Poppy Montgomery (born Poppy Petal Emma Elizabeth Deveraux Donahue; 19 June 1972) is an Australian actress. She played FBI agent Samantha Spade on the CBS mystery drama Without a Trace and Detective Carrie Wells on the CBS/A&E police drama Unforgettable.Editors of Chase's Calendar of Events. Chase's Calendar of Events 2014 E-Book. McGraw Hill Professional (2013) . p. 1995

Early life Montgomery was born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia,TV Guide. "Poppy Montgomery". to mother Nicola (née Montgomery), an executive and market researcher, and father Phil Donahue, a restaurateur. She is one of six children. Her parents named all their daughters after flowers – Poppy, Rosie, Daisy, Lily and Marigold – and their son, Jethro Tull, after the rock band Jethro Tull.

Montgomery disliked school, being expelled from six private academies before finally dropping out at the age of 15 to pursue stage acting and to travel around Bali with her then-boyfriend. Montgomery emigrated to the United States at the age of 18, arriving in Florida to meet a boyfriend whom she had met when he was an exchange student. After five days, she realised that "[she] couldn't stand him" and took a bus to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career.

Career When Montgomery moved to Los Angeles, she stayed with two of her brother's friends, while sending a head shot every day to Julia Roberts' former manager, Bob McGowan, until he signed her. She received several small television roles during the late 1990s, including an appearance on NYPD Blue.

Montgomery's big break was portraying Marilyn Monroe in the 2001 CBS miniseries Blonde, based on a Joyce Carol Oates novel. The next role she was offered was a starring role as Samantha Spade on the CBS mystery drama Without a Trace. The series revolved around a missing persons unit of the FBI in New York City. On being offered the part, she later said, "They (the producers) called me up and said, 'Will you do it?' I said, 'Um' and they said, 'Anthony LaPaglia is in it' and I said, 'sure'. It was that simple." Montgomery portrayed Samantha Spade for seven seasons, from the show's first episode on 26 September 2002, until it ended on 19 May 2009.

In 2011, Montgomery portrayed Harry Potter author J. K. Rowling in the television biographical film Magic Beyond Words.

The same year, she began starring in the CBS police drama Unforgettable as Carrie Wells, a former homicide detective who is convinced to join the NYPD in Queens by her ex-boyfriend Al Burns (portrayed by Dylan Walsh) after she leaves Syracuse because the investigation into her sister's murder was shut down. The character has hyperthymesia, which allows her to have perfect recall, and she uses her memory to solve crimes."2011 Fall Preview Video-Unforgettable", CBS.com, 22 May 2011"Poppy Montgomery in Sunnyside Queens". Sunnyside Post, 4 April 2011; accessed 14 May 2014. The first season, with 22 episodes, ran from September 2011 until May 2012, and CBS initially cancelled the show on 12 May 2012. Unforgettable was later renewed for a second season, with 13 episodes running from July 2013 to May 2014, and a third season, with 13 episodes running from June 2014 to September 2014.

Montgomery posed in a series of photographs on Maxims website in their "Girls of Maxim feature.

Personal life

Montgomery met actor Adam Kaufman in 2005 in Mexico while working on the independent film Between, and in 2010, they worked together again in the TV film Lying to be Perfect. In 2007, Kaufman began a recurring role on Without a Trace in the season-five episode "At Rest" as Brian Donovan, Samantha's love interest for the rest of the series. In June 2007, Montgomery announced her pregnancy with Kaufman, which was written into season six. On 23 December 2007, she gave birth to their son Jackson Phillip. Montgomery's Without a Trace co-star Anthony LaPaglia became Jackson's godfather. On 10 October 2011 in Life & Style, Montgomery and Kaufman were reported to have separated.

In late 2011, Montgomery began dating Shawn Sanford, director of lifestyle marketing for Microsoft, whom she met in Puerto Rico. In April 2013, she gave birth to their daughter, Violet Grace. In November 2014, she gave birth to their son Gus Monroe. On the 4 April 2014 episode of Live! with Kelly and Michael, Montgomery revealed that on Chinese New Year, she and Sanford were married at Disneyland in a ceremony with their children present.Live! With Kelly and Michael, 4 April 2014 episode, with guests James Franco and Poppy Montgomery. Pictures were presented on the broadcast as proof.

Montgomery holds both Australian and United States citizenship. She moved from Los Angeles to New York City in 2013 to continue filming Unforgettable.

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes1994Tammy and the T-RexParty Girl No. 11995Devil in a Blue DressBarbara's Sister1996The Cold Equations Marilyn 'Lee' Cross1998Dead Man on CampusRachel1999Caroline Tate1999LifeOlder Mae Rose Abernathy2000Men Named Milo, Women Named GretaBarri NoodlemanShort film2004How to Lose Your LoverAllison2005BetweenNadine Roberts 2021 Christmas on the Farm Clementine "Emmy" Jones Telemovie

Television Year Title Role Notes1994Silk StalkingsAngel2-part episode: "Natural Selection"1995Jake Lassiter: Justice on the BayouCindyMovie1996Marilyn 'Lee' CrossMovie1996Party of FiveAllisonEpisode: "Poor Substitutes"1996NYPD BlueLisaEpisode: "Burnin' Love"1996RelativityJennifer Lukens7 episodes1997Desert's EdgeMaryTV short1999Dr. Sarah ColemanPilot2000Elizabeth Waclawek3 episodes2001BlondeNorma Jean Baker / Marilyn MonroeMiniseries2001Going to CaliforniaPenelopeEpisode: "Hurricane Al: A Tale of Key Largo"2002Glory DaysEllie Sparks9 episodes2002–2009Without a TraceSamantha SpadeLead role (160 episodes)2004Raising WaylonJulia BellowsSpecial2005Murder in the HamptonsGenerosa AmmonMovie2005Snow WonderPaulaMovie2010True BlueKatherine MillerPilot2010Lying to Be PerfectNola Devlin/Belinda AppleMovie2011Magic Beyond WordsJ. K. RowlingMovie2011–2016UnforgettableCarrie WellsLead role (61 episodes)2015Signed, Sealed, Delivered from Paris, with LoveHolly O'TooleMovie2017A Surrogate's NightmareAngela Movie2019Reef BreakCat ChambersLead role (13 episodes)

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