Kim Delaney

Kim Delaney
Delaney at the 36th Annual Gracie Awards in 2011
Born	(1961-11-29) November 29, 1961 (age 55) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1981–present
Spouse(s)	Charles Grant (m. 1984–88) Joseph Cortese (m. 1989–94)
Partner(s)	Alan Barnette (1997–2006)
Children	John Philip Cortese (b. 1990)

Kim Delaney (born November 29, 1961) is an American actress known for her starring role as Detective Diane Russell on the ABC drama television series NYPD Blue, for which she has won an Emmy Award. Early in her career, she played the role of Jenny Gardner in the ABC daytime television drama All My Children. She later had leading roles in the TV dramas Philly, CSI: Miami, and on the Lifetime television drama Army Wives.

Delaney, an Irish American, was born on November 29, 1961, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Joan and Jack Delaney. Delaney's mother was a homemaker and her father a union official and former head of the United Auto Workers. She was raised Roman Catholic. Delaney grew up in Roxborough and has four brothers: Ed, John, Keith, and Patrick. While she was attending J. W. Hallahan Catholic Girls High School, she worked as a model for the Elite agency. After her graduation, she went to New York and found employment there as a model. At the same time, she studied acting with William Esper.

Delaney first became known for her stint as innocent teenager Jenny Gardner Nelson on the soap opera All My Children, which also was her first job. She played the character from August 1981 to August 1984, earning a Daytime Emmy Award nomination, as well as a loyal fan base; a profile of the actress a decade later noted, "Delaney left the soap in 1984, but fans still remember her as Jenny. 'They come up and will say they've followed everything I've done, and they stopped watching the show after I left, and they're so happy to see me on NYPD Blue, because they love the character.'"