Whether it’s a career as an actress, behind-the-scenes producer, or a talented entrepreneur, Monica Potter has managed to crack the code to success. However, there’s nothing the multi-faceted actress takes more pride in than her success as a mother. The young Cleveland girl with big Hollywood dreams found a way to achieve her dreams and much more.
As an actress, Monica Potter has long proven her versatility with her multi-genre acting range. Although she has had fewer to no new roles on the big screen, Potter has had a busy career on television. Here’s a closer look at Monica Potter’s journey from Cleveland to Hollywood to becoming a home goods entrepreneur.
1971: Monica Potter’s Early Life & Ancestry
The actress was born Monica Gregg Brokaw in Cleveland, Ohio, on June 30, 1971. Monica Potter was born to Paul Brokaw, who invented the first flame-resistant car wax, amongst other things, and Nancy Brokaw, a then-hospital secretary. Monica Potter was raised in a family of six, with three sisters.
Potter’s father was an early influence on her desire and later passion for creating home goods. Although her early years were in Arab, Alabama, Monica Potter spent most of her growing years in Cleveland. Raised as a Catholic, Potter attended a private Roman Catholic college-preparatory high school, Villa Angela Academy, as well as Euclid High School.
Although Monica Potter’s parents are American, she has a diversified European ancestry. Potter’s maternal grandparents were Irish. Her father, Paul Brokaw, has the most varied ancestry, having ancestral German, Scottish, English, and Swedish roots. He also has a distant French Huguenot/Belgian ancestry.
1980s: Monica Potter’s Teenage Years
Besides her innate love for creating and designing things, Monica Potter had an early interest and passion for acting. In elementary school, Potter began acting at the Cleveland Play House. She also gained experience working in a flower shop and sub sandwich shop. However, she kick-started her career as a model in her mid to late teen years. She modeled for several newspaper and magazine ads, as well as local commercials.
1994: Monica Potter Made Her Acting Debut In The Young and the Restless
Monica Potter had spent the last few years pushing her modeling career. By 1994, she had appeared in a few commercials in Chicago. However, despite her relative success with her modeling career, Potter’s heart was always in acting. To this end, the actress moved to Hollywood. However, things weren’t rosy at the beginning. The struggling actress decided to audition for CBS’s The Young and the Restless.
Y&R producer William J. Bell had introduced a new character, Sharon Newman, to the soap opera. The character is introduced as a young, poor girl who gets raped by Matt Clark (Eddie Cibrian), gets pregnant, and gives up the child for adoption. Monica Potter beat several other actresses to land the role, making her debut on June 27, 1994, originating the character. However, Potter was fired the same year and briefly replaced by Heidi Mark before Sharon Case took over the role and has played it ever since. Monica Potter admitted years later that she was fired from Y&R because she was terrible at it.
Mid-90s to Mid-2000s: Monica Potter’s Growing Acting Career
Monica Potter spent the decade trying to advance her acting career and show she had what it took to be relevant in Hollywood. Although she co-starred alongside several top names, Potter only appeared in minor/supporting roles. After being fired from The Young and the Restless in 1994, Potter didn’t land any other role on television for the next decade until 2004. However, she landed more roles in movies.
Monica Potter’s film debut was in 1996 as a biker’s woman in the Damon Wayans and Adam Sandler-led buddy cop action-comedy Bulletproof. In 1996, Potter played Nicolas Cage’s on-screen wife, Tricia Poe, in the star-studded Con Air. She played Mary Marckx in the 1998 Without Limits movie. That same year, she played Carin Fisher, a fellow medical student of Robin Williams’ character in Patch Adams.
Monica Potter landed her first lead role as Amanda Pierce in the critically panned 2001 romantic comedy-thriller Head Over Heels. Playing Secret Service Agent Jezzie Flannigan beside Morgan Freeman’s Alex Cross character in the 2001 Along Came a Spider helped boost her acting profile. However, the 2002 I’m with Lucy, in which she played the titular character, was a failure.
2004: Monica Potter’s Breakthrough Roles
Monica Potter’s career took an upward turn in 2004, both on the big and small screens. Potter appeared in the first installment of James Wan and Leigh Whannell’s 2004 Saw movie. She portrayed Alison Gordon, Dr. Lawrence Gordon’s (Cary Elwes). In the sequel, Monica Potter was replaced by actress Makenzie Vega.
On television, Porter played Muriel Wynn in the 2004 miniseries Reversible Errors. That same year, she was one of the lead cast as Lori Colson on ABC’s legal and comedy-drama Boston Legal. Monica Potter only starred in seasons 1 and 2, recurring in the second season.
2010: Monica Potter on Parenthood TV Series
After Boston Legal, Monica Potter starred in the short-lived TNT drama series Trust Me. Her next major project on television was NBC’s family drama series Parenthood. Cast as Kristina Braverman, Adam Braverman (Peter Krause)’s wife and mother of three, Monica Potter earned her first Golden Globe Awards nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television in 2014. Potter played the character until its sixth and final season in 2015.
2014: Monica Potter Launched Her Home Goods Business
An entrepreneur at heart, 2014 was the year Monica Potter opened up her upscale home goods, natural skincare, and home decor business in Cleveland. She named the business Monica Potter Home. The business initially began as a skin care shop selling essential oils. Potter knew firsthand the benefits of natural essential oils, having had her eczema treated by a homemade balm her father used. As a family business, her mother, Nancy Brokaw, and sisters, Kerry Brokaw, Jessica Brokaw, and Brigette Corcoran-Brokaw, also work at Monica Potter Home.
2017: Featured Her Business On CNBC’s The Profit
Three years after launching Monica Potter Home, the business began to struggle. Not one to give up easily, Monica Potter thought of the next best way to give the business the needed publicity. With Marcus Lemonis as CNBC’s The Profit’s host, Potter reached out and collaborated with him to have the business featured on the show. The Profit is a documentary-style reality television show that provides expertise and capital investments to struggling small businesses. Monica Potter, her mother, and her sisters all appeared on The Profit in season 5, episode 4 (“Monica Potter Home”). The episode aired originally on December 12, 2017. Although investors offered $100,000 for 50% of the business, Potter and Marcus Lemonis declined.
2024: Monica Potter Returned To Movies
The last time Monica Potter starred in a movie was in 2009. She had played Emma Collingwood in the 1972 rape and revenge remake movie The Last House on the Left, starting alongside Tony Goldwyn. After a 15-year break from the big screen, Monica Potter returned, playing Kristen in the mystery drama-thriller The Girl in the Pool. Potter also has an upcoming comedy movie project, Running on Empty, in which she plays Elaine. If you enjoyed reading about Monica Potter, soap opera icon Brytni Sarpy is another interesting read.
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