When actress Tammy Blanchard landed the lead role of the young Judy Garland in the popular 2001 ABC miniseries "Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows", it seemed almost pre-ordained. One of the first roles the Bayonne, New Jersey native had ever played with Dorothy in a grade school production of "The Wizard of Oz", a part she would repeat in junior high school. Feeling an affinity with the character and the actress who so memorably inhabited the role in the 1939 feature, Blanchard delivered a fascinating and memorable turn as the youthful incarnation of Garland. Earning rapturous reviews from even the most jaded of critics, the young actress received an Emmy nomination for her efforts. Not bad for someone whose only professional credit had been a three-year stint (1997-2000) as a troubled teenager on the long-running CBS daytime serial "Guiding Light". Her character of Drew Jacobs endured the usual soap fare, from discovering she was adopted to engaging in a love affair to searching for her birth parents. With her thick "Joisey" accent, Blanchard enjoyed good press and fan support. Since her Emmy-winning, star-making turn as Garland, she landed a co-starring role in "Stealing Harvard" (2002), a comedy about a man who turns to crime to finance his niece's college education.
Family
FATHER: William Blanchard. Divorced from Blanchard's mother c. 1986; died of lung cancer and complications from AIDS in 1998.
MOTHER: Patricia Rettig. Divorced from Blanchard's father c. 1986.
BROTHER: T J Blanchard. Born c. 1973.
BROTHER: William Blanchard. Born c. 1978; has a daughter born in 1999.
Companion
COMPANION: Paulo Benedetti. Actor. Co-star on "Guiding Light"; reported to have dated, although Blanchard would offer "no comment" when asked.
COMPANION: Damon Chasmer. Bartender. Was dating in late 1999.
Milestone
Raised in Bayonne, New Jersey
Played Dorothy in a high school production of "The Wizard of Oz"
Worked as a model for two years after high school
1997: Reportedly botched an audition for the NBC sitcom "The Tony Danza Show"
1997 - 2000: Portrayed teenager Drew Jacobs on the long-running CBS daytime drama series "Guiding Light"
2001: Won an Emmy portraying a young Judy Garland in the ABC miniseries "Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows"
2002: Feature acting debut, "Stealing Harvard"
2003: Made Broadway debut playing opposite Bernadette Peters in a revival of "Gypsy"; earned a Tony Award nomination
2006: Cast opposite Matt Damon in Robert De Niro's long-anticipated "The Good Shepherd"
2008: Portrayed a woman with multiple-personality disorder in a CBS remake of "Sybil"
2008: Co-starred in the musical biopic "Cadillac Records"
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