Andrea Parker

Andrea Alexis Parker was born on March 8, 1970, in Monterey County, California. Her early life was significantly shaped by her dedication to dance, beginning ballet lessons at the age of five. By eight, she was undergoing serious classical training, and at fifteen, she was invited to train full-time with the San Francisco Ballet School, performing year-round with The San Francisco Ballet Company. Despite achieving her dream of performing at The War Memorial Opera House and touring with the SFB, her height of 5’10” ultimately led to her retirement from classical ballet at 18. She then moved to Los Angeles, transitioning to contemporary dance, and secured numerous roles in commercials, industrials, videos, and dance gigs, including performances on “Married with Children.” This period took her to various locations, including New York and Europe, before she returned to Hollywood to pursue acting.

Parker’s acting career commenced with an audition that led to a role in the Emmy-award winning “Seinfeld” episode “The Contest.” This marked a turning point, propelling her into more significant acting opportunities. She was cast as George Clooney’s love interest for the initial two seasons of “E.R.,” a global phenomenon. Following this, she was set as co-lead in “J.A.G.,” but was replaced after the pilot. Undeterred, she secured an iconic starring role as Miss Parker in “The Pretender,” where she demonstrated versatility by learning fight choreography, handling firearms with the LAPD, and training in stunt driving with Bobby Ore. This role, which ran for four seasons, showcased her ability to bring authenticity to authoritative characters.

Her career further diversified with a shift to comedy, starring as Lydia Weston in the ABC ensemble comedy “Less Than Perfect” for four seasons, alongside actors such as Zachary Levi and Patrick Warburton. She later joined the cast of “Desperate Housewives” in its final season and held dual roles as twin sisters Mary Drake and Jessica DiLaurentis in the Freeform series “Pretty Little Liars.” Throughout her career, Andrea Parker has supported various charitable organizations, including the National Hospice Palliative Care Organization, Glenn Siegel’s My Good Friend charity, the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s disease research, and Project Angel Food. She has also participated in benefits, such as one for Cure Autism Now in 2006, alongside former “Pretender” co-stars Michael T. Weiss and James Denton. She is married to film producer Michael Birnbaum.