Julianna Margulies

Julianna Margulies is an American actress best known for her starring roles as Carol Hathaway in the NBC medical drama series ER and as Alicia Florrick in the CBS legal drama series The Good Wife. Over the course of her career, she has received three Primetime Emmy Awards, eight Screen Actors Guild Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and a Television Critics Association Award.

Margulies was born in Spring Valley, New York, as the youngest of three daughters to Francesca, a ballet dancer and eurythmy teacher, and Paul Margulies, a writer, philosopher, and advertising executive. Following her parents' divorce when she was a year old, she had a nomadic youth moving between various locations, including France and England. She later graduated from Sarah Lawrence College with a degree in art history and English, while also focusing coursework on theatre.

She made her feature film debut in the 1991 action film Out for Justice before landing her breakout role in 1994 as emergency care nurse Carol Hathaway on ER. Originally scripted to die in the pilot, her character survived due to positive test audience feedback. Margulies remained a series regular for six seasons until 2000, winning a Primetime Emmy Award, before choosing to leave the show to pursue stage work and other acting projects. She later returned for a guest appearance during the show's final season in 2009.

After leaving ER as a regular, Margulies appeared in stage productions such as Ten Unknowns and Intrigue With Faye. Her screen projects throughout the decade included the films Evelyn, Ghost Ship, and Snakes on a Plane, as well as the miniseries The Mists of Avalon, The Grid, and The Lost Room. She also took on recurring roles in television series such as Scrubs and The Sopranos, and starred in and produced the legal drama Canterbury's Law.

In 2009, Margulies began playing the lead role of Alicia Florrick in The Good Wife, portraying an attorney re-entering legal practice. She starred in the series until 2016 and became a producer on the show starting in its third season. Her performance won her two additional Primetime Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award.

Her subsequent television credits include starring roles in the series Dietland and the miniseries The Hot Zone, as well as playing Laura Peterson in the Apple TV+ drama series The Morning Show. Her film appearances include City Island, Stand Up Guys, and The Upside. In addition to her acting work, Margulies authored the memoir Sunshine Girl, received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and was named one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world in 2015.