Born a State Dept. brat, in Germany, to expat Americans, traveling with my parents was a fantastic education. My grandparents were first generation from Poland and Ireland, labored as maids, drivers, and security guards, and passed down their strong work ethic and love of the Golden Rule. Education, travel, and exposure to cultures, and ideas different than our own was valued in my family and, besides Frankfurt, Germany, we lived in Ankara, Turkey and Beirut, Lebanon.

My parents encouraged my sisters and me in the arts; learn music and dance; sing with every chorale and chorus; and love theatre. This passion led to studying theatre in college and at RADA in London and performing for a year as a cow on a national tour, where I learned that I am crazy enough to want to do this every day! (Yes, I played a cow; I had an udder; I have pictures. And I was milked - on stage; no, I don't have pictures of that.) (OK, I was more than "just" a cow. Besides the musical adaptation of George Orwell's Animal Farm, in which I played a cow - Ahhh! Makes more sense now, doesn't it? - we also performed Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing and I played Don Pedro and understudied Benedict, but "playing a cow for a year" just sounds more fun, doesn't it?)

I settled in Washington DC near family, and returned to school for graduate degrees in philosophy and theology, as my theatre degree just seemed too darned practical. And I focused on ancient and medieval philosophy because of the high demand for Latin speaking philosophers in today's job market. On a positive note, the education did help me support myself as a technical writer and computer engineer. (Apparently those are the jobs given to the most boring people in the room, who know a lot of stuff no one really cares about anymore.) Yea me! (And I kill at cocktail parties. Seriously. No, seriously, people feign death to get me to stop talking.)

Moving to Southern California has spurred my desire to find more work in TV and film, and to continue to improve my craft. Despite my sparkling and effervescent personality, I often am cast as not so nice characters: homicidal maniac, power-hungry CEO, heartless Nazi, venom-spouting bigot, and murderous priest are just a few of my recent specialties, and, oddly, I love playing the darker characters. It's great fun to discover their humanity and bring them, honestly, to life. I just hope all the directors, producers, and casting directors aren't trying to tell me something.

I love working with talented artists and teachers, and I'm especially grateful to the wonderful coaches, cheer leaders, and friends who put up with me, especially: