Biography
Téa Leoni (; born Elizabeth Téa Pantaleoni; February 25, 1966) is an American actress. Early in her career, she starred on the television sitcoms Flying Blind (1992–1993) and The Naked Truth (1995–1998). Her breakthrough role was in the 1995 film Bad Boys, which led to leading parts in Deep Impact (1998), The Family Man (2000), Jurassic Park III (2001), Spanglish (2004), and Fun with Dick and Jane (2005). From 2014 to 2019, Leoni starred as Elizabeth McCord on the CBS drama series Madam Secretary/Madam President.
== Early life and family ==
Leoni was born on February 25, 1966, in New York City. Her mother, Emily Ann (née Patterson), was a dietitian and nutritionist, and her father, Anthony Pantaleoni, was a corporate lawyer with the firm Fulbright & Jaworski. Her paternal grandfather was of Italian, English, and Irish descent; he was a nephew of Italian economist and politician Maffeo Pantaleoni.
Leoni's paternal grandmother, American silent film actress and humanitarian Helenka Adamowska Pantaleoni, was born in Brookline, Massachusetts to Polish musicians Józef Adamowski and Antonina Szumowska-Adamowska. Leoni's mother is a native of Amarillo, Texas. She is a great-niece of actor Hank Patterson.
