Kathryn Erbe

Kathryn Erbe (born either July 5, 1965 or July 2, 1966[1]) is an American actress, known for her role as Det. Alexandra Eames on Law & Order: Criminal Intent, a spin-off of Law & Order. Erbe is a veteran of film, stage, and television, and has been a working actress since she graduated from New York University in 1989.

Erbe was born in Newton, Massachusetts, the daughter of Richard and Elspeth Erbe, a research geneticist and statistician, respectively.[1] While an undergraduate student at NYU, Erbe was cast as Lynn Redgrave's daughter on the sitcom Chicken Soup. Following the series, she became a member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company and has starred in many of their productions, including A Streetcar Named Desire, Curse of the Starving Class, My Thing of Love, 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 Speed of Darkness by Steve Tesich. She has also performed in many world premiere productions by playwrights such as Tom Donaghy and Alex Gersten.

Erbe has starred in many films, including What About Bob?, Stir of Echoes and the independent films Dream with the Fishes, Love from Ground Zero and Entropy. Erbe also portrayed Shirley Bellinger on the HBO series Oz to wide critical acclaim. She has also made a guest appearance on Homicide: Life on the Street in 1997.

Erbe was formerly married to actor Terry Kinney; they have two children: daughter Maeve (born 1995) and son Carson (born 2003).