Where Did Piper Perabo Go? Catch Up with the ‘Coyote Ugly’ Star and See Where She’s Been Since

When actress Piper Perabo exploded on to the screen in producer Jerry Bruckheimer’s Coyote Ugly in 2000, the immediate thought — thanks to the success of the film — was that she would become Hollywood’s next “It” girl. But surprising pretty much everyone, she chose, instead, to dive into low budget, independent films like Lost and Delirious (2001), Slap Her … She’s French (2002) and Flowers (2002), before going “commercial” again by playing Nora Baker in Cheaper by the Dozen (2003) and reprising the role in the 2005 sequel.

In between the Cheaper pair, it was back to indie filmmaking with Edison, Karas: The Prophecy, The Cave and Imagine Me & You, all released in 2005. And then, five years later — after appearing in more under the radar projects — she made the shift over to television with the espionage series Covert Affairs, which aired from 2010 to 2014, and has been with us ever since.

What all of this is saying is that Piper Perabo has been working consistently since her arrival in Hollywood, yet there’s this sense that in recent years she’s more-or-less vanished — this despite the fact she’s had a recurring role as Summer Higgins on the hit series Yellowstone.

For anyone who might be wondering where Piper Perabo has gone, you’ll find the answer below.

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Piper Perabo early life

Perabo has been on the acting scene for years, starting out in the late 90s. Her first role was in Whiteboyz (1999), which led a year later to Coyote Ugly, aspiring songwriter Violet Sanford (Perabo), who moves to New York to pursue her dreams. Violet gets a job in the meantime at a women-run tavern where the girls dance and sing on the bar.

“Part of what’s relatable about Coyote Ugly is that it’s about having a dream and working really hard just to get your shot,” Perabo explained. “A lot of people can relate to that — a lot of women these days can relate to that.”

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Perabo then booked a few lead roles in some of the previously-mentioned films, as well as She Gets What She Wants (2002), Perfect Opposites (2004) and Because I Said So (2007). In 2008, she starred in Beverly Hills Chihuahua as Rachel, alongside Drew Barrymore, George Lopez and Manolo Cardona.

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Perabo books the lead in a series

In 2010 the actress took on the series Covert Affairs as Annie Walker, a trainee for the CIA who gets promoted to work in the field. While she is unsure why exactly her career path changed, it may have something to do with someone from her past. On top of that, the only person Annie has to direct her is CIA military intelligence agent Auggie Anderson (Christopher Gorham).

“I was reading movie scripts and I wasn’t finding anything that was really speaking to me and my agent suggested that I read this,” Perabo explained. “I hadn’t thought about doing television, but when I read it, it kind of changed everything for me. She’s such a powerful character, she’s so smart, the action is so intense, and I really thought it would be fun to do.”

Covert Affairs was Perabo’s first TV series and it lasted five seasons from 2010 to 2014. She was nominated for a Golden Globe award for her part in the series.

Where is Piper Perabo now?

After Covert Affairs ended, Perabo went back and forth between movies and series, with roles in Black Butterfly (2017), Angel Has Fallen (2019) and Spontaneous (2020). She also starred in a few short-lived series, including Notorious (2016), Turn Up Charlie (2019) and The Big Leap (2021).

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Most recently, as noted, Perabo has starred in Yellowstone, saying of the experience, “It’s been a really a wild ride, because I never know where [the story is] going.”

Perabo married actor and director Stephen Kay in 2014. The couple has one daughter, Lillian, together.