Marg Helgenberger Biography

Born Mary Margaret Helgenberger on 16 November 1958, in Fremont, Nebraska, she is the daughter of a meat inspector and a nurse. She attended Kearney State College in Nebraska before transferring to Northwestern University where she majored in drama.

Shortly after graduation, Helgenberger moved to New York to pursue an acting career. She soon landed a role on the soap opera 'Ryan's Hope', where she worked for four years.

After moving to Southern California, the actress appeared on such series as 'Matlock' and 'thirtysomething', but it wasn't until she was cast as tough-as-nails prostitute K.C. Koloski on ABC's 'China Beach' that Helgenberger received critical and popular success. She worked on the award-winning dramatic series from 1988 until its demise in 1991, earning an Emmy in 1989 for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.

After turning in various television guest performances throughout the 1990s, Helgenberger once again landed a plum primetime role as Catherine Willows on the popular dramatic series 'Crime Scene Investigation' in 2000. That same year, she received an Emmy award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. Helgenberger was nominated for the award again in 2003.

In 2008, she renewed her 'CSI' contract for two years. It was renewed again in 2010 when the 11th season of the show was commissioned. Following William Petersen's departure, she became one of the two highest paid actors in any of the 'CSI' series earning the same as David Caruso.

Helgenberger will only be appearing in 12 episodes of the new series after which she will be leaving. Producers will leave the doors open for her to return after her departure in January 2012. The reason she is leaving is so that she can focus on her theatre work.

In 2012, Helgenberger will be given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame to honour her TV work.

She has also branched out to film work, debuting on the big screen in Steven Spielberg's 'Always' in 1989. In 2000, Helgenberger gave a memorable supporting performance in Steven Soderbergh's widely acclaimed 'Erin Brockovich'. More recently, she has played Dennis Quaid's wife in the comedy 'In Good Company' (2005) and the unsuspecting spouse of a serial killer in 'Mr Brooks' (2007).

Helgenberger married actor Alan Rosenberg, whom she met on the set of 'Ryan's Hope', in 1989. The couple have one son, Hugh Howard Rosenberg. On 1 December 2008, the pair announced they were separating and on 25 March 2009, she filed for divorce. The divorce was finalised in February 2010.

Since 1997, the couple hosted 'Marg and Alan's Celebrity Weekend' once a year to raise money for breast cancer as the actress's mother battled with the disease for 27 years.