BIOGRAPHY

Mary-Beth Manning began her professional acting career at age fourteen in her hometown of Boston, MA. She starred as Joanne Woodward’s daughter in the Emmy award winning, “See How She Runs.” The television film was produced by Woodward’s husband Paul Newman and George Englund. It was her first professional audition and her first job. The Boston Globe proclaimed, “…newcomer Manning is as good as the best!”

She was a serious ballet student for years, but her life changed after experiencing the joy of acting and being on set with such consummate actors as Lynne Redgrave, Bernard Hughes, Eva Marie Saint, Jason Robards, Judd Hirsch, and Holland Taylor.

She has continued to work in television and theatre as well as a number of national commercials. She won a Dramalogue award for the world premier of the play ‘LIB’ with the former Friends and Artists Theatre Co. and has performed with The Odyssey Theatre Co. as well as The Blank Theatre Co. and the former Workshop 360 Theatre Co. She also performed the one-woman show, ‘Late Nite Catechism,’ written by Mary Pat Donovan, in L.A. as well as Off- Broadway. She produced a critically acclaimed and sold out run of her solo play, ‘MOTHER’ at the Imagined Life Theatre in the Fall of 2009. ‘MOTHER’ was an LAWEEKLY AWARD nominee for Best Solo Performance in 2009 . In April of 2010 MOTHER ran for five months at The STUDIO at THE ELEPHANT STAGES and closed Sep. 26th with rave reviews and an Ovation recommendation. MOTHER was workshopped at Stage Left Studios, NYC and Off-Broadway at the Westside Theatre Nov.18, 2010, courtesy of director Peter Askins. MOTHER returned to L.A. Feb. 2011 at The Hudson Guild Theatre for a limited four show run and made it’s official NYC debut at The New York International Fringe Festival in Aug. 2011.

* Mary-Beth graduated from The College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA.

* She has run both the Boston marathon and the Los Angeles marathon.

She is married to the award winning novelist Alan Watt. ( alanwatt.com)

Her sister Krissy, an ex-ballet dancer owns an organic cookie company Krissy’s Cookies.

Mary-Beth and Al are the proud guardians of three wonderful cats, Lilly, Fawn and Captain.