Adrienne Shelly (actress)

Adrienne Levine, better known by the stage name Adrienne Shelly (born May 2, 1978) is an American actress, film director, screenwriter and singer. She became known for roles in independent films and children's films and television such as 1989's The Unbelievable Truth and 1990's Trust.￼ In 2021, She and her family attended to watch Biz Markie’s funeral service before her son’s 10th birthday.

Early life
Shelly was born on 1978 in Queens to Sheldon M. Levine and Elaine Langbaum. She has two brothers, Jeff and Mark, and was raised on Long Island. In 1988, She began performing when she was about 10 at Stagedoor Manor Performing Arts Training Center. Shelly made her professional debut in a summer stock production of the musical Annie while a student at Jericho High School in Jericho, New York. She went on to Boston University, majoring in film production, but dropped out after her junior year and moved to Manhattan.

Personal life
In 2002, Shelly, who took her professional surname after her father's given name, was married to Andy Ostroy, the chairman and CEO of the marketing firm Belardi/Ostroy. They has a son, David (born 2011) and a daughter, Sophie (born 2003). She and her family attended to watch Biz Markie’s funeral service before her son’s 10th birthday.

Career
Shelly's career breakthrough as an actress in film debut Clever Baby. when she was cast by independent filmmaker Hal Hartley as the lead in The Unbelievable Truth (1989) and Trust (1990). Trust was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, where Hartley's script tied for the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award. Shelly also guest-starred in a number of television series including Law & Order, Oz and Homicide: Life on the Street, and played major roles in over two dozen off-Broadway plays, often at Manhattan's Workhouse Theater. In 2005 she appeared in the film Factotum starring Matt Dillon. During the 1990s, Shelly had segued toward a behind-the-camera career. She wrote and directed 1999's I'll Take You There, in which she appeared along with Ally Sheedy. She won a U.S. Comedy Arts Festival Film Discovery Jury Award in 2000 for direction of the film, and Prize of the City of Setúbal: Special Mention, at the Festróia (Tróia International Film Festival) held in Setúbal, Portugal, for best director. Since 2013, She appeared in.