Background:

American actress Kathryn Erbe is most popular for playing the leading role of Det. Alexandra Eames in the NBC spin off show “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” (2001-2010, 2011), from which she received a Satellite nomination. About working on the show, she recalled, “'Law & Order:CI' takes up my whole life, really. I have a lot of heartache not being home for bedtime with my daughter, not getting to see my husband as much as I want. And not having any brain cells to sort of keep things going on the level I would like at home.”

Erbe also played a regular role on the short lived series “Chicken Soup” (1989) and a recurring role on HBO's “Oz” (1998-2003). Her film credits include “What About Bob?” (1991), “Rich in Love”  (1992), “Stir of Echoes” (1999), “Speaking of Sex” (2001) and “The Love Guide” (2011). Prior to her TV success, Erbe picked up a Tony nomination for her work on “The Speed of Darkness” (1991).       

Erbe was married to actor and theatre director Terry Kinney from 1993 to 2006. The marriage produced two children, Maeve Elsbeth Erbe Kinney and Carson Lincoln Kinney.  


Katie

Childhood and Family:

Kathryn Erbe was born Kathryn Elsbeth Erbe on July 5, 1965, in Newton, Massachusetts. Her father, Dr. Richard Erbe, is an internist subspecialized as a medical geneticist, while her mother, Elisabeth Magnarelli, was a vice president of a Boston management firm. She is the eldest of three children. Her brother's name is Jonathan and her sister's name is Jennifer. Kathryn, whose nickname is Katie, attended Newton South High School in Newton, Massachusetts and Jean Page School of Dance in Boston, Massachusetts. She graduated from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in 1990. She also trained at The Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute in New York and the American Dance Theater.

In 1993, Kathryn tied the knot with Terry Kinney (born January 29, 1954), the former husband of Elizabeth Perkins. The couple welcomed their first child, daughter Maeve Elsbeth Erbe Kinney, on October 26, 1995. Their second child, son Carson Lincoln Kinney, was born on October 15, 2003. Kathryn and Mr. Kinney divorced in 2006.


The Speed of Darkness

Career:

Kathryn Erbe made her feature film debut in the thriller “Runaway Dreams” (1989), starring Kaitlin Hopkins, Laird Stuart and Brian Tarantina. The same year, she landed the supporting role of Patricia Reece, the daughter of Maddie Peerce (played by Lynn Redgrave) on the ABC television sitcom “Chicken Soup.” The show ran from September 12, 1989 to November 7, 1989.  

Erbe next joined the Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company, which was co-founded by her husband Terry Kinney, and went on to star in many of their productions, including “The Grapes of Wrath,” which ran for six months and won the 1990 Tony Award for Best Play, “Curse of the Starving Class,” “A Streetcar Named Desire” and “My Thing of Love.” The actress was nominated for a Tony Award in the category of Best Actress, Featured Role for her performance as Mary “The Speed of Darkness” (1991), written by Steve Tesich.     

In 1991, Erbe co-starred as Richard Dreyfuss's daughter, Anna Marvin, in the comedy film “What About Bob?”, directed by Frank Oz. Her breakthrough film role arrived when she was cast as Lucille Odom, the suffering daughter of a runaway mother, in the drama “Rich in Love” (1992), which is based on  the 1987 novel of the same name by Josephine Humphreys. The film, directed by Bruce Beresford, received mostly positive reviews from critics.     

Erbe co-starred with James Garner and Joanne Woodward in the CBS Hallmark Hall of Fame production “Breathing Lessons” (1994), an adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize winning book of the same title by Anne Tyler, played the role of Michelle McKay in “D2: The Mighty Ducks” (1994), the second film in “The Mighty Ducks” trilogy and the first theatrical sequel to “The Mighty Ducks,” had a supporting role in the remake of “Kiss of Death” (1995), directed by Barbet Schroeder, and worked with Lili Taylor, Edie Falco, Paul Calderón and Christopher Walken in “The Addiction” (1995), an unconventional  vampire film directed by Abel Ferrara. She appeared in the Sundance Film Festival premiere “Dream with the Fishes,” which marked the directorial debut of Fin Taylor, appeared with her husband in the Emmy Award winning TV film “George Wallace,” starring Gary Sinise as George Wallace, the former Governor of Alabama, and made a guest appearance in “Homicide: Life on the Street” (all 1997).  

In 1998, Erbe landed a recurring role as death row inmate Shirley Bellinger on the HBO series “Oz,” where her husband was a co-star. She appeared in a total of 17 episodes until 2003. Meanwhile,  Erbe co-starred with Scott Glenn, Courtney B. Vance, Giancarlo Esposito and Robin Tunney in the made for television film “Naked City: Justice with a Bullet” (1998), which was directed, produced and written by Jeff Freilich, with Simon Baker, Jacqueline McKenzie and Pruitt Taylor Vince in the indie film “Love from Ground Zero” (1998), with Stephen Dorff, Judith Godrèche and Kelly Macdonald in Phil Joanou's comedy film “Entropy” (1999), with Kevin Bacon in the David Koepp directed “Stir of Echoes” (1999), with Dean Cain, Pat Hingle and Debbi Morgan in the CBS Hallmark Hall of Fame production “The Runaway” (2000) and with James Spader, Melora Walters and Jay Mohr in the comedy/romance film “Speaking of Sex”(2001), which premiered at the Chicago Film Festival.

In 2001, Erbe was cast in the starring role of high-strung detective Alexandra Eames in a spin-off of “Law & Order,” “Law & Order: Criminal Intent,” opposite Vincent D'Onofrio as Detectives Robert Goren. She left the series in the Season 9 premiere in 2010 and would return to play the role for for the eight-episode final season of “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” from May to June 2011. Erbe was nominated for a Satellite Award in 2008 in the category of Best Actress in a Series, Drama for her role.

Erbe appeared as John's wife in the independent film “Backyards,” which premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. She played the role of Catherine in the short film “Mother's House” (2011), which was directed and co-written by Davis Hall, and co-starred with Parker Posey and Jay Harrington  in the comedy film “The Love Guide” (2011).     

In 2012, Erbe reprised her role as Alexandra Eames in an episode of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” called “Acceptable Loss.”


Awards:

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