Rena Sofer Biography

Rena Sherel Sofer (born December 2, 1968) is an American actress, primarily known for her appearances in daytime television, episodic guest appearances, and made-for-television movies. In 1995, Sofer received a Daytime Emmy Award for her work in the soap opera General Hospital, for her portrayal of Lois Cerullo.

Early life

Sofer was born in Arcadia, California, the daughter of Susan (née Franzblau), a psychology professor, and Martin Sofer, a Conservative Jewish rabbi. Her family subsequently moved to Pittsburgh, where she was raised after her parents' divorce. Sofer attended the Frisch School, a Jewish high school in Paramus, New Jersey. She lived in North Bergen, New Jersey, where her father was Rabbi of Temple Beth El, and graduated from North Bergen High School before beginning classes at Montclair State College.

Career

Early Daytime Television: Sofer first played Lois Marie Cerullo on General Hospital. Her first appearance was in 1993 as a band manager. When she saw Eddie Mane perform at a New York Concert, she was immediately impressed and hired him. Unbeknownst to her, "Eddie" was Ned Ashton, son of Tracy Quartermaine not a traveling pharmaceutical salesman by day.

Daytime television

Sofer's first high profile role was as Rocky on the daytime soap opera Loving, a role she played from 1988 to 1991. She is perhaps best known for her role as Lois Cerullo on General Hospital from December 15, 1993 to September 24, 1996. She would later return as a guest star from February 7, 1997 to February 17, 1997 and again from September 30, 1997 to October 2, 1997. Her portrayal of the outrageous Lois won Sofer a Daytime Emmy Award in 1995 for "Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series."

In May 2013, it was announced that Sofer would join the CBS soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful, in a newly created role of Quinn Fuller, and first aired on July 12.

Primetime television

Sofer has appeared in several high profile prime time television series in a guest star/supporting cast member roles: Seinfeld, Melrose Place, The Chronicle, Ed, Friends, Spin City, Blind Justice, Ghost Whisperer, 24, NCIS, and Two and a Half Men.

Sofer was the subject of controversy in the early 2000s when she briefly joined the cast of the NBC sitcom Just Shoot Me!, playing the character Vicky Costa. It was widely reported that NBC executives forced the producers of the series to add Sofer to the cast, due to executives liking Sofer and wanting to showcase the actress in hopes of making her a break-out star for the network. Sofer's addition to Just Shoot Me! was widely panned. With the show being canceled midway through the season, she was quietly written out of the series halfway through the final season. A farewell episode for her character had been produced, but it was not shown during the show's first run. It aired in syndication. The network later cast Sofer in the short-lived US remake of the UK series Coupling.

In recent years, Rena Sofer has appeared in the NBC TV series Heroes as the recurring character Heidi Petrelli, wife of aspiring politician Nathan Petrelli (Adrian Pasdar). She appeared on Two and a Half Men in 2008, as a former girlfriend of the character Charlie Harper (Charlie Sheen). Rena also has guest starred on Dirty Sexy Money playing an intrepid reporter and played a ghost on Ghost Whisperer. In early 2010, Sofer began a recurring role on NCIS as Attorney Margaret Allison Hart, who is a potential love interest for the character Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon). She had a brief guest role on Bones as a love interest for the character Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz).

Film

In film, she has appeared as an involuntary love interest of Ben Stiller in the film Keeping the Faith, starring Jenna Elfman, Stiller and Edward Norton (who also directed).

She also appeared as a bride to-be with Melanie Griffith in Sidney Lumet's movie A Stranger Among Us and in Penelope Buitenhuis's movie The Secret of Hidden Lake.

She played the P.E. teacher Ms. Desjardin in the television film adaptation of Carrie in 2002.

She starred in the television movie Always and Forever which aired October 24, 2009 on the Hallmark Channel.

She also starred as Andrea Larson in the television movie Saved by the Bell: Hawaiian Style.

Personal life

Sofer and General Hospital love interest and co-star Wally Kurth became involved as their characters' storyline progressed. In 1995, the actors were married, and the couple have a daughter, Rosabel Rosalind Kurth. In 1997, Sofer and Kurth divorced.

Sofer married television director/producer Sanford Bookstaver in 2003. On August 5, 2005, Sofer gave birth to her first child with Bookstaver, named Avalon Leone, in Los Angeles.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
Film
1992	'	Shayna
1992	Saved by the Bell: Hawaiian Style	Andrea Larson	TV Movie
1994	Twin Sitters	Judy
1996	Hostile Advances: The Kerry Ellison Story	Kerry Ellison	TV Movie
1997	'	Darcy Canfield Ray	TV Movie
1998	Nightmare Street	Penny Randolph
2000	Keeping the Faith	Rachel Rose
2000	Traffic	Helena's Friend
2001	March	Hedy Pullman
2002	Carrie	Miss Desjarden
2006	'	Maggie Dolan	TV Movie
2009	Rock Slyde	Sara
2009	Always and Forever	Grace Holland	TV Movie
2010	Sarah	Teenage Sarah
2010	'	Joan	TV Movie
2011	Another Man's Wife	Hadley Warner	TV Movie
Television
1987	Another World	Joyce Abernathy
1988-1991	Loving	Amelia McKenzie Domeq
1992	Freshman Dorm	Veronica	Episode: "Sex, Truth, and Theatre" Episode: "The Last Sonnet"
1993	Herman's Head	Stephanie	Episode: "When Hermy Met Crawford's Girlfriend"
1993-1997	General Hospital	Lois Cerullo
1996	Caroline in the City	Risa Glickman	Episode: "Caroline and the Nice Jewish Boy"
1997	Seinfeld	Mary Anne	Episode: "The Muffin Tops"
1998	Glory, Glory	Elizabeth	TV Pilot
1998	Ellen	Jean	Episode: "Womyn Fest"
1998	Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place	Lauren Henderson	Episode: "Two Guys, a Girl, and a Recovery"
1998	Timecop	Dr. Carrie Ann Trent	Episode: "D.O.A."
1998-1999	Melrose Place	Eve Cleary	25 episodes
1999	Oh, Grow Up	Suzanne Vandermeer	12 episodes
2000	Opposite Sex	Ms. Gibson	Episode: "Pilot"
2000	Spin City	Sam	Episode: "Lost and Found"
2001	'	Dawn Cheswick	Episode: "Dog Eat Dog"
2001	Ed	Bonnie Hane	7 episodes
2001-2002	'	Grace Hall	22 episodes
2002	Friends	Katie	Episode: "The One with the Cooking Class"
2002-2003	Just Shoot Me!	Vicki Costa	14 episodes
2003	CSI: Miami	Alison	Episode: "Grave Young Men"
2003	Coupling	Susan Freeman	9 episodes
2005	Blind Justice	Christie Dunbar	13 episodes
2006-2007	Heroes	Heidi Petrelli	5 episodes
2007	24	Marilyn Bauer	12 episodes
2008	Ghost Whisperer	Tammy	Episode: "Ball & Chain"
2008, 2010	Two and a Half Men	Chrissy	Episode: "Taterhead is Our Love Child" Episode: "Gumby with a Pokey"
2009	Dirty Sexy Money	News Reporter	Episode: "The Facts"
2009	Monk	Kim Kelly	Episode: "Mr. Monk's Favorite Show"
2009	Criminal Minds	Erika Silverman	Episode: "The Slave of Duty"
2010	Bones	Dr. Catherine Bryar	Episode: "The Predator in the Pool"
2010	NCIS	Margaret Allison Hart	6 episodes
2010	Royal Pains	AJ	Episode: "Open Up Your Yenta Mouth and Say Ah"
2010	Medium	Dr. Natalie Salem	Episode: "Native Tongue"
2011-2012	Covert Affairs	Geena	Episode: "Bang and Blame" Episode: "Letter Never Sent" Episode: "This is Not America"
2012	House M.D.	Marlene Reese	Episode: "Man of the House"
2012	'	Alexis Cane	Episode: "Old Times"
2012	Beauty & the Beast	Sabrina Meyer	Episode: "Bridesmaid Up!"
2013	Once Upon a Time	Queen Eva	Episode: "The Queen is Dead"
2013"present	The Bold and The Beautiful	Quinn Fuller	Main role

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Work	Result	Ref
1995	Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series	General Hospital
	Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Younger Lead Actress