Patricia Charbonneau


Patricia Charbonneau is an American actress, perhaps best known for playing the part of Cay Rivvers in Desert Hearts, her first film role, for which she was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead.

Early life

Charbonneau was born in Valley Stream, New York on Long Island, the youngest of 10 children. Her father is French and her mother is Austrian. She graduated in 1977 from Valley Stream Central High School, which she attended with fellow actors Steve Buscemi and Steve Hytner. She later attended Boston University as a theater major, and left after a month to take a position with the Lexington Conservatory Theatre company in the Catskills.

Early work

At age 19, Charbonneau moved to New York City. She appeared in New York in the Lexington Conservatory Theatre production of The Revengers, a rock opera adaptation by William C. Sandwick and Philip Soltanoff at Playwrights Horizons, alongside Sofia Landon Geier. She also studied with noted acting teacher Fred Kareman and worked in smaller roles, including a part with the New York City Opera. In 1982, as a member of the Actors Theatre of Louisville, she originated the role of Lea in My Sister in this House by Wendy Kesselman, a part that she also played Off-Broadway, helping to launch her film and television career.

''Desert Hearts''

In 1985, Charbonneau made her film debut in Donna Deitch's film Desert Hearts, at a time when it was still considered a risk to portray a lesbian in a romantic drama, complete with a lengthy love scene. She told The Globe and Mail, "Kissing Helen wasn't the hard part, really. The hard part was walking out on the set naked and just standing there." Two days before shooting began, she found out that she was pregnant with her first child, whom she once called her "Desert Hearts baby."
For her performance in Desert Hearts, Charbonneau was nominated for a 1987 Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead.

Other notable work

In the following year she appeared in Michael Mann's Manhunter and then played Anna, the lead, in Call Me, which also featured fellow Valley Streamer Buscemi. The same year, she was featured in the crime drama/action movie Shakedown. Her television work began with a 1986 NBC pilot C.A.T. Squad and continued with dozens of appearances, including HBO's Tales from the Crypt; Crime Story; The Equalizer; Wiseguy; Murder, She Wrote; Matlock; New York Undercover; and Law & Order: Criminal Intent. In the 1990 film RoboCop 2, she played the role of Linda Garcia. Despite the character's prominence in the movie's plot, her name is never spoken, and the role was not listed in the credits; observant fans were able to determine the character's name by noticing that she wore a name tag. In 1995, she starred in Mission Critical, a Legend Entertainment sci-fi adventure game. She played one of James Garner's daughters in the 1999 CBS made-for-TV film One Special Night, which featured Julie Andrews.
In March 2007, Charbonneau joined the faculty of the Hudson Valley Academy of Performing Arts in West Taghkanic, New York where she teaches an acting workshop for children and teens.

Personal life

Charbonneau met musician Vincent Caggiano in 1978, and they married in 1982. She was pregnant with their only child, a daughter, during the filming of Desert Hearts.

Filmography

Movies

YearTitleRoleNotes
1983MysteryDisc: Many Roads to MurderTracey LoweDirect-to-video
1985Desert HeartsCay Rivvers
1986ManhunterMrs. Sherman
1988ShakedownSusan Cantrell
1988Call MeAnna
1990Brain DeadDana Martin
1990RoboCop 2Robocop Tech Linda GarciaUncredited
1991K2Jackie Metcalf
1996Portraits of a KillerCarolyn Price
1998Kiss the SkyFranny
1999The ArrangementMarion Markel
1999She's All ThatLois Siler
1999California MythBarbara
2008100 FeetFrances

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1986C.A.T. SquadNikki BlakeTV movie
1986-1987Crime StoryInger ThorsonRecurring role
1987The EqualizerSally StevensEpisode: "High Performance"
1987Spenser: For HireLinda ShannonEpisode: "Mary Hamilton"
1988Disaster at Silo 7Kathy FitzgeraldTV movie
1988-1989WiseguyCarole SternbergRecurring role
1989UnsubLucilleEpisode: "Silent Stalker"
1989MatlockMadeline 'Maddy' MedfordEpisode: "The Con Man"
1989Desperado: Badlands JusticeEmily HarrisTV movie
1990BookerClaraEpisode: "Who Framed Roger Thornton?"
1990Midnight CallerDakota RobertsEpisode: "Three for the Money"
1991Murder, She WroteDiana SterlingEpisode: "From the Horse's Mouth"
1991Father Dowling MysteriesLaurie KiddEpisode: "The Malibu Mystery"
1991The OwlDanny SanterreTV movie
1991CaptiveKarenTV movie
1992The CommishCatherine BelzerEpisode: "Sex, Love and Kerosene"
1992Tales from the CryptEllen RenfieldEpisode: "Strung Along"
1993RenegadeJanetEpisode: "Vanished"
1993Walker, Texas RangerRobin HenleyEpisode: "Storm Warning"
1994ViperElla KeatsEpisode: "Wheels of Fire"
1995ExtremeSheriff Lynn RobertsEpisode: "Pilot"
1995seaQuest DSVElaine Morse2 episodes
1996Kindred: The EmbracedCamillaEpisode: "Bad Moon Rising"
1997ProfilerBarbara ChapinEpisode: "Shattered Silence"
1997New York UndercoverJennifer LewisEpisode: "School's Out"
1997Diagnosis MurderFed. Marshal Monica ShattuckEpisode: "Deadly Games"
1998Beyond Belief: Fact or FictionWoman DrivingEpisode: "Bright Lights"
1999One Special NightLoriTV movie
2000Strange WorldEpisode: "Age of Reason"
2001Law & Order: Criminal IntentSydney MarkhamEpisode: "The Extra Man"
2002Law & OrderJanet NaimanEpisode: "Oxymoron"
2008Law & Order: Special Victims UnitPaige BeddlesEpisode: "Streetwise"

Video games

YearTitleRole
1995Mission CriticalLieutenant Commander Tran