Biography
A prolific and durable character player on television and stage, Michelle Hurd bounced back from being dismissed from the second season of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (NBC, 1999- ) to a long career playing determined and authoritative women on series like "Daredevil" (Netflix, 2015-18) and "Blindspot" (NBC 2015). Born December 21, 1966 in New York City, New York, she was the daughter of actor, teacher and activist Hugh Hurd, who starred in John Cassavetes' groundbreaking independent film "Shadows" (1959), and psychologist Merlyn Purdy. After graduating from Saint Ann's School in 1984 and Boston University in 1988, Hurd trained with the Alvin Ailey School and the Royal National Theatre in London before making her screen debut with a minor role in the comedy "Rude Awakening" (1989). She earned positive reviews for her performance in the 1990 Off-Broadway production of "The Constant Couple," and worked extensively in New York theater, most notably in "Looking for Pony" opposite her sister, Adrienne Hurd, and in "900 Oneonta" with actor Garret Dillahunt, whom she would marry in 2007. Hurd also maintained a consistent presence on television during this period, most notably on "New York Undercover" (Fox, 1994-95), which marked the beginning of her tenure with producer Dick Wolf. After making a guest appearance on his flagship series, "Law & Order" (NBC, 1990-2010), Hurd was cast as Detective Monique Stabler on its longest-running spinoff, "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit." Initially slated to serve as partner to Richard Belzer's Detective John Munch, Hurd was frustrated by what she perceived as a lack of interest in the character on the part of the producers, and parted ways with the series in a story arc that saw her character suffer an injury that led to reckless behavior and her eventual dismissal from the Special Victims department. Hurd then moved into steady work as a guest performer and occasional recurring player on various series, including the Showtime drama "Leap Years" (2001-02), which co-starred Dillahunt, and on "ER" (NBC, 1994-2008) as a television producer who became romantically involved with Laura Innes' Dr. Kerry Weaver. She returned to series regular work on the short-lived A&E series "The Glades" (2010-13) as a Florida police director, and over the next few years, bounced between recurring turns on "90210" (The CW, 2008-2013), "Hawaii 5-0" (CBS, 2010-18), Netflix's "Daredevil" and "Ash vs. Evil Dead" (Starz, 2015-18) before settling into a long run on NBC's "Blindspot." Her turn as the terrorist leader Shepherd ended in 2019 when she was killed Jamie Alexander's Jane Doe - Shepherd's adopted daughter - but her downtime proved to be short-lived. That same year, she was announced as a cast member on CBS All Access' upcoming "Star Trek" spin-off built around the return of Patrick Stewart's iconic Jean-Luc Picard.
