Marg Helgenberger Biography

Mary Marg Helgenberger (born November 16, 1958) is an American film and television actress known for her roles as Catherine Willows in the CBS drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and as K.C. Koloski in the ABC drama China Beach, which earned her the 1990 Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.

Early life

Marg (pronounced with a hard "G") Helgenberger was born in Fremont, Nebraska, and raised in North Bend, Nebraska. She graduated from North Bend Central High School. She is the daughter of Mary Kay (née Bolte), a nurse, and Hugh Helgenberger, a meat inspector. Helgenberger is of Irish and German descent and had a Roman Catholic upbringing. She has one older sister named Ann and a younger brother named Curt. Helgenberger played the French horn in her high school marching band. Until she went to college, Helgenberger aspired to be a nurse like her mother. Marg attended Kearney State College (now the University of Nebraska at Kearney) in Kearney, Nebraska, then attended Northwestern University's School of Speech in Evanston, Illinois (now the School of Communication) and earned a B.S. degree in speech and drama.

Career

Helgenberger began as a nightly weather person at KHGI-TV in Kearney, Nebraska, while attending college (her name was changed by the producer to Margi McCarty). During the summer she also worked as a deboner at her father's meat packing plant. After portraying the role of Blanche Dubois in a university production of A Streetcar Named Desire, she developed an interest in acting.

While performing in a summer 1981 NU campus productions of Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew, in which she played Kate, Marg was spotted by a scout for the TV soap opera Ryan's Hope. Soon after completing college, Marg landed her first professional role on the long-running ABC Daytime soap opera, playing amateur cop Siobhan Ryan Novak DuBujak (1982"1986), a role previously played by Sarah Felder and Ann Gillespie. Helgenberger departed Ryan's Hope in January 1986 and was replaced in the role of Siobhan by Carrell Myers and Barbara Blackburn.

Helgenberger guest starred in an episode of ABC's mystery/detective series based on Robert B. Parker's Spenser novels, Spenser: For Hire, NBC's legal drama Matlock and ABC's drama thirtysomething. She also played a regular role as Natalie Thayer, opposite Margot Kidder and James Read, on CBS' six-episode drama comedy series Shell Game (1987).

Karen Charlene "K.C." Koloski, a heroin-addicted prostitute on the ABC war drama series China Beach, was Marg's first prominent role, which she played from 1988 to 1991. She won an Emmy Award for Outstanding 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 anthology After Midnight. She followed it up with a role in Steven Spielberg's romantic comedy-drama Always (starring Richard Dreyfuss, Holly Hunter, and John Goodman), a modern version of the original 1943 Victor Fleming film A Guy Named Joe.

During the early to mid-1990s, Marg played roles in Michael Bortman's adaptation of Robert Boswell's novel, Crooked Hearts (1991; with Peter Berg, Vincent D'Onofrio, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Noah Wyle and Peter Coyote), Gregg Champion's action comedy The Cowboy Way (1994), in which she played Woody Harrelson's love interest, and had a small role as Capt. Alison Sinclair in Michael Bay's action comedy film starring Martin Lawrence and Will Smith, Bad Boys (1995). She also played Dr. Laura Baker, a molecular biologist, in Roger Donaldson's sci-fi thriller, Species (1995), and reprised the role in the sequel, Species II (1998).

During that time, Helgenberger had roles in the television films Blind Vengeance, Lifetime's Death Dreams, PBS' historical documentary Not on the Frontline (as a narrator) and CBS' In Sickness and in Health. She was also seen opposite Bruno Kirby in I'll Be Waiting, a segment of Showtime's Fallen Angels helmed by Tom Hanks, and as a novelist on the ABC miniseries Stephen King's The Tommyknockers opposite Jimmy Smits. She was also seen in the CBS miniseries When Love Kills: The Seduction of John Hearn and collaborated with director Peter Weller in Showtime's Partners. After playing a recurring role as George Clooney's love interest on NBC's medical drama ER, Marg appeared as David Caruso's sex-starved widow on Showtime's Elmore Leonard's Gold Coast, helmed by Weller, and starred with Steven Seagal in the 1997 action film Fire Down Below. She also starred as a talk show host on Murder Live and portrayed the furious sibling to Steven Weber's character on Showtime's miniseries about the elusive Gulf War Syndrome, Thanks of a Grateful Nation. She also starred opposite Ann-Margret in Showtime's Happy Face Murders.

In 2000, Helgenberger made a guest appearance in the Valentine's Day episode of Frasier, 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).

Helgenberger co-starred in the role of Catherine Willows, a former show girl employed as a blood spatter analyst on the CBS drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Her performance as the female lead has earned her two Emmy Award and two Golden Globe nominations. In 2005, she and her fellow cast members won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.

When CSI first started filming, Helgenberger visited the Clark 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 on CSI, Season 5 ("Weeping Willows") and Season 7 ("Leaving Las Vegas").

During her stint on the hit show, Helgenberger acted in the feature film Erin Brockovich and portrayed Patsy Ramsey in the CBS miniseries about the mysterious murder of 6-year-old beauty pageant contestant JonBenét Ramsey in Perfect Murder, Perfect Town. She also starred as Dennis Quaid's wife and Scarlett Johansson's mother in writer-director Paul Weitz's romantic drama comedy In Good Company (2004).

Helgenberger also appeared on Pond's Smooth Perfection Skin Cream 2005 print ad.

In 2007, she was featured in the movies Conan: Red Nails (as the voice of Princess Tascela) and Mr. Brooks. In Mr. Brooks her character's daughter is played by Danielle Panabaker, the sister of Kay Panabaker, who plays Catherine Willow's daughter on CSI.

In mid-2006, Helgenberger's hometown of North Bend, Nebraska, population 1213, renamed the street on which Helgenberger had her childhood home "Helgenberger Avenue."

In animation, she lent her voice as Greek goddess Hera on DC Universe straight-to-video feature Wonder Woman.

Helgenberger is the unrequited love interest of the bespectacled amphibian Buddy in Mark Heath's Spot the Frog comic strip.

In 2008, she renewed her CSI contract with CBS for two additional years. In July 2010, her contract was renewed for an eleventh season with CSI. Following William Petersen's departure from CSI, Helgenberger became one of the two highest paid actors in any of the CSI shows (Vegas, Miami, NY), earning $375,000 per episode, the same as David Caruso, and $25,000 more per episode than Laurence Fishburne. Helgenberger only appeared in the first twelve episodes of the twelfth season of CSI, as she wants to return to the stage. The producers said they left the door open for Helgenberger if she wants to return. Helgenberger left the show on January 25, 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.

In 2013, she signed on to join the cast of the pilot for a new series, Intelligence. She is also set to return to the 300th episode of CSI as her character.

Media spotlight

Helgenberger continues to be included in lists of Hollywood's Most Beautiful. In 2002, she was listed on People magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People", she was included in Esquire magazine's "5 More Women We Love" in 2002, she ranks No. 16 on VH1's 40 Hottest Women over 40, number 15 of The 25 Most Attractive (Famous) Women in America in 2004, in 2004 she ranked number 35, 30, 29, 20, 17, 12 and 9 on The Glamour Girls Hot 100 due to her movie In Good Company and her TV Guide cover. She was on the list for about 10 weeks and spent 1 week on the top ten. She is the 4th oldest woman to be in the top ten.

Her character on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Catherine Willows, along with the character of Gil Grissom, was named number 82 in "Bravo's 100 Greatest TV Characters". On March 2006, Catherine Willows was named number 6 on The Star's Top Ten Hottests TV Characters.

In 2007, she was named one of the most pleasant celebrities on E! online's Answer B!tch Q&A page. In March 2007, Helgenberger was named one of the sexiest TV stars of 2007 by TV Guide magazine. Entertainment Weekly included her in the list of "The EW 100 Stars We Love Right Now" in 2007.

In April 2008, Helgenberger was chosen as an endorser of the Got Milk? campaign.

In December 2009, Forbes magazine placed Helgenberger third amongst prime-time's top-earning women with estimated earnings of $9.5 million, after Tyra Banks and Katherine Heigl.

Helgenberger received the 2,458th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on January 23, 2012 for her television work.

Personal life

In 1984, Helgenberger met Alan Rosenberg, a guest actor on Ryan's Hope. The two became friends and started dating in 1986. They married in 1989 and have one son, Hugh Howard Rosenberg (born 1990), named after Helgenberger's late father. On December 1, 2008, the couple announced that they were separating, and on March 25, 2009, she filed for divorce. Their divorce was finalized in February 2010.

As a result of Helgenberger's mother's 27-year battle against breast cancer, Helgenberger and Rosenberg became involved in the fight against breast cancer. Marg helped her mother fight breast cancer. They have hosted a benefit called Marg and Alan's Celebrity Weekend annually in Omaha since 1999.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1982-1986	Ryan's Hope	Siobhan Ryan Novak DuBujak	26 episodes
1982	Tootsie	Suzanne
1986	Spenser: For Hire	Nancy Kettering	Episode: "An Eye for an Eye"
1987	Shell Game	Natalie Thayer	6 episodes
1987	Matlock	Laura Norwood	Episode: "The Gambler"
1988-1991	China Beach	Karen Charlene Koloski	61 episodes Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Viewers for Quality Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (1989-1991) Nominated"?Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress " Series, Miniseries or Television Film Nominated"?Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (1991-1992)
1989	After Midnight	Alex
1989	Always	Rachel
1990	Peacemaker	Mrs. Cooper
1990	Blind Vengeance	Virginia Whitelaw	TV movie
1991	Crooked Hearts	Jennetta	TV movie
1991	Death Dreams	Crista Westfield	TV movie
1991	Tales from the Crypt	Vicky	Episode: "Deadline"
1991	The Hidden Room	Jane	Episode: "A Friend in Need"
1992	in Sickness and in Health	Mickey	TV movie
1992	Through the Eyes of a Killer	Laurie Fisher	TV movie
1993	Partners	Georgeanne Bidwell	TV movie
1993	The Tommyknockers	Roberta "Bobbi" Anderson	Miniseries
1993	Distant Cousins	Connie
1993	The Seduction of John Hearn	Debbie Banister	TV movie
1993	Fallen Angels	Eve Cressy	Episode: "I'll Be Waiting"
1994	Keys	Maureen Kickasola	TV movie
1994	Lie Down with Lions	Kate Nessen	TV movie
1994	Where Are My Children?	Vanessa Meyer Vernon Scott	TV movie
1994	The Cowboy Way	Margarette
1995	Just Looking	Darlene Carpenter
1995	Bad Boys	Capt. Alison Sinclair
1995	Species	Dr. Laura Baker
1995	The Larry Sanders Show	Susan Elliot	Episode: "Nothing Personal"
1995	Inflammable	Kay Dolan	TV movie
1996	ER	Karen Hines	5 episodes
1996	Frame by Frame	Det. Rose Ekberg
1996	My Fellow Americans	Joanna	Uncredited
1997	Fire Down Below	Sarah Kellogg
1997	The Last Time I Committed Suicide	Lizzy
1997	Gold Coast	Karen DiCilia	TV movie
1998	Giving Up the Ghost	Anna Hobson	TV movie
1998	Species II	Dr. Laura Baker
1998	Thanks of a Grateful Nation	Jerrilynn Folz	TV movie
1999	Happy Face Murders	Jen Powell
1999	Lethal Vows	Ellen Farris
2000	Erin Brockovich	Donna Jensen	Nominated"?Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama
2000	Frasier	Emily	Episode: "Out with Dad"
2000	Perfect Murder, Perfect Town	Patsy Ramsey	TV movie
2000-2012	CSI: Crime Scene Investigation	Catherine Willows	263 episodes Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Nominated"?Golden Globe Award for Best Actress " Television Series Drama (2002-2003) Nominated"?Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (2001, 2003) Nominated"?Satellite Award for Best Actress " Television Series Drama Nominated"?Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
2004	King of the Hill	Mrs. Hanover	Episode: "Hank's Back"
2004	In Good Company	Ann Foreman
2007	Mr. Brooks	Mrs. Emma Brooks
2008	Columbus Day	Alice
2009	Wonder Woman	Hera
2009	Conan: Red Nail	Princess Tascela
2013	RuPaul's Drag Race	Herself	2 episodes
2013	Intelligence	Lilian	Episode: "Pilot"

Awards and nominations

Blockbuster Entertainment Award

• 2001: nominated " Favorite Supporting Actress in a Drama " Erin Brockovich

Emmy Award

• 1990: won " Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series " China Beach
• 1991: nominated " Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series " China Beach
• 1992: nominated " Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series " China Beach
• 2001: nominated " Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series " CSI
• 2003: nominated " Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series " CSI

Golden Globe Award

• 1991: nominated " Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV " China Beach
• 2002: nominated " Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series " Drama " CSI
• 2003: nominated " Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series " Drama " CSI

Satellite Awards

• 2002: nominated " Best Performance by an Actress in a Series, Drama " CSI

People's Choice Awards

• 2002: nominated " The cast of Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
• 2003: nominated " The cast of Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
• 2004: nominated " The cast of Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
• 2005: won " Favorite Female TV Star " CSI
• 2005: won " The cast of Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series " CSI

Screen Actors Guild Awards

• 2005: won the Screen Actors Guild Award " The cast of Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series " CSI

TV Guide Awards

• 2001: nominated " Actress of the Year in a New Series " CSI

Viewers For Quality Television Awards

• 1989: won " Best Supporting Actress in a Quality Drama Series " China Beach
• 1990: won " Best Supporting Actress in a Quality Drama Series " China Beach
• 1991: won " Best Supporting Actress in a Quality Drama Series " China Beach