  amanda peet (born january 11, 1972) is an american actress and playwright who has appeared in film, stage and television. after studying with uta hagen at columbia university, peet began her career in television commercials, and progressed to small roles on television, before making her film debut in 1995. featured roles in films such as the 2000 comedy film the whole nine yards brought her wider recognition. she has appeared in a variety of films, including the 2001 comedy saving silverman, the 2003 romantic comedy something's gotta give, the 2003 psychological thriller film identity, the 2005 action-thriller syriana, the 2006 comedy-drama remake griffin & phoenix, the 2007 romantic comedy the ex, the 2008 science fiction film the x-files: i want to believe and the 2009 disaster adventure drama 2012. she has also appeared in the 1999 drama series jack & jill and the 2006 drama series studio 60 on the sunset strip. ==early life== peet was born in new york city, the daughter of penny (nÃ©e levy), a social worker, and charles d. peet, jr., a corporate lawyer.amanda peet biography (1972-) her parents are divorced. her maternal great-grandfathers were samuel levy, a lawyer, businessman, and public official, who served as manhattan borough president, and samuel roxy rothafel, a theatrical impresario and entrepreneur. peet's father is a quaker and peet's mother is jewish.{{cite news|last=flatley|first=guy|title=amanda peet&mdash;a girl who's best when she's baaaad!|pages=|publisher=moviecrazed|date=august 31, 2000|url=http://www.moviecrazed.com/outpast/peet.html|accessdate=may 14, 2007| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20070626155241/http://www.moviecrazed.com
1972_births 20th-century_American_actresses 21st-century_American_actresses 21st-century_American_writers 21st-century_women_writers Actresses_from_New_York_City American_film_actresses American_people_of_Jewish_descent American_stage_actresses American_television_actresses American_women_dramatists_and_playwrights Columbia_University_alumni Living_people People_from_Manhattan Writers_from_New_York_City