Biography
Actress Erika Christensen first caught attention with an award-winning performance in Steven Soderbergh's "Traffic" (2000) before taking center stage in "Swimfan" (2002), "The Tortured" (2010) and "The Case for Christ" (2017) and landing the recurring role of Julia in family drama "Parenthood" (NBC, 2010-15). Born in Seattle, WA in 1982 to Scientologist parents, Erika Christensen moved with her family to Los Angeles aged four and after appearing in various commercials made her screen debut in "Leave It to Beaver" (1997). Following guest spots on "Frasier" (NBC, 1993-2004), "The Practice" (NBC, 1997-04) and "Nothing Sacred" (ABC, 1997-98), Christensen co-starred in Disney sci-fi "Can of Worms" (1999) and was cast as the youngest daughter of a 17th Century Puritan family in sitcom "Thanks" (CBS, 1999). Her big break came when she landed the role of Caroline Wakefield, the drug-addicted daughter of Michael Douglas' Ohio judge, in the Oscar-nominated "Traffic" (2000). Christensen subsequently shared top billing with Busy Philipps as a school shooting survivor in "Home Room" (2002), starred as Jesse Bradford's stalker in teen movie "Swimfan" (2002) and played Susan Sarandon's daughter in groupie comedy "The Banger Sisters" (2002). She continued her prolific streak with the roles of romantic lead Cate in contemporary adaptation "Wuthering Heights" (2003), gifted student Anna in high school heist "The Perfect Score" (2004) and the girlfriend of a death-obsessed artist in horror "Riding with the Bullet" (2004). Christensen then appeared on screen with her brother Dane in rom-com "The Upside of Anger" (2005), starred alongside Elizabeth Banks and Maria Bello in dysfunctional family drama "The Sisters" (2005) and played a flight attendant in airborne mystery "Flightplan" (2005) before returning to the small screen as nanny Mae Anderson in interweaving New York series "Six Degrees" (ABC, 2006-07). Christensen then added to her filmography with the parts of rape victim Mona in vigilante dramedy "Gardener of Eden" (2007), hostage Jessica in crime comedy "How to Rob a Bank (and 10 Tips to Actually Get Away with It)" (2007) and crazed roommate Claire in psychological thriller "Veronika Decides to Die" (2009). After showing up in rom-com "Mercy" (2009) and starring as a grieving mother in horror movie "The Tortured" (2010), Christensen bagged the part of go-getting lawyer Julia in "Parenthood" (NBC, 2010-15). During her five-year run on the family drama, she also showed up in musical "How Sweet It Is" (2013) and played a runaway bride in TV movie "My Boyfriend's Dogs" (2014). Following its cancelation, she joined Ed Westwick as a serial killing-couple on the short-lived "Wicked City" (ABC, 2015) and became a TV movie regular, playing a high-powered exec in "Anything for Love" (2016), real life lawyer Anita Hill's friend in "Confirmation" (2016) and the object of an obsessed fan's affections in "The Follower" (2016). She also appeared in post-9/11 tale "All at Once" (2016), starred alongside Mike Vogel in faith-based drama "The Case for Christ" (2017) and played Kyra Sedgwick's sister Ali in missing girl mystery "Ten Days in the Valley" (ABC, 2017-18). Christensen then portrayed socialite Alice in TV movie "To Have and to Hold" (2019) before landing the role of Gertie in mob caper "Clover" (2019).
