Robin Tunney (born June 19, 1972) is an American actress. She made her film debut in Encino Man (1992) and rose to prominence with leading roles in the cult films Empire Records (1995) and The Craft (1996). Her performance in Niagara, Niagara (1997) won her the Volpi Cup for Best Actress. She then headlined films like End of Days (1999), Supernova, Vertical Limit (both 2000), Cherish, The Secret Lives of Dentists (both 2002), The In-Laws (2003), and as Teresa Lisbon in the TV series The Mentalist (2008-2015).
Tunney's portrayal of a sexual assault victim in Open Window (2006) was praised. Her subsequent film credits include Hollywoodland (2006), August, The Burning Plain (both 2008), Passenger Side (2009), Looking Glass, and Monster Party (both 2018). She played Veronica Donovan in Prison Break (2005–2006) and Teresa Lisbon in The Mentalist (2008–2015), and starred in the short-lived ABC series The Fix (2019).
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Early life and education
Tunney was born in Chicago, Illinois, to a car-salesman father, Patrick, and a bartender mother, Cathy. Tunney's father was born in Straide, County Mayo, Ireland, and her maternal grandparents were from Clare Island, Ireland. She is a cousin of Chicago Alderman Tom Tunney.
Tunney grew up in Orland Park, a southwest suburb of Chicago. She was raised Irish Catholic, attended Carl Sandburg High School, Saint Ignatius College Prep in Chicago, and the Chicago Academy for the Arts in Chicago, and resided in Palos Heights, also in the Chicago area.
