blues | Eylie | |
| 1981 | Inadmissible Evidence | Joy | |
| 1982 | Pastorale | Rachel | |
| 1983 | What I Did Last Summer | Elsie | |
| 1983 | Win/Lose/Draw | Various | Nominated—Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play |
| 1983–84 | Baby with the Bathwater | Helen | |
| 1984 | The Flight of the Earls | Bridgette Earl | |
| 1985–88 | I'm Not Rappaport | Clara | |
| 1988–89 | For Dear Life | Dottie | |
| 1988 | The Boys Next Door | Sheila | Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play |
| 1989 | The Widow's Blind Date | Maggy Burke | |
| 1990 | What a Man Weighs | Joan | |
| 1993–94 | The Sisters Rosensweig | Pfeni Rosensweig | |
| 2006–07 | Spring Awakening | The Adult Woman | |