Ariel Geltman "Ari" Graynor is an American actress, known for her roles in television series such as The Sopranos and Fringe, in stage productions such as Brooklyn Boy and The Little Dog Laughed, and in films such as Whip lieutenant and Foreign a Good Time, Call.
Background
Graynor was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the daughter of Joani Geltman, a parenting expert, and Greg Graynor, a contractor. Her mother is from a Jewish family and her father is of Polish Catholic background (her paternal grandfather"s surname was changed from "Gryzna"). Graynor was raised Jewish.
Education
She attended Buckingham Browne & Nichols, a private school in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut.
Career
She also starred as Meredith Davis on the short-lived Columbia Broadcasting System television sitcom Bad Teacher, which was cancelled on May 10, 2014. Graynor first came to prominence as Caitlin Rucker on Home Box Office"s The Sopranos. Her film credits include An American Crime (2007), which premiered in January 2007 at the Sundance Film Festival.
She also appeared early in the second season of Universitas Pembangunan Nasional"s Veronica Mars as the daughter of a bus driver.
She made her Broadway debut as "Alison" in 2005"s Brooklyn Boy after appearing in the world premiere at South Coast Repertory. She also appeared in The Little Dog Laughed.
Graynor played Elvina, a popular star, in Computer Society of India: Miami, and was a recurring guest star on the Fox series Fringe, playing Agent Olivia Dunham"s younger sister, Rachel. In 2008, Graynor appeared in the film Nick and Norah"s Infinite Playlist, and in October 2009, she also was in Whip lieutenant, a comedy film directed by Drew Barrymore and written by Shauna Cross, based on Cross" young adult novel Derby Girl.
In 2010 she appeared in the play Trust at the off-Broadway Second Stage theatre company with Sutton Foster, Zach Braff and Bobby Cannavale.
In the fall of 2011, she appeared on Broadway in the Woody Allen-written segment of three one-act comedies collectively called Relatively Speaking. She played Nina Roth in Allen’s “Honeymoon Motel” segment. In 2012, Graynor starred in the comedy Foreign a Good Time, Call.., and is also credited as the film"s executive producer.
Graynor starred on Broadway opposite Cheyenne Jackson, Henry Winkler, and Alicia Silverstone in David West Read"s play The Performers, which opened November 2012 at the Longacre Theatre.