Early career She got her first role on the
CBS Daytime soap opera Guiding Light, playing
Christina "Blake" Thorpe from 1989 until 1992. After three years, she left the show to spend a year traveling in
Europe, but she soon returned to television on the
ABC drama,
NYPD Blue. She played
Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Laura Kelly, the ex-wife of officer
John Kelly (
David Caruso) during the first season (1993–94) of the series. Unsatisfied, she was released early from her contract.
ER Stringfield was one of the original cast members of
NBC's medical drama,
ER. Her personal success mirrored the show's success — she was nominated for an
Emmy Award for lead actress during each of her first three seasons of the show. Stringfield was contractually tied to appear in five seasons of
ER; however a desire for a normal life and to escape
ER's grueling filming schedule prompted her to leave the drama early in its third season. Stringfield's much publicized departure reportedly "sent a small shock wave through Hollywood" and her exit episode in November 1996 attracted 37 million viewers, the biggest night of the season for the NBC network. Stringfield quit just as television executive Dick Robertson was closing a deal that guaranteed the
ER cast millions in future earnings from sales to cable and
syndication, meaning she effectively "walked away from a fortune". Stringfield claims she was asked to reprise the role of Susan Lewis in
ER several times, but turned each offer down. However, following the birth of her daughter, she approached the producers of
ER and then rejoined the cast in 2001, the show's eighth season. The 26.7 million people who watched Stringfield's return placed the show first in the ratings. During her second stint in
ER, Stringfield's character was featured in a special
crossover with NBC's
New York City based police drama,
Third Watch, which aired in 2002; she remained in the role for four additional seasons. However in August 2005, Stringfield announced that she would be leaving the show again as the 12th season came underway. "I am extremely grateful for the time I spent on
ER," Stringfield explained. "It is a wonderful show, and there are so many people I will miss. But I'm ready for new roles and new challenges." In 2009, Stringfield returned to
ER for the
series finale "
And in the End...".
Other work After leaving
ER in 1996, Stringfield taught a script analysis class and directed several plays at her alma mater. She took roles in films such as
54 (1998) and
Autumn in New York (2000) and appeared in the television movies
Border Line (1999) — produced by her
ER co-star Anthony Edwards — and
Going Home (2000), in which she starred opposite
Jason Robards. She also guest-starred in the CBS drama
Touched by an Angel in 1999. In 2005, Stringfield was cast alongside
Michael Michele,
Blair Underwood,
Esai Morales,
Gary Cole and
Catherine Bell in the
pilot episode of the CBS drama
Company Town (created by
Elwood Reid; directed by
Thomas Carter), playing Angie Amberson, a mother of teenagers and a
whistle-blower on the investment firm where she works.
Company Town failed to get picked up for the 2006 fall season. The series was produced by
Jack Clements and Larry Sanitsky. In 2007 Stringfield starred in the Andrew Shea film
Forfeit. She played the role of Karen, the ex-girlfriend of a clinical sociopath who schemes and plots to stage a massive robbery and sets Karen up to take the rap. In 2007, Stringfield guest-starred as attorney Nora March in the CBS drama
Shark. She also played a recurring role in the HBO drama
Tell Me You Love Me (previously known as
Sexlife), which also aired in 2007. In 2009, she appeared in
The Stepfather, a remake of
the 1987 American thriller film of the same name. She appeared in an episode of the
USA Network drama
In Plain Sight. Stringfield also guest-starred on
Law & Order in late 2008 as a ruthless court clerk and
Michael Cutter's love interest. She also played Mary Jane Porter, an old girlfriend of
Larry David's who runs into and then goes on a date with him in an episode of
Curb Your Enthusiasm that aired on October 11, 2009. In 2010, Stringfield appeared in
Who Is Clark Rockefeller? playing the role of Sandra Boss. In addition to acting, Stringfield has done
voice-over work, including the voice of Eyeleen in the children's television show ''
Blue's Clues and voicing her ER
character for the PC game ER: The Game
. Stringfield was also featured in the U.S. Got Milk?''
advertising campaign, despite being
lactose intolerant. In 2012, Stringfield starred in
The Confession, a
Hallmark Channel movie and a sequel to
The Shunning. In November 2013, Stringfield guest-starred in the
CBS police drama
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation in season 14: episode 8 titled "Helpless", playing swing shift CSI Dawn Banks. In 2014, Stringfield played a recurring role on the CBS mystery
Under the Dome during its
second season. In 2017, Stringfield appeared on
Criminal Minds spinoff,
Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders as the wife of Gary Sinise's character, Jack Garrett.
Awards and nominations In 1991 and 1993, Stringfield was nominated in the "Outstanding Villain/Villainess" category at the
Soap Opera Digest Awards for her role in
Guiding Light. She has also received multiple awards and award-nominations for her role as
Susan Lewis in
ER, including three separate Emmy Award nominations in the category "Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series" in 1995, 1996 and 1997. In 1995 she was nominated in the category "Favorite Female Performer" at the
People's Choice Awards and in 1995 and 1996 she was nominated in the "Best Performance by an Actress in a TV-Series -Drama" category at the
Golden Globe Awards. In 1996, she won a Q Award for "Best Actress in a Quality Drama Series" and in 1997 she, along with several of her
ER cast-mates, won a
Screen Actors Guild Award for "Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series". In addition Stringfield was voted one of the "100 Sexiest Women in the World" by readers of
FHM magazine in 1997. == Personal life ==