Olivia d'Abo

Olivia d'Abo
Olivia d'Abo in July 2010
Born	Olivia Jane d'Abo (1969-01-22) 22 January 1969 (age 52) London, England
Occupation	Actress singer
Years active	1984–present
Spouse(s)	Patrick Leonard ​ ​ (m. 2002; div. 2012)​
Children	1
Parent(s)	Mike d'Abo (father)
Website	www.oliviadabo.net

Olivia Jane d'Abo (/ˈdɑːboʊ/; born 22 January 1969)^[1] is a British actress and singer. She is known for her role as Karen Arnold, Kevin Arnold's rebellious teenaged hippie sister in the ABC comedy-drama series The Wonder Years (1988–1993), female serial killer Nicole Wallace in Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Marie Blake on The Single Guy (1995–1997), and Jane Porter in The Legend of Tarzan (2001–2003). Her film appearances include roles in Conan the Destroyer (1984) and Bank Robber (1993)

Early life and education[]

D'Abo was born on 22 January 1969 in London, England, the daughter of Maggie London, an English model and actress primarily active in the 1960s, and Mike d'Abo, an English singer and member of 1960s musical group Manfred Mann.^[2] She has an older brother and two half-brothers and one half-sister: elder brother Ben, younger half-brother Bruno, and younger sibling twins Ella and Louis (born July 2007) on her father's side. Olivia and Ben both attended high school in the United States at Los Feliz Hills School (formerly the Apple School) in Los Angeles, and d'Abo attended Pacoima Junior High School in Pacoima, Los Angeles.

She is the first cousin once removed of her father's cousin Maryam d'Abo (b. 1960),^[3] the actress best known for her performance as Kara Milovy in the 1987 James Bond film The Living Daylights. Olivia and Maryam bought a house together in Los Angeles when Olivia was 19 years old.^[4]

Career[]

Acting career[]

D'Abo's film debut was the supporting role of Princess Jehnna in Conan the Destroyer, released on 29 June 1984. Two months later, she appeared in the supporting role of Paloma the peasant girl in Bolero (1984).

D'Abo portrayed Karen Arnold in the ABC comedy-drama series The Wonder Years for the show's first four seasons, from 1988 to 1991, with two guest star appearances in the show's final two seasons. In 1992, she guest starred in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode titled "True Q" as Amanda Rogers.

An unreleased pilot for an ABC sitcom she led, Olivia Masters' Life, was released on her official website. The pilot shows young, tenacious American woman Olivia Masters as she tries to find her calling and acclimate herself into the professional world, which is not always professional or a breeze as she finds out.^[5]

D'Abo made five appearances as a recurring villain Nicole Wallace in the NBC police procedural drama series Law & Order: Criminal Intent between 2002 and 2008. She reprised the character in the 2013 episode "The Catacombes" in the French police procedural drama series Jo, a show created by René Balcer, who also created Criminal Intent.

In 2007, D'Abo played Abby Carter, the ex-wife of Sheriff Jack Carter, in the Sci-Fi Channel series Eureka for two episodes. She has had numerous supporting roles in other television series and films, such as The Spirit of '76 (1990), Greedy (1994), The Big Green (1995), and The Twilight Zone (2002). On stage, she appeared in the 2005 Broadway theatrical production of The Odd Couple alongside Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane.

In animation, D'Abo provided the voices of Sonya Blade in Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm (1996); Melanie Walker/Ten in Batman Beyond (1999–2000); Star Sapphire in Justice League (2001); and Morgaine le Fey in Justice League Unlimited (2004); Tak in Invader Zim (2001–2002); Jane Porter in The Legend of Tarzan; Jedi Master Luminara Unduli in Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008), which she reprised the character in the cameo role in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019); Carol Ferris in Green Lantern: First Flight (2009); and Natalia Romanoff in Ultimate Avengers, and Ultimate Avengers 2: Rise of the Panther (both 2006).

In February 2013, D'Abo began filming for Project Fedora (working title), a video game that combined live-action footage with 3D graphics.

Music career[]

D'Abo is a singer-songwriter, guitarist, and pianist.^[6] She has composed and performed for various soundtracks. Her single "Broken" is from the movie Loving Annabelle. Her debut album Not TV was released in July 2008.^[7]

D'Abo also performed backing vocals for Julian Lennon's Help Yourself, and a duet with Seal's "Broken". She also co-wrote the song "Love Comes from the Inside" with Italian singer Laura Pausini, which was featured on Pausini's English language debut album From the Inside.

Podcast appearances[]

In October 2015, d'Abo started a weekly podcast called Every Friday with Dan and Olivia co-hosting the program with Dan Miles of the Friends of Dan music podcast.^{[citation needed]}

On 8 July 2016, d'Abo appeared on Ken Reid's TV Guidance Counselor podcast.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life[]

She was formerly engaged to singer Julian Lennon^[8] and performed backing vocals on his 1991 album, Help Yourself.

Filmography[]

Film[]

Television[]

Video games[]

Theatre[]

References[]

External links[]

• Official website
• Olivia d'Abo at IMDb 
• Olivia d'Abo at AllMovie