Kyra Sedgwick

Sedgwick's other film credits include Oliver Stone's Born on the Fourth of July (1989) and Cameron Crowe's Singles (1992). She also had a recurring role as Deputy Chief Madeline Wuntch on the sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

Kyra Sedgwick studied at University of Southern California, Sarah Lawrence College and USC School of Dramatic Arts. The recorded working language is English. Residence is recorded at New York City and Connecticut. Distinctions recorded are Theatre World Award, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series and star on Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Sedgwick was born in New York City on August 19, 1965, the daughter of Patricia (née Rosenwald), a speech teacher and educational/family therapist, and Henry Dwight Sedgwick V, a venture capitalist. Her mother was Jewish and her father was Episcopalian and of English heritage. Sedgwick has identified as Jewish and has stated that she participates in Passover Seders. A member of the Sedgwick family, she is a descendant of William Ellery, a signatory of the Declaration of Independence, and Ellery Sedgwick, an editor of The Atlantic Monthly. She is the sister of actor Robert Sedgwick, the half-sister of jazz guitarist Mike Stern, the first cousin once removed of actress Edie Sedgwick, and the niece of writer John Sedgwick. She is the aunt of R&B singer George Nozuka, actor Philip Nozuka, and singer/songwriter Justin Nozuka (their mother, Holly, is Sedgwick's half-sister). Sedgwick's parents separated when she was four and divorced when she was six. Sedgwick graduated from Friends Seminary and attended Sarah Lawrence College before transferring to the University of Southern California, where she graduated with a theater degree.

Sedgwick obtained her first acting job in 1982 on the television soap opera Another World, portraying Julia Shearer, troubled granddaughter of Liz Matthews. In 1988, she appeared in a TV version of Lanford Wilson's Lemon Sky. In 1989, Sedgwick played the role of Donna in the Oscar-winning Born on the Fourth of July. Sedgwick played the title role in the Emmy Award–winning 1992 TV film Miss Rose White as a Jewish immigrant who comes to terms with her ethnicity. During the 1990s, she appeared in several Hollywood movies, including Singles (1992), Heart and Souls (1993), Something to Talk About (1995; for which she received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress—Motion Picture), Phenomenon (1996; in which she played the love interest of John Travolta's character), and Critical Care (1997). Sedgwick has starred alongside her husband Kevin Bacon in Pyrates (1991), The Woodsman (2004), The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (2022), and The Best You Can (2025). Other film credits include Secondhand Lions (2003), The Game Plan (2007), The Possession (2012), and The Edge of Seventeen (2016). Sedgwick is best known for starring as Brenda Leigh Johnson in the television series The Closer. She played this role from 2005 to 2012. In 2007, she began earning approximately US$300,000 per episode. For this role, Sedgwick earned six consecutive nominations for Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama (winning once), five consecutive nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (winning once), and seven nominations for Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series. The Closer aired its final episode on August 13, 2012, following the completion of its seventh season; the series's broadcaster TNT stated that the decision to end the series was made by Sedgwick. The first episode of Major Crimes—a sequel series that did not feature Sedgwick, but included many other cast members from The Closer—aired immediately following the final episode of The Closer. Sedgwick produced the television series Proof for TNT. The show debuted in 2015 and aired for one season. In 2017, Sedgwick made her directorial debut with Story of a Girl, a television film based on the 2007 novel of the same name by Sara Zarr. It starred Sedgwick's husband Kevin Bacon and her daughter Sosie Bacon, and aired on the Lifetime network. Sedgwick portrayed the character of Madeline Wuntch in the comedy series Brooklyn Nine-Nine. She also played the lead role of Jean Raines in the comedy pilot My Village, written by Kari Lizer. My Village was approved by ABC and re-titled Call Your Mother on May 21, 2020, for the 2020–2021 television season. In 2023, Sedgwick played the role of Aunt Julia in season 2 of the drama series The Summer I Turned Pretty.

Sedgwick and Kevin Bacon were married on September 4, 1988, about 18 months after meeting on the set of PBS's adaptation of Lanford Wilson's Lemon Sky. They have two children, Travis Sedgwick Bacon and actress Sosie Bacon. The family splits their time between New York City and the family farm in Connecticut. Sedgwick and Bacon were victims of Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme.