Michelle Forbes | |
---|---|
Born | Michelle Renee Forbes Guajardo January 8, 1965 Austin, Texas, U.S. |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1980–present |
Spouse |
Michelle Renee Forbes Guajardo (born January 8, 1965) [1] is an American actress who has appeared on television and in independent films. She is a Saturn Award winner with three nominations.
Forbes first garnered attention for her dual role in the daytime soap opera Guiding Light , for which she received a Daytime Emmy Award nomination. She is known for her recurring appearances on genre and drama shows, including Ensign Ro Laren in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Picard, and her regular role as medical examiner Julianna Cox on Homicide: Life on the Street during the 1990s. She played recurring roles throughout the 2000s in Battlestar Galactica , 24 , In Treatment , Durham County , Prison Break and her series regular role as Maryann Forrester on True Blood . She has appeared in significant roles in films such as Escape from L.A. , Kalifornia , Swimming with Sharks and Columbus .
She starred in the 2011–2012 AMC television series The Killing , for which she received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination. [2] On June 18, 2019 it was announced that Forbes would join USA Network's action drama series Treadstone , a prequel/sequel to the Bourne franchise. [3]
Forbes was born in Austin, Texas, of Mexican American heritage. [4]
Forbes hoped to become a ballet dancer. She began receiving formal acting training at the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston. While on vacation in New York City at the age of 16, she found herself auditioning for a film; [5] although she was not selected, she signed with the William Morris Agency and began her professional acting career.
This section of a biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification .(July 2018) |
In 1987, at age 22, Forbes landed the contract role of Sonni Carrera Lewis on the daytime soap opera Guiding Light . The role was expanded to a dual role, with a second character, Solita Carrera, added. Forbes was a cast member for three years and in 1990 earned a Daytime Emmy Award nomination for her performance. She then continued in theater and began appearing in small guest roles on television to raise her profile. She went on to make guest appearances on a few other TV shows before landing the recurring role of Ensign Ro Laren in Star Trek: The Next Generation .
The producers of Star Trek: The Next Generation invited Forbes to reprise Ro in the spin-off series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine but Forbes declined the offer [6] and decided to focus on a career in films. She received praise, as well as a Saturn Award nomination from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, for her performance as photographer Carrie Laughlin in the 1993 thriller Kalifornia . This was followed with the lead female role in the 1994 black comedy Swimming with Sharks as well as supporting roles in films such as The Road Killers, Just Looking and John Carpenter's 1996 science fiction/action sequel Escape from L.A.
She continued performing on television during this period, with guest spots on Seinfeld , The Outer Limits and Star Trek: The Next Generation, to which she returned to tie up the Ro Laren storyline in the series' penultimate episode.
In 1995, she played one of the leads in J. S. Cardone's crime thriller Black Day Blue Night , alongside Mia Sara and Gil Bellows. The reviews for Black Day Blue Night were positive. Without breaking new grounds, they highlighted its strengths as a well-executed, low-budget noir with engaging performances. [7] [8] [9] [10] Greg Evans of Variety liked the film and of Forbes performance he said that it was "compellingly hard-bitten" and "outdistance the material." [11]
In 1996, Forbes joined the cast of NBC's popular police drama Homicide: Life on the Street , playing chief medical examiner Julianna Cox. She remained with the show for two years then was let go as part of a major cast overhaul (the series was canceled after one more season). However, she reprised her role in the 2000 TV special Homicide: The Movie.
That same year, Forbes became a regular on the ABC series Wonderland but it was pulled from the air after only two episodes. Forbes was next seen in a recurring role on the police drama The District .
She was subsequently given roles in films such as 2001's Perfume and 2002's American Girl as well as the 2001 British television film Messiah (for which she studied British sign language for a week) and its sequel installments: Messiah 2: Vengeance is Mine in 2002 and Messiah III in 2003. During the 2002–2003 TV season, Forbes played the recurring character of presidential aide Lynne Kresge on the second season of the action series 24 .
She followed her role on 24 with a guest spot on Alias then went on to play Admiral Helena Cain in three episodes of the re-imagining of the classic sci-fi series Battlestar Galactica as well as appearing in the television film Battlestar Galactica: Razor . She followed this up with a recurring role as Agent Samantha Brinker on the drama Prison Break and guest starred on Boston Legal and Lost .
Forbes starred as the lead in the adaptation of the comic-book Global Frequency , the single produced episode of which leaked online the following year, eight months after the series failed to be picked up by Warner Bros. networks. [12]
Forbes returned to British television screens with guest roles in both Holby City and as a Mossad agent in Waking the Dead . In 2008, Forbes starred in two HBO drama series; In Treatment, portraying the wife of the central character, and in True Blood as a Maenad named Maryann Forrester. [13]
She reprised her semi-regular roles in both series in their respective second seasons in 2009 as well as joining the cast of the Canadian psychological drama series Durham County for its second season as Dr. Penelope Verity. [14]
Forbes played the role of Mitch Larsen in the US television series The Killing, a 2011 remake of the Danish crime series Forbrydelsen. Forbes appeared as Retro Girl in the TV series Powers . [15] She also landed a prominent supporting role in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 .
Forbes subsequently played Valerie Edwards in the TV series Berlin Station that aired on Epix from 2016 to 2019. Her character was a no-nonsense administrator who serves as a Berlin Station Internal branch chief.
In January 2021, it was announced that she would join the cast of the ABC drama Big Sky as matriarch Margaret Kleinsasser. [16]
Forbes had been a vegetarian since her teenage years and became a vegan in 2011. [17]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1993 | Love Bites | Nerissa | |
1993 | Kalifornia | Carrie Laughlin | Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Actress |
1994 | Swimming with Sharks | Dawn Lockhard | |
1994 | Roadflower | Helen | |
1995 | Just Looking | Mary | |
1995 | The Chosen One | The Mother | |
1995 | Black Day Blue Night | Rinda Woolley | |
1996 | Escape from L.A. | Lieutenant Brazen | |
1998 | Dry Martini | Valeria | |
2000 | Bullfighter | Mary | |
2001 | Perfume | Francene | |
2002 | American Girl | Madge Grubb | |
2004 | Dandelion | Ms. Voss | |
2004 | Al Roach: Private Investigator | Dede Dragonfly | Voice role |
2009 | Diplomacy | US Secretary of State | |
2013 | Highland Park | Sylvia | |
2013 | The Hunters | Jordyn Flynn | |
2015 | The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 | Lieutenant Jackson | |
2017 | Columbus | Maria | |
2017 | Gemini | Jamie | |
2017 | Say You Will | Janis Nimitz | |
2017 | The Honor Farm |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1987–1989 | Guiding Light | Dr. 'Sonni' Carrera-Lewis | Unknown episodes Nominated—Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series |
1991 | Father Dowling Mysteries | Gym Instructor | Episode: "The Fugitive Priest Mystery" |
1991 | Shannon's Deal | Maren | Episode: "The Inside Man" |
1991 | Star Trek: The Next Generation | Dara | Episode: "Half a Life" |
1991–1994 | Star Trek: The Next Generation | Ensign Ro Laren | Recurring role (Seasons 5–7) |
1994 | Seinfeld | Julie | Episode: "The Big Salad" |
1996 | The Outer Limits | Jamie Pratt | Episode: "A Stitch in Time" |
1996 | The Prosecutors | District Attorney Rachel Simone | TV movie |
1996–1998 | Homicide: Life on the Street | Dr. Julianna Cox | Main cast (Seasons 5–6) Nominated—Viewers for Quality Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Quality Drama Series |
1998 | Brimstone | Assistant District Attorney Julia Trent | Episode: "Executioner" |
2000 | The District | Helen York | Recurring role (Season 1) |
2000 | Homicide: Life Everlasting | Dr. Julianna Cox | TV movie |
2000 | Wonderland | Dr. Lyla Garrity | Main cast |
2001–2004 | Messiah | Susan Metcalfe | Main cast (Series 1–3) |
2002 | Strong Medicine | Assistant District Attorney Jill Sorenson | 2 episodes |
2002 | Jackson County War | Rory Hammett | TV movie |
2002 | Fastlane | Lena | Episode: "Get Your Mack On"; uncredited |
2002–03 | 24 | Lynne Kresge | Recurring role (Season 2) Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series |
2004 | Love is the Drug | Reena | 3 episodes |
2004 | Global Frequency | Miranda Zero | Unsold pilot |
2005 | Alias | Dr. Maggie Sinclair | Episode: "Another Mister Sloane" |
2005 | The Inside | Zoya Petikof | Episode: "Thief of Hearts" |
2005–06 | Battlestar Galactica | Admiral Helena Cain | Recurring role (Season 2) |
2005–06 | Prison Break | Samantha Brinker | Recurring role (Season 1) |
2006 | Boston Legal | Juliette Monroe | Episode: "The Nutcrackers" |
2007 | Unthinkable | Jamie McDowell | TV movie |
2007 | Battlestar Galactica: Razor | Admiral Helena Cain | TV movie |
2007–08 | Waking the Dead | Sarah | 3 episodes |
2008 | Lost | Karen Decker | Episode: "There's No Place Like Home: Part 1" |
2008–09 | In Treatment | Kate Weston | Main cast (Season 1) |
2008–2009 | True Blood | Maryann Forrester | Recurring role (Seasons 1–2) Satellite Award for Best Cast – Television Series Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Guest Starring Role on Television Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series |
2009 | Durham County | Dr. Pen Verrity | Main cast (Season 2) |
2011–2012 | The Killing | 'Mitch' Larsen | Main cast (Seasons 1–2) Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress on Television Nominated—Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film |
2013 | Chicago Fire | Gail McLeod | Recurring role (Season 2) |
2014 | Orphan Black | Dr. Marian Bowles | Recurring role (Season 2) |
2014 | Rake | Lucy Marks | Episode: "Jury Tamperer" |
2015 | Powers | Janis Sandusky / Retro Girl | Main cast (Season 1) |
2015 | The Returned | Helen Goddard | Recurring role |
2016–2019 | Berlin Station | Valerie Edwards | Main cast |
2019 | Grey's Anatomy | Vicki Ann Rudin | Episode: "Silent All These Years" |
2019 | Treadstone | Ellen Becker | Main cast |
2021 | Big Sky | Margaret Kleinsasser | Recurring role (Season 1) |
2021–22 | New Amsterdam | Dr. Veronica Fuentes | Recurring role (Season 4) |
2023 | Star Trek: Picard | Commander Ro Laren | Episode: "Imposters" |
Year | Title | Voice role |
---|---|---|
2004 | Half-Life 2 | Dr. Judith Mossman |
2006 | Half-Life 2: Episode One | Dr. Judith Mossman |
2007 | Half-Life 2: Episode Two | Dr. Judith Mossman |
2009 | The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena | Captain Gail Revas |
2011 | DC Universe Online | Circe |
2017 | Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus | Zofia Blazkowicz |
Year | Award | Category | Production | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
1990 | Daytime Emmy Award | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series | Guiding Light | Nominated |
1990 | Soap Opera Digest Award | Outstanding Daytime Villainess | Guiding Light | Nominated |
1993 | Saturn Award | Best Actress | Kalifornia | Nominated |
2003 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | 24 (shared with the cast) | Nominated |
2010 | Saturn Award | Best Guest Starring Role in Television | True Blood | Nominated |
2010 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | True Blood (shared with the cast) | Nominated |
2011 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series [18] | The Killing | Nominated |
2011 | Critics' Choice Television Award | Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series [19] | The Killing | Nominated |
2011 | Saturn Award | Best Supporting Actress in Television [20] | The Killing | Won |
2023 | Hollywood HCA Award | Best Guest Actress in a Drama Series [21] | Star Trek: Picard | Nominated |
Michelle Christine Trachtenberg is an American actress. Trachtenberg began her career at age three, appearing in a number of commercials, films, and television series as a child. Her starring role on the Nickelodeon television series The Adventures of Pete & Pete (1994–1996) as Nona Mecklenberg was her first credited role. She starred in the Nickelodeon Movies comedy film Harriet the Spy (1996) as the film's eponymous character and in the CBS sitcom Meego (1997) as Maggie, for both of which she won Young Artist Awards.
Mary Eileen McDonnell is an American film, stage, and television actress. She received Academy Award nominations for her roles as Stands With A Fist in Dances With Wolves and May-Alice Culhane in Passion Fish. McDonnell is well known for her performances as President Laura Roslin in Battlestar Galactica, First Lady Marilyn Whitmore in Independence Day, and Rose in Donnie Darko. She was featured as Captain Sharon Raydor during seasons 5–7 of the TNT series The Closer and starred as Commander Sharon Raydor in the spin-off series Major Crimes on the same network. In 2023, she played Madeleine Usher in the miniseries The Fall of the House of Usher on Netflix.
Richard Lawrence Hatch was an American actor and writer. He began his career as a stage actor before moving on to television work in the 1970s. Hatch is best known for his role as Captain Apollo in the original Battlestar Galactica television series. He is also widely known for his role as Tom Zarek in the reimagined Battlestar Galactica.
Susan Seaforth Hayes is an American television actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Julie Williams on the NBC drama Days of Our Lives, and her intermittent portrayal of Joanna Manning on the CBS daytime drama The Young and the Restless. She began playing the role of Julie on Days of Our Lives in 1968, and is the only actress to appear on the show for all seven decades it has been on the air. Seaforth Hayes still regularly appears on Days as Julie.
Lauralee Kristen Bell is an American actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Christine Blair in the CBS daytime soap operas, The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful. As a producer, she received the award for Outstanding Special Class Short Format Daytime at the 41st Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Awards for the short film mI promise.
Jessica Collins is an American actress. She is best known for portraying Dinah Lee Mayberry on the ABC soap opera Loving (1991–1994) and Avery Bailey Clark on the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless (2011–2015), for which she won a Daytime Emmy. She also starred as Meredith Davies on Fox's Tru Calling, and appeared in recurring and guest roles in many other shows.
Sydney Margaret Penny is an American actress. She began her career as a child performer appearing in made-for-television movies. She made her big screen debut in the Western film Pale Rider directed by Clint Eastwood. She received total six Young Artist Awards nominations, winning two for playing Young Meggie Cleary in the miniseries The Thorn Birds (1983), and for Pale Rider. Penny also starred in the sitcom The New Gidget (1986–1988), and played Bernadette Soubirous in the French drama film Bernadette (1988) and its sequel The Passion of Bernadette (1990) both directed by Jean Delannoy.
Leann Hunley is an American television actress. Although she has worked in numerous productions, she is perhaps best known for portraying Anna DiMera on NBC's Days of Our Lives and Dana Waring on the ABC primetime soap opera, Dynasty.
Kathleen Noone is an American actress. She began her career as a singer in nightclubs and performed in musicals off-Broadway before making her television debut in the CBS daytime soap opera, As the World Turns (1975–1976).
Ana Alicia Ortiz Torres is a Mexican-American retired actress who performed in theatre and on television. After getting her television start by spending a year on the daytime soap-opera Ryan's Hope, she gained international recognition for her role as scheming vineyard heiress Melissa Agretti on the long-running primetime soap opera Falcon Crest which she portrayed for seven seasons from 1982 until 1988. She has also performed in few single episode guest-starring roles on various televisions shows or in television movies most years from the late-1970s to the mid-1990s.
Tricia Janine Helfer is a Canadian and American actress. She is known for portraying Number Six in the science fiction series Battlestar Galactica (2004–2009). She also voiced Sarah Kerrigan in the video game StarCraft II and its expansion packs (2010–2015), and portrayed Charlotte Richards/Goddess in the urban fantasy series Lucifer (2016–2021).
Katee Sackhoff is an American actress. She is known for playing Lieutenant Kara "Starbuck" Thrace on the Sci Fi Channel's television program Battlestar Galactica (2004–2009), Niko Breckenridge on the Netflix series Another Life (2019–2021), Victoria "Vic" Moretti on the A&E / Netflix series Longmire and Bo-Katan Kryze on the Disney+ series The Mandalorian (2020–2023). She also provided the voice for Kryze in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels (2017) and Star Wars: Tales of the Empire (2024), as well as the voice of Bitch Pudding on Robot Chicken (2005–present). She was nominated for four Saturn Awards for her work on Battlestar Galactica and won the award for Best Supporting Actress on Television in 2005.
Katherine Elizabeth Vernon is a Canadian-born American actress. She is known for her roles as Lorraine Prescott on the CBS primetime soap opera Falcon Crest (1984–1985), the stuck-up and popular Benny Hanson in the comedy film Pretty in Pink (1986), Sophia in the 1992 film Malcolm X, and Ellen Tigh in the 2004 Syfy series Battlestar Galactica.
Barbara Babcock is an American actress. She began her career on television in mid-1950s with guest-starring appearances in more than 60 television series through her career. She made several appearances on Star Trek: The Original Series, Mannix and Murder, She Wrote and had a recurring role in the CBS prime time soap opera, Dallas from 1978 to 1982.
Matthew Ray Bennett is a Canadian actor, writer, and director. He is best known for portraying Detective Len Harper on Cold Squad and his recurring roles as Aaron Doral cylon model number five in the reimagined Battlestar Galactica and Daniel Rosen in Orphan Black.
Sharon Elizabeth Lawrence is an American actress. From 1993 to 1999, she starred as Sylvia Costas in the ABC drama series, NYPD Blue. The role garnered her three Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series, and Satellite Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama. She received three additional Emmy Awards nominations for her later television performances.
Keegan Connor Tracy is a Canadian actress and author. She is best known for her roles as Audrey Malone in the Showtime comedy-drama series Beggars and Choosers (1999–2000), the Blue Fairy in the ABC fantasy drama series Once Upon a Time (2011–18), Miss Blair Watson in the A&E drama series Bates Motel (2013–16), and Professor Lipson in the Syfy fantasy series The Magicians (2016–2020). Tracy's other notable work includes roles on the television series Jake 2.0, The 4400, Stargate SG-1, Supernatural, Psych, and Battlestar Galactica.
Valerie Mahaffey is an American character actress and producer. She began her career starring in the NBC daytime soap opera The Doctors (1979–81), for which in 1980 she was nominated for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.
Herbert Jefferson Jr., is an American film, television, and stage actor.
Kathleen Gati is a US-based Canadian actress. She is known for portraying Liesl Obrecht on the ABC daytime soap opera General Hospital. She appeared on the television series Leverage in 2009.