Hallee Leah Hirsh is an American actress perhaps best known for her roles as Mattie on JAG, Daley in the children's series Flight 29 Down, and as the adolescent and young adultRachel Greene on ER.
Early life
Hallee was born on Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha, Nebraska, the daughter of Deborah, a naval officer, and Mike Hirsh, a Marine officer. She began acting when she was 3, with her older brother Greg. Hirsch and her family moved frequently, first to Pensacola, Florida, where Hallee landed her first role after her first audition in Orlando for Disney's Big Red Boat cruise line. When she was 4, her mother was transferred to Long Island, and Hallee began taking the train into Manhattan after school to audition almost daily, landing roles such as Annabel Fox in You've Got Mail. After her agent, Abby Bluestone, moved to Los Angeles, Hallee at age 11 and her family followed, and her mother was stationed in Monterey, California. Hallee lived with her father in the Oakwood Toluca Hills apartment complex, alongside other notable child stars such as Hilary Duff, a time which she has referred to as "an important part of her life". She graduated magna cum laude from UCLA in 2011, majoring in anthropology and minoring in Chinese.
Career
Hirsh first portrayed Rachel Greene in the eighth season of ER in a storyline where a now teenage and rebellious Rachel leaves her mother in St. Louis to be with her father, Mark Greene; the character returns to St. Louis when Mark dies that season. Hirsh later reprised her role in 2004 in the season 10 episode "Midnight", visiting her stepmother Dr. Elizabeth Corday. In the ER series finale, aired April 2, 2009, titled "And in the End", Hirsh's character returned as a candidate interviewing for medical school, bringing the Greene family history full circle. Following her one main season on ER, Hirsh appeared in the recurring role of Matilda "Mattie" Grace Johnson, for 17 episodes on the television series JAG. Hirsh next starred in the Discovery Kids Channelteen series, Flight 29 Down. Hirsh is the recipient of two Youth in FilmYoung Artist Awards and was nominated for best acting awards for four other roles. She was nominated for Best Comedic Actress in a Feature Film at the 2009 Method Fest film festival for her work in16 to Life and won Best Actress for same role and film at both the 2010 Tunis International Film Festival and the 2010 Alaska International Film Festival. Hirsh has not been as active on film nor television since 2014, with just one subsequent credit, a yet to be released film announced in 2018.
Personal life
Hirsh married Ryan Martin in 2013 and they have two sons, born in May 2014 and December 2018. At the end of 2014, the family relocated from Los Angeles to Asheville, North Carolina, where they operate a donut shop specializing in donuts made using local flavors and ingredients.
