Amy's mother, a superior court judge, was one of the first women to graduate from Harvard. Her father is an environmental lawyer. Amy is also a graduate from Harvard, where she majored in comparative religion. She spent one semester studying sacred dances in Nepal. While in college, she formed the Cornerstone Theater Company, a touring production company that takes classics to small towns and encourages locals to particiapte in them. After touring for five years, she moved to New York where she became a teacher in Brooklyn. She landed her first tv role in 1992.