Marg Helgenberger Biography

Actress. Born Mary Margaret Helgenberger on November 16, 1958, in Fremont, Nebraska. The daughter of a meat inspector and a nurse, Helgenberger attended Kearney State College in Nebraska before transferring to Northwestern University where she majored in drama.

Shortly after graduation, Helgenberger moved to New York to pursue an acting career. She soon landed a role on the soap opera Ryan's Hope, where she worked for four years. After moving to Southern California, the actress appeared on such series as Matlock and thirtysomething, but it wasn't until she was cast as tough-as-nails prostitute K.C. Koloski on ABC's China Beach that Helgenberger received critical and popular success. She worked on the award-winning dramatic series from 1988 until its demise in 1991, earning an Emmy in 1989 for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.

After turning in various television guest performances throughout the 1990s, Helgenberger once again landed a plum primetime role as Catherine Willows on the popular dramatic series Crime Scene Investigation in 2000. That same year, she received an Emmy award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. Helgenberger was nominated the award again in 2003.

Helgenberger has also branched out to film work, debuting on the big screen in Steven Spielberg's Always in 1989. In 2000, she gave a memorable supporting performance in Steven Soderbergh's widely acclaimed Erin Brockovich. More recently, she has played Dennis Quaid’s wife in the comedy In Good Company (2005) and the unsuspecting spouse of a serial killer in Mr. Brooks (2007).

Helgenberger married actor Alan Rosenberg, whom she met on the set of Ryan's Hope, in 1989. The couple has one son, Hugh Howard Rosenberg.

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