Moynahan made her television debut in a guest appearance in the comedy series Sex and the City in 1999, where she would later have a recurring role as the character Natasha. The following year, she made her feature film debut in Coyote Ugly. She was then cast in a supporting role inSerendipity (2001). Moynahan has appeared in an eclectic range of films, including the action film The Sum of All Fears (2002), spy thriller The Recruit (2003), the science-fiction movie I, Robot (2004), and the political thriller Lord of War (2005).
Away from film, Moynahan starred in the ABC television series Six Degrees, which premiered in September 2006. The show, however, was not successful, as it was canceled after one season. Since then, she has returned to film, starring in low-budget features. Moynahan completed work in Elizabeth Allen's Ramona and Beezus, which was released in July 2010. Returning to television, Moynahan stars in theCBS drama Blue Bloods.
In her personal life, Moynahan was in a three-year relationship with screenwriter Scott Rosenberg. She was then in a high-profile relationship with NFL quarterback Tom Brady from 2004 to 2006. In August 2007, she gave birth to Brady's son, John Edward Thomas.
Early life
Moynahan was born in Binghamton, New York, the daughter of Irish American parents Mary Bridget (née Moriarty), a former school teacher, and Edward Bradley Moynahan, a scientist and former administrator at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She has two brothers, Andy and Sean. When she was seven, her parents moved to Longmeadow, Massachusetts. Moynahan attended Longmeadow High School, where she was active with school athletics, where she captained the girls' soccer, basketball and lacrosse teams. In 1989, she graduated from Longmeadow High School. She has admitted that during her childhood, she was a tomboy.
Career
Early workAfter graduating from Longmeadow High School, Moynahan pursued a modeling career, though admits she never read fashion magazines growing up. She had accompanied a friend to a modeling audition in Springfield, Massachusetts and was signed by the modeling agency in place of her friend. She began her career appearing in department store catalogs in Springfield, during which time, she attended theUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst. In her freshman year, Moynahan moved to New York at age 18 and, a year later, began appearing in magazines such as Vogue and Elle, as well as appearing on covers of other widely known magazines. In an interview given in July 2004, Moynahan, discussing her early work, said: "It was a crazy world that paid a lot of money. I liked being a model, but I knew it would never last, so I looked into acting."
During that time, she began doing soap and shampoo commercials, in addition to taking acting and art classes, which led her to pursue a career in acting. She studied acting at the Caymichael Patten Studio in New York and, in 1999, made her television debut as Natasha inHBO's romantic comedy Sex and the City. She would later have a recurring role in the show, until the divorce of her character from Mr. Big(Chris Noth). The following year, she appeared in smaller film roles, including parts in In the Weeds and Whipped.
Breakthrough
Moynahan made her feature film debut in the 2000 comedy-drama Coyote Ugly as Rachel, a bartender/dancer in a wild New York bar, a role that is considered Moynahan's breakthrough. She had accepted the role because she "thought it was interesting that the whole movie revolved around five women ... and my character was so strong and independent." The film garnered generally unfavorable critical reviews, but was a box office success, earning $133 million worldwide. Her next role was a supporting role in 2001 film Serendipity as Hally, the fiancée of John Cusack's character.
Moynahan was then cast opposite Ben Affleck and Morgan Freeman in the action film The Sum of All Fears, based on Tom Clancy's book of the same name. Moynahan plays Dr. Catherine Muller, a strong, independent woman, and love interest for Affleck's Jack Ryan. Dave Larsen of the Dayton Daily News reported that the subplot involving Moynahan and Affleck was "the film's weakest point." The Sum of All Fears received ambivalent reviews, but was a commercial success, earning $193 million at the box office. Her next role was as a CIAtrainee in The Recruit (2003). The movie was not well received, with Mike Clark of USA Today commenting that The Recruit is "less-than-middling melodrama whose subject matter and talent never click as much as its credits portend."
In 2004, Moynahan starred alongside Will Smith in Alex Proyas' science fiction movie I, Robot, loosely based on Isaac Asimov's short story collection of the same name. Moynahan portrays Dr. Susan Calvin, as a specialist in robot psychology. Upon release, I, Robotreceived mixed reviews, though critics enjoyed Moynahan's performance. Daniel Neman of Richmond Times-Dispatch, who disliked the film, concluded that she "turns in an able performance as Dr. Calvin, the convenient character." With revenue of $347 million worldwide, the film remains Moynahan's most commercially successful picture to date. Her next movie was in 2005's Lord of War, a political crime thriller, as Ava Fontaine Orlov, the wife of Nicolas Cage's character. In 2006, Maxim magazine named her number 96 on its annual "Hot 100" list.
In September 2006, away from film, Moynahan starred as Whitney Crane in the ABC television drama series Six Degrees, co-starring alongside Jay Hernandez, Erika Christensen, Hope Davis, Dorian Missick, and Campbell Scott. The series centered around six residents of New York City and their respective relationships and connections with one another, based on the idea of six degrees of separation. It debuted on September 20, 2006, and was watched by almost 13.3 million viewers. Six Degrees debuted to varied reception, with David Hinckley of the New York Daily News writing, "In theory, it's an intriguing concept for a series. But in practice, Six Degrees doesn't work at all in drawing you in at the start." The series was canceled after one season in May 2007.
Moynahan's next film role was in the November 2006 thriller Unknown, about a group of individuals kidnapped, and trying to work together how to escape from their captors. She was next seen in 2007, in Gray Matters, co-starring alongside Heather Graham and Tom Cavanaugh, before being cast in Henry Bean's comedy-drama Noise, as Helen Owen, the wife of David Owen (Tim Robbins). The movie was screened at a special presentation at the 2007 Rome Film Festival and was released in theaters in 2008.
In December 2008, Moynahan guest starred in two episodes of the ABC television comedy-drama Eli Stone, playing the titular character's (Jonny Lee Miller) former girlfriend. Returning to film, as the last feature she starred in was 2007's Noise, Moynahan appeared in Ramona and Beezus, playing the mother to Joey King and Selena Gomez's characters. The film was directed by Elizabeth Allen and released in July 2010. The following year, Moynahan starred alongside Aaron Eckhart, Michelle Rodriguez, and Michael Peña in the action science fiction feature Battle: Los Angeles (2011). Away from film, Moynahan stars in the CBS television drama Blue Bloods, playing a prosecutor named Erin Reagan.
Personal life
Moynahan was in a three-year relationship with screenwriter Scott Rosenberg. Moynahan dated NFL quarterback Tom Brady from 2004 until December 14, 2006. On February 18, 2007, Moynahan's representative confirmed to People that she was more than three months pregnant and that Brady was the father. On August 22, 2007, she gave birth to a baby boy, John Edward Thomas Moynahan, at Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica. In a July 2008 interview in Harper's Bazaar, Moynahan discussed her willingness to raise her son (nicknamed "Jack") as a single mother. Despite media reports that Moynahan and Brady have an acrimonious relationship, it was revealed that the two have maintained "a civil relationship" since the birth of their son.
Moynahan resides in Pacific Palisades, California. In November 2009, it was announced that Moynahan had signed a deal with Garnier to appear in television and print advertising promoting their Nutrisse hair products.
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Row Your Boat | Apartment Owner | |
| In the Weeds | Amy | ||
| Trifling with Fate | Fame | ||
| Coyote Ugly | Rachel | ||
| Whipped | Marie | ||
| Sex and the City | Natasha | Episode: "Twenty-Something Girls vs. Thirty-Something Women" Episode: "Ex and the City" Episode: "Attack of the Five Foot Ten Woman" Episode: "Drama Queens" Episode: "Easy Come, Easy Go" Episode: "Running with Scissors" Episode: "What Goes Around Comes Around" | |
| 2001 | Serendipity | Halley Buchanan | |
| 2002 | The Sum of All Fears | Dr. Cathy Muller | |
| 2003 | The Recruit | Layla Moore | |
| 2004 | I, Robot | Susan Calvin | |
| 2005 | Lord of War | Ava Fontaine | |
| 2006 | Six Degrees | Whitney Crane | |
| Unknown | Eliza Coles | ||
| 2007 | Prey | Amy Newman | |
| Gray Matters | Charlie Kelsey | ||
| Noise | Helen Owen | ||
| 2008 | Eli Stone | Ashley Cardiff | Episode: "Help!" Episode: "Owner of a Lonely Heart" |
| 2010 | Ramona and Beezus | Dorothy Quimby | |
| Blue Bloods | Erin Reagan | ||
| 2011 | Battle: Los Angeles | Michele |
