Holbrook was born in
Fairbanks, Alaska, and grew up in
Tucson, Arizona. Holbrook's father, Don Joseph York (aged 29) was killed in
South Vietnam during the Vietnamese War. Her mother, Johanna, later remarried. She returned to soap in late 1993 and appeared until 1997, and again in 1999. The character Sharlene was a victim of sexual abuse and suffered from
multiple personality disorder, and Holbrook won a
Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress award for her portrayal in 1996. Holbrook has appeared in numerous guest starring roles, including four different roles on
Law & Order, three on
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit between 1993 and 2006,
Spin City,
The West Wing,
Bull,
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,
Blue Bloods,
Homeland (in the
season eight episode "
Deception Indicated"),
Hunters,
The Blacklist,
Harlem and
The Equalizer. She appeared in the 1994 comedy film
I Love Trouble and in 2007 had a recurring role as Dr. Hannah Young on the ABC daytime soap opera
One Life to Live for several episodes. In 2021, Holbrook played Debbie in the
Sister Swap film franchise. She starred as the mother of real-life sisters
Kimberly Williams-Paisley and
Ashley Williams, who also happen to be the real-life daughters of Holbrook's real-life best friend. ==Personal life==