Kathryn Erbe


Kathryn Elsbeth Erbe is an American actress. She known for her role as Alexandra Eames on , a spin-off of Law & Order and Shirley Bellinger in the HBO series Oz.

Early life

Erbe was born in Newton, Massachusetts, the daughter of Elsbeth and Richard Erbe. Her father is a research geneticist. She graduated from New York University in 1989.

Career

While an undergraduate student at NYU, Erbe was cast as the daughter of Lynn Redgrave's character on the sitcom Chicken Soup. She later became a member of Steppenwolf Theatre Company and has starred in many of their productions, including A Streetcar Named Desire, Curse of the Starving Class, and The Grapes of Wrath, which ran for six months and won the 1990 Tony Award for Best Play. Erbe earned a Tony Award nomination in 1991 for her portrayal of Mary in The Speed of Darkness.
Erbe starred in such films as What About Bob?, Stir of Echoes, Rich in Love, and the independent films Dream with the Fishes, Love from Ground Zero, and Entropy. She played opposite David Caruso in Kiss of Death. She portrayed Shirley Bellinger on the HBO series Oz, to critical acclaim, and made a guest appearance on ' in 1997. From 2001 to early 2010, she starred as Detective Alexandra Eames on the NBC/USA Network series ', alongside Vincent D'Onofrio.
In 2010, both Erbe and D'Onofrio left Criminal Intent. Erbe signed on to reprise the role of Detective Eames for the eight-episode final season of the series, joining Vincent D'Onofrio, who had already signed up to return as Detective Robert Goren. She has reprised the role in guest appearances on . In 2014, Erbe appeared in an episode of Last Week Tonight parodying her role on Law & Order: Criminal Intent. She also recently played Fay Ambrose, the wife of Detective Harry Ambrose, in the USA Network's The Sinner.

Personal life

Erbe was formerly married to actor Terry Kinney, who also starred in Oz, with whom she has two children.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre