Haiduk was born in
Grand Rapids, Michigan. She achieved national fame when she was cast in the role of
Lana Lang in the live-action superhero series,
Superboy in 1988. After the series ended in 1992, Haiduk portrayed the leading role of Rhea McPherson, an aspiring FBI agent, in the
Aaron Spelling-produced prime time soap opera,
The Round Table. Haiduk's next significant role was in the NBC science fiction series,
seaQuest DSV, in which she played Lt. Cmdr.
Katherine Hitchcock, the chief engineer, and third in command of the high-tech submarine. She left the series after one season in 1994. She also had a female leading role in the NBC series
Route 66, a remake of the
1960s series with the same name. Haiduk made her film debut in the 1990 horror film
Luther the Geek for
Troma Entertainment, and later starred in
Steel and Lace (1991). She starred in the made-for-television films, notable ''
Danielle Steel's A Perfect Stranger (based on the novel of the same name by Danielle Steel) in 1994. In 1996, Haiduk went on to play a female vampire in the Fox supernatural horror series, Kindred: The Embraced. The following year, she appeared in the romantic comedy film Little City and was lead actress in the thriller film The Beneficiary
. She later guest-starred on Nash Bridges, Charmed, The X-Files, ER, NCIS, CSI: Miami, Crossing Jordan and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. She had a recurring role as FBI Agent Elisa Thayer in Heroes from 2006 to 2007, and as Lisa Tabak in Prison Break'' from 2008 to 2009. In 2006, Haiduk appeared in new supplemental material for the
Superboy: The Complete First Season DVD release. She also appeared regularly on the
ABC soap opera All My Children as
Hannah Nichols from January 2007 through January 2008. From February 2009 to August 2010, she appeared on the
CBS soap opera
The Young and the Restless as
Patty Williams, and also played
Emily Peterson on the series. In July 2010, Haiduk was cast to play a prison warden on
Days of Our Lives; she was subsequently dismissed and recast with former
Santa Barbara actress
Gina Gallego after three episodes, due to a scheduling conflict with
The Chicago Code. Haiduk's appearances as Warden Smith aired in September 2010. She returned to prime time with the recurring roles on HBO series,
True Blood from 2013 to 2014, and ABC Family series
Twisted in 2014. In 2019, she starred in the Netflix thriller film,
Home Is Where the Killer Is. In 2018 it was announced that Haiduk had again been cast on
Days of Our Lives, this time in the roles of
Kristen DiMera and lookalike
Susan Banks. In early 2019, she returned to the show, as a contracted actor. ==Personal life==