Childhood & Early Life
Robin Weigert was born in Washington, DC, on July 7, 1969, into the Jewish family of Berlin-born psychiatrist Wolfgang Oscar Weigert and Dionne Laufman.
She attended the American private research university named ‘Brandeis University’ in Waltham, Massachusetts, and completed her graduation in 1991. Following this, she enrolled at ‘New York University’s ‘Tisch School of the Arts’ and obtained an MFA degree from the ‘Graduate Acting Program’ from there.
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Career
Robin commenced her acting career with theater in New York, performing in both ‘Broadway’ and ‘off Broadway’ productions. Her performance in Richard Nelson's ‘Madame Melville’ earned her ‘Drama Desk’ and ‘Lucille Lortel’ nominations. She had the opportunity to perform on stage with stalwarts such as Meryl Streep, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Patti Lupone, Cherry Jones, and Christopher Walken.
After around a decade of stage performances, Robin relocated from New York City to Los Angeles to strengthen her acting career. Initially, her on-screen career saw Robin feature in bit roles in big-screen flicks such as ‘Heart to Heart.com’ (1999) and ‘The Sleepy Time Gal’ (2001) and cameo roles in TV movies such as ‘Mary and Rhoda’ (2000).
She earned her first recurring role, ‘Anna Mayes,’ in the ‘CBS’-aired police-procedural series ‘Cold Case.’ She appeared in four episodes of the series, between 2004 and 2005.
In 2004, she bagged one of the most memorable roles of her career, in the ‘HBO’-aired Western series ‘Deadwood,’ which was set in the 1870s in Deadwood, South Dakota. Robin played the historical character of Calamity Jane, an American frontierswoman and professional scout, recognized as Wild Bill Hickok's acquaintance. The series ran for three seasons, from March 21, 2004, to August 27, 2006.
Robin’s brilliant performance as Calamity Jane in ‘Deadwood’ not only earned her acclaim and widespread recognition but also fetched her ‘Screen Actors Guild Award’ and ‘Primetime Emmy Award’ nominations. ‘Hollywood Life’ magazine bestowed her with the ‘Breakthrough of the Year’ award in 2006. Years later, she reprised the role in the TV drama film ‘Deadwood: The Movie,’ which premiered on ‘HBO’ on May 31, 2019.
She starred as ‘Rachel’ in the 2005 independent film ‘Loggerheads.’ The film debuted at that year’s ‘Sundance Film Festival’ and earned a ‘Grand Jury Prize’ nomination there. It was also screened at various festivals across the US and other nations. It bagged several awards, including the ‘Audience Award’ at both the ‘Florida Film Festival’ and the ‘Nashville Film Festival.’
Her next substantial role was in the 2006-released drama–mystery film ‘The Good German.’ The ‘Academy Award’-nominated film, starring George Clooney, Tobey Maguire, and Cate Blanchett, was also nominated for the ‘Golden Bear’ at the ‘Berlin International Film Festival.’ Some of her other films are ‘Things We Lost in the Fire’ (2007), ‘The Private Lives of Pippa Lee’ (2009), ‘The Undying’ (2009), and ‘The Sessions’ (2012).
Her next notable work was that of ‘Abby’ in the Stacie Passon-written and directed 2013 drama ‘Concussion.’ It premiered at that year’s ‘Sundance Film Festival’ and earned a ‘Teddy Award Jury Prize’ at the ‘Berlin International Film Festival’ the same year. It was a remarkable film on the LGBT theme. Some of her other notable films are ‘Pawn Sacrifice’ (2014), ‘Take Me to the River’ (2015), and ‘Please Stand By’ (2017).
Meanwhile, she continued working in small-screen productions. During 2007–2008, she essayed the role of ‘Lt. Karen Davis’ in 11 episodes of the ‘NBC’ crime-drama series ‘Life.’ From 2010 to 2013, she featured as ‘Ally Lowen’ in 15 episodes of the ‘FX’ crime-tragedy series ‘Sons of Anarchy.’ Since 2014, she features in a recurring role in the police-procedural drama series ‘Chicago P.D.’
Between 2017 and 2019, she shared screen space with Alexander Skarsgård and Nicole Kidman, featuring in the recurring role of ‘Dr. Amanda Reisman’ in the ‘HBO’ drama series ‘Big Little Lies.’ She starred as ‘Verena Baptist’ in the American dark comedy–drama series ‘Dietland,’ which aired on ‘AMC’ from June 4 to July 30, 2018.
Some of her other notable projects are series such as ‘Hawthorne’ (2010), ‘Marvel's Jessica Jones’ (2015), ‘Damien’ (2016), and ‘Berlin Station’ (2018–2019). Over the years, Robin has also guest-featured in many TV series, such as ‘Law & Order’ (2003), ‘Without a Trace’ (2004), and ‘CSI: Crime Scene Investigation’ (2005). She has also lent her voice to the character ‘Scatterspike’ in two episodes of the children’s animated robot superhero series ‘Transformers: Robots in Disguise’ in 2016.
An upcoming untitled drama film, which is a Charles Randolph project starring Charlize Theron and Nicole Kidman among others, will feature Robin in a role. The film is set to release on December 20, 2019.
She has directed and produced the short ‘The Interpreter,’ which is in its post-production stage.
