Biography

Carolyn Reese Crotty was born in Omaha, Nebraska, the youngest of six children. Her love of acting began at 16 when she played Louisa in “The Fantasticks.”  At that time, she was studying voice with the late legendary cabaret singer, Julie Wilson of Omaha.  

At 17, Carolyn attended the prestigious Stagedoor Manor, a performing arts young people’s camp in Loch Sheldrake, New York. The artistic director of the camp, Jack Romano, “discovered” her raw beauty on stage and moved her to New York City, where Carolyn became “one of his top five students.” Under Romano’s guidance, Carolyn went on to study classical theatre at the famed American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco. She went back to New York City to continue her studies with Warren Robertson, William Esper, among others.

After years of study in NYC, Carolyn performed in New Hampshire Summer Stock.  But on a visit to California, Carolyn was cast in the Laguna Playhouse production of Eugene O’Neill’s “Ah, Wilderness,” which propelled Carolyn to make L.A. her home.

Since that memorable debut, Carolyn has done extensive theatre work in the L.A. area, including performances at the The Road, Boston Court, Laguna Playhouse, The Odyssey, and Son of Semele Theatre to name a few. She has worked commercially and has done print campaigns for Mercedes and Microsoft.    

Carolyn has had leading roles in Independent films, some premiering at South by Southwest.  She can be seen in a nice co-starring role on TV in the Emmy winning “The People v O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story” as Mrs. Lance Ito, Peggy York.  

You can also see Carolyn playing the nun in Ratched on Netflix and spacesuit veteran technician Coral Hiscoe on Apple TV’s For All Mankind.

Carolyn had a nice bit playing opposite Mary Louise Parker & Nick Offerman in Ava Duvernay’s Colin in Black & White on Netflix.

She is a proud graduate of UCLA with a degree in Women’s Studies and English.