Brenda Lee Strong (born March 25, 1960) is an American actress and yoga instructor, best known for her roles as Sue Ellen Mischke on Seinfeld and Mary Alice Young on Desperate Housewives.
Graduated from Arizona State University with Bachelor of Music in musical theatre.
Brenda teaches yoga in Santa Monica, California.
1978: Graduated from Sandy High School in Sandy, OR.
Serves on the board of directors of the Montana Shakespeare Company in Helena, Montana.
Played a psychiatrist in Get a Job (1998), Terror Tract (2000) and in an episode of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (2000). All three times, her patient was a troubled young boy.
Has been on five shows on The WB - "7th Heaven" (1996), "Gilmore Girls" (2000), "Dawson's Creek" (1998), and "Everwood" (2002), "Help, The" (2004).
Shares a birthday with "Desperate Housewives" (2004) co-star Marcia Cross and Sarah Jessica Parker.
Miss Arizona 1980 in the 1981 Miss America pageant.
She and her future "Desperate Housewives" (2004) co-star Marcia Cross both starred in "Everwood" (2002). Strong guest-starred in a few episodes while Cross was a steady cast-member from 2003-2004. They never were in the same episodes. They also both guest-starred in different episodes of "Ally McBeal" (1997).
Replaced Sheryl Lee who was originally cast as Mary Alice Young for the ABC series "Desperate Housewives" (2004) in its pilot episode.
Also worked with Felicity Huffman on the short lived "Sports Night" (1998) program created by Aaron Sorkin of "West Wing, The" (1999).
She and future "Desperate Housewives" (2004) co-star Felicity Huffman both starred in "Sports Night" (1998). Strong guest-starred in several episodes while Huffman was a regular cast-member for both seasons. In the series, Strong was sleeping with both Huffman's fiancé (Ted McGinley) and Huffman's co-worker (Peter Krause (I)).
Both in "Everwood" (2002) and "Desperate Housewives" (2004), she plays a family mother whose death in the pilot of the series sets the events of the show in motion. She reappears throughout the shows in flashback scenes and dream sequences.
Was among the guests at Marcia Cross' wedding to Tom Mahoney.
Played two different characters in the "Starship Troopers" movies.
