Born June 8, 1966 in Spring Valley, New York, Juliana Margulies is an American actress and producer best known for her role as Nurse Carol Hathaway on NBC’s long-running medical drama ER, for which she won an Emmy Award.

Juliana is the youngest of three daughters of a former dancer in American Ballet, Francesca, and an advertising writer, Paul Margulies.  Her parents were Jewish, descended from immigrants from Austria, Hungary, and Romania (her mother later converted to Christianity).   The family lived in Israel for a time before Margulies was born, before moving back to the Upper West Side of New York City.  Margulies attended grade school at Green Meadow Waldorf School and high school at High Mowing School.  As a child, she lived in New York, France and England.  Margulies obtained a B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College, where she appeared in several campus plays.

Margulies went to New York City after graduating college to make her way in theater, which she did successfully while supporting herself as a waitress and bartender.  Eventually, she made her film debut as a prostitute opposite Steven Seagal in “Out for Justice” (1991). While continuing her theater work, Margulies had a guest appearance on “Law & Order” (NBC, 1990- ), a requisite for any New York-based actor.

In 1994, Margulies was cast in a role in the pilot episode of ER as an emergency care nurse who, despondent over her relationship with George Clooney’s character, Doug Ross, attempted suicide.  Her character was originally intended to die; however, the producers changed the plot and she went on to play the role of Nurse Carol Hathaway for six years.  She won an Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Television Drama in 1994, and was nominated for this award every year during her tenure.  She is also notable for being the only series regular cast member to win an Emmy Award.

Buoyed by her TV fame, Margulies returned to films during her hiatuses, starring as the would-be victim of Bill Paxton’s Irish con in Traveler (1996), a POW alongside Glenn Close and Cate Blanchett in the ensemble drama Paradise Road (1997), and as Matthew McConaughey’s girlfriend in Richard Linklater’s Western-esque bank robber saga The Newton Boys (1998).  Since her departure from ER, Margulies has worked on stage and screen.  On stage, she has appeared in a MCC Theater production of Kate Robin’s Intrigue with Faye, a Lincoln Center production of Jon Robin Baitz’s Ten Unknowns, and The Vagina Monologues.  Her film work since ER includes Evelyn with Pierce Brosnan and Ghost Ship with Gabriel Byrne and Ron Eldard.  She starred as the protagonist and narrator (Morgaine) in the 2001 TNT miniseries The Mists of Avalon and participated in the 2002 documentary film Searching for Debra Winger.  In August 2006, she appeared in Snakes on a Plane as flight attendant Claire Miller. In December 2006, she played Jennifer Bloom in the Sci-Fi Channel miniseries The Lost Room.

In 2009, she took the lead role of Alicia Florrick in the American legal drama The Good Wife on CBS, for which she has won a Golden Globe, 2 Screen Actors Guild Awards, and the 2011 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.  She holds the record for winning more Screen Actors Guild Awards than any other individual. She won six times for her work on ER, and twice for her performance on The Good Wife.

Margulies were married to attorney Keith Lieberthal on November 10, 2007, in Lenox, Massachusetts.  Their son, Kieran Lindsay Lieberthal, was born on January 17, 2008.

Juliana Margulies Photo Gallery