Jessica Capshaw

Jessica Brooke Capshaw^[1] (born August 9, 1976)^[2] is an American actress known for her roles as Jamie Stringer on the ABC legal drama series The Practice, and as Dr. Arizona Robbins on the ABC medical drama Grey's Anatomy.

Capshaw was born in Columbia, Missouri.^[3] She is the stepdaughter of director Steven Spielberg, whom her mother, Kate Capshaw married when Capshaw was 15.^[4]

Capshaw graduated from Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles in 1994, then attended Brown University,^[5] where she was in productions of Arcadia and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.^[3] She graduated in 1998 with a Bachelor of Arts in English literature.^[3] During summers, she attended classes at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA) in London,^[6] where she appeared as Puck in a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.^[3]

Capshaw had a minor role in the drama The Locusts (1997), co-starring her mother, at age 19,^[3] then appeared in Adam Rifkin's independent film Denial (1998).^[3] She played Dorothy Wheeler in the slasher film Valentine (2001), had a minor role in Minority Report (2002), then a lead role in Edward Burns's The Groomsmen (2006).^[3]

In 2009, Capshaw became a regular on the medical drama Grey's Anatomy. It was announced in December 2008 that she would join the cast as pediatric surgeon Arizona Robbins for a multi-episode arc.^[7] Initially scheduled to appear in only three episodes of the show's fifth season, series creator Shonda Rhimes extended her contract to appear in all of the season's remaining episodes,^[8] and she became a series regular in the sixth season.^[9]

Capshaw was established as a love interest for orthopedic surgery resident Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez). Rhimes was pleased with the chemistry between them, saying that the addition of Capshaw to the cast was an element of the season of which she was most proud: "I love Jessica Capshaw, and when I say love I mean love. She couldn't be a more wonderful person, and I feel like the chemistry Arizona and Callie have feels like the Meredith and Derek chemistry to me. I find them delightful to watch."^[10] Initial media reaction was positive. Matt Mitovich of TV Guide called Capshaw a "fan favorite", and Chris Monfette of IGN praised the addition of "fresh, new characters" such as Robbins over the course of the season.^[11][12][13]

In March 2018, Capshaw left Grey’s Anatomy, with the producers citing creative reasons.^[14] She posted a statement on Twitter highlighting her character's significance: "She was one of the first members of the LGBTQ community to be represented in a series regular role on network television. Her impact on the world is permanent and forever."^[15]

Capshaw is married to Christopher Gavigan.^[16] They wed in 2004 and have four children.^[17][18]

• Jessica Capshaw at IMDb
• Jessica Capshaw on Twitter