Marg Helgenberger | |
|---|---|
 Helgenberger at the 2013San Diego Comic-Con | |
| Born | Mary Margaret Helgenberger (1958-11-16)November 16, 1958 (age 67) Fremont, Nebraska, U.S. |
| Other names | Mary Helgenberger |
| Alma mater | Northwestern University (B.S.) |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1977–present |
| Known for | China Beach • CSI: Crime Scene Investigation • CSI: Vegas |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 1 |
Mary Margaret "Marg"Helgenberger (born November 16, 1958) is an American actress. She began her career in the early 1980s and first came to attention for playing the role ofSiobhan Ryan on the daytime soap operaRyan's Hope from 1982 to 1986. She is best known for her role asCatherine Willows in theCBS police procedural dramaCSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000–13), the subsequent television filmImmortality (2015), and the second and third seasons of the sequel seriesCSI: Vegas (2022–2024).[1] Helgenberger is also known for playing the role of K.C. Koloski in theABC dramaChina Beach (1988–91), which earned her the 1990Emmy Award forOutstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. She is also known for roles in the TV seriesUnder the Dome andIntelligence, and the filmsSpecies (1995),Species II (1998),Erin Brockovich (2000), andMr. Brooks (2007).
Helgenberger was born November 16, 1958, inFremont, Nebraska, to Mary Kay (née Bolte), anurse, and Hugh Helgenberger, a meat inspector.[2] She has an older sister Ann and a younger brother Curt.They are of Irish and German descent[3] and had a Roman Catholic upbringing.[4] They were raised inNorth Bend, Nebraska. She graduated from North Bend Central High School, where she played theFrench horn in its marching band.[5]
Until college, Helgenberger aspired to be a nurse like her mother. She attended Kearney State College (now theUniversity of Nebraska at Kearney) inKearney, Nebraska, thenNorthwestern University's School of Speech (now the School of Communication) inEvanston, Illinois, earning aB.S. degree in speech and drama.[6]
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Helgenberger began as a nightly weathergirl atKHGI-TV, theABC affiliate in Kearney, while attending college (her name was changed by the producer to Margi McCarty. McCarty was her grandmother's maiden name). During the summer, she also worked as a deboner at her father's meatpacking plant. After portraying the role ofBlanche Dubois in a university production ofA Streetcar Named Desire, she developed an interest in acting.[7]
While performing in a summer 1981 NU campus production ofShakespeare'sTaming of the Shrew, where she played Kate, Helgenberger was spotted by a scout for the TV soap operaRyan's Hope.[8]
Soon after completing college, Helgenberger landed her first professional role on the long-runningABC Daytime soap opera in March 1982, playing amateur copSiobhan Ryan Novak DuBujak, a role previously played byAnn Gillespie. After nearly four years, Helgenberger left the show in January 1986 to pursue new opportunities.
Helgenberger guest-starred in episodes of the ABC seriesSpenser: For Hire, NBC'sMatlock, and ABC'sthirtysomething. She also played a regular role as Natalie Thayer, oppositeMargot Kidder andJames Read, on the six-episode drama comedy seriesShell Game (1987).
She then starred as Karen Charlene "K.C." Koloski, a prostitute turned entrepreneur, on the ABC war drama seriesChina Beach from 1988 to 1991. The role earned her anEmmy Award forOutstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 1990.
In 1989, Helgenberger made her feature-film debut in a leading role as an all-night answering-service operator in one segment of the Wheat brothers' horror anthologyAfter Midnight. She followed it up with a role inSteven Spielberg's romantic comedy-dramaAlways (starringRichard Dreyfuss,Holly Hunter, andJohn Goodman), a modern version of the original 1943Victor Fleming filmA Guy Named Joe.
During the early to mid-1990s, Helgenberger played the love interest toWoody Harrelson's character inThe Cowboy Way (1994), and had a small role as Capt. Alison Sinclair inMichael Bay's action comedy filmBad Boys (1995). She also played Dr. Laura Baker, a molecular biologist, inRoger Donaldson's science-fiction thriller,Species (1995), and reprised the role in a sequel,Species II (1998).
Helgenberger had roles in the television filmsNot on the Frontline andIn Sickness and in Health. She played oppositeBruno Kirby inI'll Be Waiting, and as a novelist on the miniseriesStephen King's The Tommyknockers oppositeJimmy Smits. After playing a recurring role asGeorge Clooney's love interest on NBC's medical dramaER, Helgenberger appeared asDavid Caruso's sex-starved widow on Showtime'sElmore Leonard's Gold Coast. She starred withSteven Seagal in the 1997 action filmFire Down Below and portrayed the furious sibling toSteven Weber's character on the miniseries about the elusiveGulf War syndrome,Thanks of a Grateful Nation. She also starred oppositeAnn-Margret in Showtime'sHappy Face Murders.
In 2000, Helgenberger made a guest appearance in the Valentine's Day episode ofFrasier, in which Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) finally wears down his dad Martin's resistance and gets the older man to accompany him to the opera. Actually, this invitation is but a smokescreen, so that Frasier can "accidentally" run into his newest dream girl Emily (Helgenberger).
Starting in October 2000, Helgenberger starred in the role ofCatherine Willows, a former show girl employed as a blood-spatter analyst, on the hit CBS dramaCSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Her performance as the female lead has earned her two Emmy nominations and twoGolden Globe nominations. In 2005, she and her fellow cast members won theScreen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. WhenCSI first started filming, Helgenberger visited theClark County Coroner's Office to learn about her role, even viewing autopsies in progress. Helgenberger got the chance to act with her husband,Alan Rosenberg, when he guest-starred onCSI, season five ("Weeping Willows") and season seven ("Leaving Las Vegas").
During her time on the show, Helgenberger acted in the feature filmErin Brockovich and portrayedPatsy Ramsey on theminiseries about the mysterious murder of six-year-old beauty-pageant contestantJonBenét Ramsey inPerfect Murder, Perfect Town. She also starred asDennis Quaid's wife andScarlett Johansson's mother in writer-directorPaul Weitz's romantic drama comedyIn Good Company (2004).
In 2006, Helgenberger's hometown ofNorth Bend, Nebraska, renamed the street on which Helgenberger had her childhood home "Helgenberger Avenue". In 2012, speaking toThe Daily Northwestern - the Northwestern University's main student newspaper - she recalled that, "It really is pretty special. When I went back for the unveiling of it, which was about five years ago, I was very touched by it. A lot of people turned out, and there was a program up at my high school where the students were doing scenes from shows that I had done."[9]
In 2007, she was in the filmMr. Brooks withKevin Costner in which her character's daughter is played byDanielle Panabaker, the sister ofKay Panabaker, who plays her fictional daughter onCSI.[10]
In April 2008, Helgenberger was chosen as an endorser of theGot Milk? campaign.[11]
In December 2009,Forbes magazine placed Helgenberger third among primetime's top-earning women, with estimated earnings of $9.5 million, afterTyra Banks andKatherine Heigl.[12]
Helgenberger received the 2,458th star on theHollywood Walk of Fame on January 23, 2012, for her television work.[13][14]
She lent her voice as Greek goddessHera to the straight-to-video animated filmWonder Woman.[15]
FollowingWilliam Petersen's departure fromCSI, Helgenberger became one of the two highest paid actors in any of theCSI franchises, earning $375,000 per episode, the same asDavid Caruso, and $25,000 more per episode thanLaurence Fishburne.[16]
Helgenberger appeared in only the first 12 episodes of the 12th season ofCSI, as she wanted to return to the stage. The producers said they left the door open for Helgenberger if she wanted to return. Helgenberger left the show on January 25, 2012, during a two-part episode ("Ms. Willows Regrets" and "Willows in the Wind"). The last one was the most-watched episode of the season with 14.26 million viewers.[17]
Helgenberger also starred as Lilian Strand in the seriesIntelligence alongsideJosh Holloway andMeghan Ory.[18] Additionally, she briefly returned toCSI as Catherine for the 300th episode.[19] In February 2015, she joined the third season ofUnder the Dome.[20]
In May–June 2014, Helgenberger acted onstage in a production of the 2011 playThe Other Place bySharr White, put on by theBarrington Stage Company inPittsfield, Massachusetts.[21] In September–October 2016, she appeared at theArena Stage inWashington, D.C., in a revival ofLillian Hellman'sThe Little Foxes.[22]
In 2022, Helgenberger became a series regular onCSI: Vegas, joining the show in its second season and reprising her long-running role ofCatherine Willows.
In 1984, Helgenberger metAlan Rosenberg, a guest actor onRyan's Hope. The two became friends and started dating in 1986. They married in 1989 and have one son, Hugh Howard Rosenberg (b. 1990), named after Helgenberger's late father. On December 1, 2008, the couple announced that they were separating, and on March 25, 2009, Helgenberger filed for divorce.[23][24] Their divorce was finalized in February 2010.[25]
As a result of Helgenberger's mother's 27-year battle againstbreast cancer, Helgenberger and Rosenberg became involved in breast-cancer-related charity and have hosted a benefit Marg and Alan's Celebrity Weekend annually inOmaha, Nebraska, since 1999.[26]
In April 2022, Helgenberger married Charlie Haugk, whom she had been in a relationship with since the fall of 2019.[27]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Tootsie | Suzanne | |
| 1989 | After Midnight | Alex | |
| Always | Rachel | ||
| Peacemaker[28] | Mrs. Cooper | ||
| 1991 | Crooked Hearts | Jennetta | |
| 1993 | Distant Cousins | Connie | |
| 1994 | The Cowboy Way | Margarette | |
| 1995 | Just Looking | Darlene Carpenter | |
| Bad Boys | Capt. Alison Sinclair | ||
| Species | Dr. Laura Baker | ||
| 1996 | Frame by Frame | Det. Rose Ekberg | |
| My Fellow Americans | Joanna | Uncredited | |
| 1997 | Fire Down Below | Sarah Kellogg | |
| The Last Time I Committed Suicide | Lizzy | ||
| 1998 | Species II | Dr. Laura Baker | |
| 1999 | Lethal Vows | Ellen Farris | |
| 2000 | Erin Brockovich | Donna Jensen | |
| 2004 | In Good Company | Ann Foreman | |
| 2007 | Mr. Brooks | Mrs. Emma Brooks | |
| 2008 | Columbus Day | Alice | |
| 2009 | Wonder Woman | Hera | Voice role |
| Conan: Red Nail | Princess Tascela | ||
| 2016 | Almost Friends | Samantha | |
| 2019 | A Dog's Journey | Hannah Montgomery |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982–1986 | Ryan's Hope | Siobhan Ryan | Contract role |
| 1986 | Spenser: For Hire | Nancy Kettering | Episode: "An Eye for an Eye" |
| 1987 | Shell Game | Natalie Thayer | 6 episodes |
| Matlock | Laura Norwood | Episode: "The Gambler" | |
| 1988–1991 | China Beach | Karen Charlene Koloski | Series regular |
| 1990 | Blind Vengeance | Virginia Whitelaw | TV movie |
| 1991 | Tales from the Crypt | Vicky | Episode: "Deadline" |
| The Hidden Room | Jane | Episode: "A Friend in Need" | |
| Death Dreams | Crista Westfield | TV movie | |
| 1992 | In Sickness and in Health | Mickey | |
| Through the Eyes of a Killer | Laurie Fisher | ||
| 1993 | Partners | Georgeanne Bidwell | |
| The Tommyknockers | Roberta "Bobbi" Anderson | Miniseries | |
| 1993 | Fallen Angels | Eve Cressy | Episode: "I'll Be Waiting" |
| The Seduction of John Hearn | Debbie Banister | TV movie | |
| 1994 | Keys | Maureen Kickasola | |
| Lie Down with Lions | Kate Nessen | ||
| Where Are My Children? | Vanessa Meyer Vernon Scott | ||
| 1995 | The Larry Sanders Show | Susan Elliot | Episode: "Nothing Personal" |
| Inflammable | Kay Dolan | TV movie | |
| 1996 | ER | Karen Hines | 5 episodes |
| 1997 | Murder Live! | Pia Postman | TV movie |
| Gold Coast | Karen DiCilia | ||
| 1998 | Giving Up the Ghost | Anna Hobson | |
| Thanks of a Grateful Nation | Jerrilynn Folz | ||
| 1999 | Happy Face Murders | Jen Powell | |
| 2000 | Frasier | Emily | Episode: "Out with Dad" |
| Perfect Murder, Perfect Town | Patsy Ramsey | TV movie | |
| 2000–2012, 2013 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Catherine Willows | Main role |
| 2004 | King of the Hill | Mrs. Hanover (voice) | Episode: "Hank's Back" |
| 2014 | Intelligence | Lilian Strand | Series regular |
| 2015 | Under the Dome | Christine Price | Recurring |
| CSI: Immortality | FBI S.S.A. Catherine Willows | TV movie | |
| 2017 | Hell's Kitchen | Herself | Guest diner/Stand Up To Cancer controbutor; Episode: "Aerial Maneuvers" |
| 2019–2022 | All Rise | Judge Lisa Benner | Series regular |
| 2022–2024 | CSI: Vegas | Catherine Willows | Series regular (seasons 2-3) |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Catherine Willows | |
| 2004 | CSI: Dark Motives |
