Lauren Michael Holly is an American-Canadian actress. She has played the roles of Deputy Sheriff Maxine Stewart in the television series Picket Fences, Director Jenny Shepard in the series NCIS, Dr. Betty Rogers on Canadian series Motive, Mary Swanson in Dumb and Dumber, Linda Lee in , Darian Smalls in Beautiful Girls, Cindy Rooney in Any Given Sunday, and Gigi in What Women Want.
Holly's acting career began at the age of 20 when she appeared as Carla Walicki in two episodes of Hill Street Blues. At age 23, she joined the cast of the ABC television soap operaAll My Children as Julie Rand Chandler. She portrayed the comic book character Betty Cooper in the TV movie ' in 1990. In 1992, Holly's big break came when she was cast as small-town Deputy Sheriff Maxine Stewart opposite veteran movie actorTom Skerritt on CBS's Picket Fences for four seasons, appearing in every episode except one. She portrayed Linda Lee Cadwell, the wife of martial artist and actor Bruce Lee, in 1993's '. She appeared as Mary Swanson, Lloyd Christmas's love interest, in the 1994 Jim Carrey comedy Dumb and Dumber; a doctor in Sydney Pollack's 1995 remake of Sabrina; and Lieutenant Emily Lake in the 1996 comedy Down Periscope with Kelsey Grammer. She starred in the movie Any Given Sunday. Holly appeared in the music video for Dixie Chicks' single "Goodbye Earl". She was a member of the cast of NCIS as Director Jenny Shepard from 2005 to 2008, reuniting with her former Chicago Hope co-stars Mark Harmon and Rocky Carroll. Holly portrayed the "worldly and stunning" lead medical examiner Dr. Betty Rogers, a regular character on the CTV series Motive. In 2014, she was reunited with her Picket Fences co-star, Tom Skerritt, in the movie, Field of Lost Shoes. In 2015, Holly starred in Oz Perkins' horror filmThe Blackcoat's Daughter. In February 2017, it was announced that Holly had joined Nicholas Gyeney's Seattle-based reality-drama, Ultra Low, set to begin filming the following March. In 2018, Holly was cast in a recurring role in the third season of Netflix's Designated Survivor as Lynn Harper.
Personal life
Holly has been married three times. Her first marriage was to actor Danny Quinn, the son of Anthony Quinn. The two married in 1991, and divorced two years later in 1993. In 1994 she met Jim Carrey during auditions for . She did not get offered the part, but the two developed a relationship while working together during the filming of Dumb and Dumber. In 1996 they were married. The marriage lasted less than a year, and they divorced in 1997. In 2001, she married Francis Greco, a Canadian born investment banker. The couple adopted three children, sons Henry, George, and Alexander Holly-Greco. In 2008 while married to Greco she became a Canadian citizen. The couple divorced in 2014. Holly lives in Oakville, Ontario, Canada, with her three children. In 1992, Holly, her father Grant, and their families established the "A" Fund at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in memory of her brother, Alexander, about whom Holly said, "He was a boy filled with dreams, hopes, and plans. Although he was only 14 when he died, he had traveled extensively in Europe and Central America, lived in New York City and Los Angeles, and these experiences produced in him a fascination for architecture and archaeology."
