Kelli Giddish

About Kelli Giddish

Kelli Giddish, a prominent American actress, is widely recognized for her eleven-season tenure as Detective Amanda Rollins on the acclaimed series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Born in Cumming, Georgia, Giddish is the daughter of Charles and Nita Giddish, and she has a brother named Eli. Her grandfather, on her father's side, fostered her early enthusiasm for performing by taking her to the Fox Theatre in Atlanta. Her maternal grandmother also provided considerable encouragement for her artistic pursuits. During her formative years in Georgia, Giddish attended Forsyth Central High School, where she was deeply involved with a local drama instructor named Yatesy Harvey. Harvey, a friend of Giddish's mother, managed a community theater and engaged young Giddish in her productions and sleepover drama camps for many years. Giddish has spoken of Harvey's profound influence, stating she instilled a "fierce curiosity and very high standards of what acting was and how much dedication it took and rehearsal." Giddish earned various honors during her youth, including being part of her high school's championship softball team and securing the State Literary Champion title for Girls Dramatic Interpretation in 1998. She went on to study at the University of Evansville in Indiana, graduating with a degree in theater performance. Her parents were unwavering in their support, frequently traveling to Indiana to attend all of her college performances. Following her graduation, Giddish relocated to New York City to launch her acting career. Within her first year in the city, she appeared on Broadway alongside Farrah Fawcett.

Giddish's professional journey began with her role as Diana Henry on the soap opera All My Children from 2005 to 2007. By mutual agreement, her departure from the show was announced in July 2007, with her final appearance airing in September of that year. She also featured in the thriller film Death in Love, which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in 2008, and played Courtney in the pioneering online scripted web series The Burg. The creators of The Burg later cast Giddish as Cindy in their project All's Faire. Giddish was then selected, alongside Nicholas Bishop and Ravi Patel, for Fox's reincarnation drama pilot Past Life. This project, produced by WBTV, centered on investigators of past lives, with Giddish portraying a Ph.D. in psychology and cognitive research who embraced the concept of reincarnation. Fox ordered Past Life to series in May 2009, with it airing midseason in 2010. Despite premiering on February 10, 2010, the series was canceled just over a week later. Giddish then took on the lead role of U.S. Marshal Annie Frost in the NBC police procedural drama Chase, which premiered in the fall of 2010. Giddish garnered critical acclaim for her portrayal of the central character, but the show was