Brooke Elliott

Brooke Elliott is an actress and singer best known for her roles in Drop Dead Diva and Sweet Magnolias. Born in Fridley, Minnesota, Elliott lived in several states before her family settled in Michigan. She developed an interest in performing at a young age and appeared in school productions throughout her childhood. After graduating from Gabriel Richard Catholic High School in 1993, she attended Western Michigan University, earning a bachelor’s degree in musical theatre performance in 1998.

Elliott began her career in musical theater, appearing in touring productions of Beauty and the Beast and Wicked before making her Broadway debut in Taboo. She made her onscreen debut in 2000 with a small role in What Women Want, and her breakthrough came in 2009 when she landed the lead role in Lifetime’s Drop Dead Diva, playing attorney Jane Bingum. The series ran for six seasons and established Elliott as a television star.

In addition to Drop Dead Diva, Elliott has appeared in projects including Law & Order: Trial by Jury (2005), Trew Calling (2017) and A Country Christmas Harmony (2022). In 2020, she joined the cast of Netflix’s Sweet Magnolias as Dana Sue Sullivan, acting alongside JoAnna Garcia Swisher and Heather Headley.

Elliott has kept her personal life largely out of the spotlight and has not publicly confirmed any marriages or children.