In House M.D., who plays Dr. Lisa Cuddy, the hospital’s dean of medicine?

Lisa Edelstein plays Dr. Lisa Cuddy, the dean of medicine and hospital administrator in House M.D.

Cuddy supervises House and frequently confronts him over his unconventional methods, missed clinic duties, and disregard for hospital rules. Despite their clashes, she recognizes his diagnostic ability and repeatedly protects or supports the department when his results justify the risks he takes.

Edelstein’s performance made Cuddy one of the show’s central authority figures. The character is a physician and administrator, which allows her to participate in medical decisions while also handling budgets, staffing, legal exposure, and institutional policy.

Lisa Cuddy is sometimes confused with other hospital administrators in medical dramas. In House M.D., however, she is specifically the dean of medicine at Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. Edelstein left the main cast after the show’s seventh season.