# Brooke Elliott
**Brooke Elliott** (birth name Brooke Kathleen Elliott) is an American actress and singer, born in 1974 in Fridley, Minnesota, best known for starring as lawyer Jane Bingum on the Lifetime series *Drop Dead Diva* (2009–2014) and as chef Dana Sue Sullivan on the Netflix drama *Sweet Magnolias* (2020–2026).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0254395/bio/) • [2](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/49760/brooke-elliott) Trained in musical theater, she spent roughly a decade on stage before her television breakthrough.[3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/brooke-elliott/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1974, Fridley, Minnesota, USA; birth name Brooke Kathleen Elliott[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0254395/bio/) |
| Training | BFA in musical theater performance, Western Michigan University, 1998; Gabriel Richard Catholic High School, 1993[3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/brooke-elliott/) |
| Broadway roles | Big Sue in *Taboo* (2003–04); Majella in *The Pirate Queen* (2007); ensemble and Madame Morrible understudy in *Wicked*[4](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/brooke-elliott-117211) |
| Signature TV role | Jane Bingum on *Drop Dead Diva*, six seasons, 2009–2014, 78 episodes[2](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/49760/brooke-elliott) |
| Awards for *Drop Dead Diva* | 2012 Women's Image Network Award and 2010 Gracie Award winner; 2009 Satellite and 2011, 2014 PRISM Award nominee[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0254395/bio/) |
| Current lead role | Dana Sue Sullivan on Netflix's *Sweet Magnolias*, 2020–2026, 50 episodes; the series was canceled after five seasons[2](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/49760/brooke-elliott) • [5](https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/tv-shows/sweet-magnolias-canceled-ladies-of-the-house-greenlit-netflix/) |
| Producing | First executive producer credit on the 2022 Lifetime movie *A Country Christmas Harmony*, which she also starred in[6](https://wmich.edu/news/2022/03/67412) |
## Early life and education
Elliott was born in Fridley, Minnesota, to Robert Elliott, a city manager, and his wife Kathleen.[3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/brooke-elliott/) Her father's work kept the family moving; she later recalled living in Missouri, Oklahoma, Illinois, and Michigan, with her father serving as assistant city manager in Blaine, Minnesota, before the moves.[7](https://www.startribune.com/brooke-elliott-s-a-drop-dead-diva/97174004) The family settled in Riverview, Michigan, during her junior year of high school, and she graduated from Gabriel Richard Catholic High School in 1993.[3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/brooke-elliott/) In an interview she said she initially wanted to be [Barbra Streisand](https://www.edgepedia.org/barbra-streisand), then found her place in high school drama.[8](https://www.myentertainmentworld.ca/2011/02/exclusive-interview-brooke-elliott/)
She received a bachelor of fine arts in musical theater performance from [Western Michigan University](https://www.edgepedia.org/western-michigan-university) in Kalamazoo in 1998.[3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/brooke-elliott/) After college she moved to Illinois and joined the Chicago-based theater company Babes with Blades, an ensemble working to expand opportunities for women in stage combat.[9](https://www.hallmarkchannel.com/drop-dead-diva/cast/brooke-elliott)
## Stage career
**Broadway and touring.** Elliott's first professional theater role was the [Sugar Bowl](https://www.edgepedia.org/sugar-bowl) in the US touring production of *Beauty and the Beast*, and she was in the original cast of the First National Tour of *Wicked*.[10](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Brooke-Elliott/) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0254395/bio/) Her Broadway debut came in *Taboo*, the musical composed by [Boy George](https://www.edgepedia.org/boy-george) and produced by [Rosie O'Donnell](https://www.edgepedia.org/rosie-odonnell), which ran from November 2003 to February 2004; she entered in the ensemble and took over the leading role of Big Sue in December 2003.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0254395/bio/) • [4](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/brooke-elliott-117211) She credits O'Donnell with helping her land that first Broadway role.[10](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Brooke-Elliott/)
She then played Majella in *The Pirate Queen*, a musical by Schönberg and Boublil's collaborators that opened in Chicago in 2006 and moved to Broadway in 2007.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0254395/bio/) • [10](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Brooke-Elliott/) On Broadway she was also an understudy for [Madame Morrible](https://www.edgepedia.org/madame-morrible) in *Wicked* and for Mrs. Potts in *Beauty and the Beast*.[4](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/brooke-elliott-117211)
## Screen career
Elliott's onscreen debut was a cameo as a woman in the park in the 2000 romantic comedy *[What Women Want](https://www.edgepedia.org/what-women-want)*, starring [Mel Gibson](https://www.edgepedia.org/mel-gibson).[3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/brooke-elliott/) Her first television appearance was a guest role on the short-lived courtroom drama *[Law & Order: Trial by Jury](https://www.edgepedia.org/law-and-order-trial-by-jury)* (NBC, 2005–06).[3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/brooke-elliott/)
**Drop Dead Diva.** After *The Pirate Queen* closed, Elliott auditioned for television roles while taking TV and film classes, and booked the lead in Lifetime's fantasy-comedy *Drop Dead Diva* shortly after the 2007–08 writers' strike.[8](https://www.myentertainmentworld.ca/2011/02/exclusive-interview-brooke-elliott/) Executive producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron conducted a national casting search that found her for the part.[11](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-jul-10-et-diva10-story.html) She played Jane Bingum, a plus-sized lawyer inhabited by the soul of a thin model who dies in a car accident, a premise creator Josh Berman described as a cross between *Freaky Friday* (1976) and *Heaven Can Wait* (1978).[3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/brooke-elliott/) The series ran for six seasons and 78 episodes, ending in June 2014.[2](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/49760/brooke-elliott) In its second season it drew more than 3 million viewers a week on basic cable.[7](https://www.startribune.com/brooke-elliott-s-a-drop-dead-diva/97174004)
For the role she won the 2010 Gracie Award for Female Rising Star in a Comedy Series and the 2012 Women's Image Network Award for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series, and was nominated for a 2009 Satellite Award and 2011 and 2014 PRISM Awards.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0254395/bio/) She described the part as a vehicle to challenge the idea that beauty comes in one package.[11](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-jul-10-et-diva10-story.html)
**Later television.** After *Drop Dead Diva*, Elliott appeared as Mia Bello in an episode of *The Widow* (2019) and as Nancy Freeman in *Dolly Parton's Heartstrings* (2019).[2](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/49760/brooke-elliott) Since 2020 she has played chef and restaurant owner Dana Sue Sullivan on Netflix's *Sweet Magnolias*, alongside [JoAnna Garcia Swisher](https://www.edgepedia.org/joanna-garcia-swisher) and [Heather Headley](https://www.edgepedia.org/heather-headley); the series reached No. 1 on Netflix quickly after its second season premiered in 2022.[6](https://wmich.edu/news/2022/03/67412) She appeared in 50 episodes through the show's fifth season, which arrived on Netflix on June 11, 2026, and Netflix canceled the series in September 2026 after five seasons.[2](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/49760/brooke-elliott) • [5](https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/tv-shows/sweet-magnolias-canceled-ladies-of-the-house-greenlit-netflix/)
**Film and producing.** In 2022 Elliott starred as country music star Chrissy Kessler in the Lifetime movie *A Country Christmas Harmony*, reuniting with *Sweet Magnolias* co-star [Brandon Quinn](https://www.edgepedia.org/brandon-quinn); it was her first Lifetime project since *Drop Dead Diva* ended and her first credit as executive producer.[6](https://wmich.edu/news/2022/03/67412) Her other film work includes the indie film *Liar's Club* and the 2017 film *Trew Calling*.[9](https://www.hallmarkchannel.com/drop-dead-diva/cast/brooke-elliott) • [12](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0254395/)
## Directing
Elliott directed the first season of the web series *Say Hello* (2016) and directed an episode of *Sweet Magnolias* season 5, "Swing for the Fences" (2026).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0254395/bio/) • [2](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/49760/brooke-elliott)
## References
1. [Brooke Elliott – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0254395/bio/)
2. [Brooke Elliott, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/49760/brooke-elliott)
3. [Brooke Elliott – Actress, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/brooke-elliott/)
4. [Brooke Elliott – Broadway Cast & Staff, IBDB](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/brooke-elliott-117211)
5. ['Sweet Magnolias' Canceled After 5 Seasons, TheWrap](https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/tv-shows/sweet-magnolias-canceled-ladies-of-the-house-greenlit-netflix/)
6. ['Sweet Magnolias' star shares how she planted seeds of success at Western, Western Michigan University News](https://wmich.edu/news/2022/03/67412)
7. [Brooke Elliott's a 'Drop Dead Diva', Minnesota Star Tribune](https://www.startribune.com/brooke-elliott-s-a-drop-dead-diva/97174004)
8. [Exclusive Interview: Brooke Elliott, My Entertainment World](https://www.myentertainmentworld.ca/2011/02/exclusive-interview-brooke-elliott/)
9. [Brooke Elliott as Jane in Drop Dead Diva, Hallmark Channel](https://www.hallmarkchannel.com/drop-dead-diva/cast/brooke-elliott)
10. [Brooke Elliott, BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Brooke-Elliott/)
11. [This 'Diva' combines her beauty with brains, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-jul-10-et-diva10-story.html)
12. [Brooke Elliott, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0254395/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 2000s onward › Surnames Do to E*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license