Lisa Edelstein ( /ˈliːsə ˈɛdəlstiːn/; born May 21, 1967) is an American actress and playwright. She is best known for her role as Dr. Lisa Cuddy on the television drama House. Edelstein was born to a Jewish family in Boston, Massachusetts, the daughter of Alvin and Bonnie Edelstein. Her father is a pediatrician at Chilton Memorial Hospital. (since retired). The youngest of three children, she was raised in Wayne, New Jersey, and attended Wayne Valley High School, graduating in 1984. At 16, Edelstein was a cheerleader for Donald Trump's New Jersey Generals. Edelstein soon encountered trouble when she organized a protest, because the team was forcing the cheerleaders to go and stand in bars while wearing their uniforms. Edelstein said she felt this was "akin to prostitution" and started a cheerleader strike. She moved to New York City at the age of 18 to study theatre at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. While living in New York, she became involved in the club scene (known there only as "Lisa E.") and caused enough of a stir in the community to be dubbed New York City's "Queen of Downtown" by writer and fellow celebutante James St.