Brenda Wehle was born in Washington, D.C., the third of six children of a career military officer and his wife. The family moved frequently, and by age 18 she had lived in 4 countries, 5 states and attended 8 different schools. The family's longest stay was three years in Paris, France, with other years spent in Germany, Virginia, Oklahoma, Washington State, Pennsylvania and Louisiana.
She received her B.A in French Literature, followed by an M.A. in Speech and Drama from Catholic University of America. In 1980 she received her Equity Card alongside Allison Janney, while both played faeries in a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream starring Carol Kane and Graham Beckel. Card in hand she worked across the country in numerous regional theaters, including Seattle Rep, Baltimore Center Stage, The Philadelphia Company, Santa Fe, and Hartford Stage.
In 1987, at the invitation of Garland Wright (Artistic Director of The Guthrie Theater) she moved to Minneapolis to join his Acting Company, where she worked with exceptional designers and directors on over 35 productions. Among these were directors Les Waters, Robert Woodruff, Lucian Pintilie, Bartlett Sher, and Garland Wright; designers Doug Stein, James F. Ingalls, Ann Hould Ward, Susan Hilferty and John Arnone.
In 1997 Ms. Wehle moved to Los Angeles and began her first on-camera work, including recurring roles on Party of Five, and Malcolm In The Middle, along with film work like Soldier with Kurt Russell and American Beauty directed by Sam Mendes. During that time she also appeared in plays in both Los Angeles and New York, including the Broadway productions Come Back Little Sheba with S. Epatha Merkeson; Pygmalion, starring Jefferson Mays, Boyd Gaines and Clare Danes; and with Kate Burton and Boyd Gaines at Lincoln Center in The Grand Manner, directed by Mark Lamos. She won her first OBIE award performing the role of Celia in Talking Heads, directed by Michael Engler at the Minetta Lane Theater, and worked over a two year stretch of time in New York and Europe rehearsing and appearing in Peter Sellars production of The Children Of Herakles.
She was next seen in New York as Clio in Tony Kushner's 2011 The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with A Key To The Scriptures, directed by Michael Greif, a part for which she was awarded her second OBIE, followed by the Broadway production of Clifford Odets' The Big Knife, directed by Doug Hughes and starring Bobby Cannavale, where her performance as gossip columnist Patty Benedict was called a "malevolent delight". Recently, she appeared at Playwrights Horizons as Doris in Samuel D. Hunter's new play, Pocatello, and later the following year at the Walter Kerr Theater on Broadway, as Rebecca Nurse in director Ivo Von Hove's production of The Crucible.
Recent film work includes Kill Your Darlings, a 2013 Sundance film starring Daniel Radcliff, Akiva Goldsman's film adaptation of Winter's Tale with Colin Farrell, St. Vincent starring Bill Murray and Melissa McCarthy, the Spirit award nominated Chronic, starring Tim Roth and 2017 release Woman Walks Ahead, starring Jessica Chastain. On stage she was most recently seen in Mary Jane with Carrie Coon at New York Theater Workshop, by Amy Herzog and directed by Anne Kauffman.
She received her B.A in French Literature, followed by an M.A. in Speech and Drama from Catholic University of America. In 1980 she received her Equity Card alongside Allison Janney, while both played faeries in a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream starring Carol Kane and Graham Beckel. Card in hand she worked across the country in numerous regional theaters, including Seattle Rep, Baltimore Center Stage, The Philadelphia Company, Santa Fe, and Hartford Stage.
In 1987, at the invitation of Garland Wright (Artistic Director of The Guthrie Theater) she moved to Minneapolis to join his Acting Company, where she worked with exceptional designers and directors on over 35 productions. Among these were directors Les Waters, Robert Woodruff, Lucian Pintilie, Bartlett Sher, and Garland Wright; designers Doug Stein, James F. Ingalls, Ann Hould Ward, Susan Hilferty and John Arnone.
In 1997 Ms. Wehle moved to Los Angeles and began her first on-camera work, including recurring roles on Party of Five, and Malcolm In The Middle, along with film work like Soldier with Kurt Russell and American Beauty directed by Sam Mendes. During that time she also appeared in plays in both Los Angeles and New York, including the Broadway productions Come Back Little Sheba with S. Epatha Merkeson; Pygmalion, starring Jefferson Mays, Boyd Gaines and Clare Danes; and with Kate Burton and Boyd Gaines at Lincoln Center in The Grand Manner, directed by Mark Lamos. She won her first OBIE award performing the role of Celia in Talking Heads, directed by Michael Engler at the Minetta Lane Theater, and worked over a two year stretch of time in New York and Europe rehearsing and appearing in Peter Sellars production of The Children Of Herakles.
She was next seen in New York as Clio in Tony Kushner's 2011 The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with A Key To The Scriptures, directed by Michael Greif, a part for which she was awarded her second OBIE, followed by the Broadway production of Clifford Odets' The Big Knife, directed by Doug Hughes and starring Bobby Cannavale, where her performance as gossip columnist Patty Benedict was called a "malevolent delight". Recently, she appeared at Playwrights Horizons as Doris in Samuel D. Hunter's new play, Pocatello, and later the following year at the Walter Kerr Theater on Broadway, as Rebecca Nurse in director Ivo Von Hove's production of The Crucible.
Recent film work includes Kill Your Darlings, a 2013 Sundance film starring Daniel Radcliff, Akiva Goldsman's film adaptation of Winter's Tale with Colin Farrell, St. Vincent starring Bill Murray and Melissa McCarthy, the Spirit award nominated Chronic, starring Tim Roth and 2017 release Woman Walks Ahead, starring Jessica Chastain. On stage she was most recently seen in Mary Jane with Carrie Coon at New York Theater Workshop, by Amy Herzog and directed by Anne Kauffman.