Kathryn Erbe

Kathryn Elsbeth Erbe (born July 5, 1965) is an American actress known for her role as Det. Alexandra Eames on Law & Order: Criminal Intent, a spin-off of Law & Order, and death row inmate Shirley Bellinger in the HBO series Oz.

Early life

Erbe was born the oldest of three children in Newton, Massachusetts. Her mother, Elisabeth Magnarelli, was a vice-president of a Boston management firm, and her father, Dr. Richard Erbe, is an internist at the University at Buffalo subspecialized as a medical geneticist. Her youngest brother, Barrett Erbe, is an up-and-coming political mogul and Associate of Regional Development at Buffalo Niagara Partnership.

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.