Biography of Tea Leoni

Téa Leoni (born Elizabeth Téa Pantaleoni; February 25, 1966) is an American actress. In her early career, she starred in the television sitcoms Flying Blind (1992–93) and The Naked Truth (1995–98). Her breakthrough role was in the 1995 action comedy film Bad Boys. In later years, Leoni had lead roles in films such as Deep Impact (1998), The Family Man (2000), Jurassic Park III (2001), Spanglish (2004), and Fun with Dick and Jane (2005). From 2014 to 2019, she starred as Elizabeth McCord in the CBS political drama series Madam Secretary.

Leoni was born on February 25, 1966, in New York City. Her mother, Emily Ann (née Patterson), was a dietitian and nutritionist, and her father, Anthony Pantaleoni, was a corporate lawyer with the firm Fulbright & Jaworski. Her paternal grandfather was of Italian, English, and Irish descent; he was a nephew of Italian economist and politician Maffeo Pantaleoni. Leoni's paternal grandmother, American silent film actress and humanitarian Helenka Adamowska Pantaleoni, was born in Brookline, Massachusetts to Polish musicians Józef Adamowski and Antonina Szumowska-Adamowska. Leoni's mother is a native of Amarillo, Texas, and a niece of actor Hank Patterson.

Leoni grew up in Englewood, New Jersey, and New York City, and attended two private schools, Brearley School and The Putney School in Vermont. She attended but did not complete studies at Sarah Lawrence College.

In a 2017 episode of Finding Your Roots, hosted by Henry Louis Gates Jr., Leoni discovered that her mother Emily, who was adopted, is the biological daughter of Mavis Abilene Gindratt from Vick, Louisiana, and Sumpter James Daniel, whose ancestors originated in Ireland, settled in Virginia in the early 18th century, and had a plantation in Fairfax County, seven miles from George Washington. Her mother's adoptive parents were Florry Elizabeth (née Roberts) and Virgil Pearson Patterson.