Rena Sofer

Rena Sherel Sofer (born December 12, 1968) is an American actress.

Early life

Sofer was born in [America], the daughter of Susan, a psychology professor, and Martin Sofer, an Orthodox Jewish rabbi.^[1] Her family subsequently moved to Pittsburgh, where she was raised after her parents' divorce.^[2]

Sofer is a descendant of Baal Shem Tov through her father's family.

Sofer attended the Frisch School, a Yeshiva high school in Paramus, New Jersey.^[3]

Career

Daytime television

Sofer's first high profile role was as Rocky on the daytime soap opera Loving, a role she played from 1988 to 1991. She is perhaps best known for her role as Lois Cerullo on General Hospital from 1994 to 1996. Her portrayal of the outrageous Lois won Sofer a Daytime Emmy Award in 1995 for "Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series."

Primetime television

Sofer has appeared in several high profile prime-time TV series in a guest star/supporting cast member roles: Melrose Place, The Chronicle, Ed, Friends, Blind Justice, Ghost Whisperer, 24, and Seinfeld.

Sofer was the subject of controversy in the early 2000s when she briefly joined the cast of the NBC sitcom Just Shoot Me!, playing the character Vicky Costa.^[4] It was widely reported that NBC executives forced the producers of the series to add Sofer to the cast, due to executives liking Sofer and wanting to showcase the actress in hopes of making her a break-out star for the network. Sofer's addition to Just Shoot Me! was widely panned. With the show being canceled midway through the season, she was quietly written out of the series halfway through the final season; however they had specially written a goodbye episode to her which never appeared during the show's first run but appears in syndication. The network later cast Sofer in the short-lived US remake of the UK series Coupling.

More recently, Rena Sofer has appeared in the NBC TV series Heroes as the recurring character Heidi Petrelli, wife of aspiring politician Nathan Petrelli (Adrian Pasdar). She will be on Two and a Half Men in the fall.^[5] Rena also guest starred on Dirty Sexy Money around Thanksgiving, playing an intrepid reporter ^[6], and played a ghost on "Ghost Whisperer". Sofer will guest star on NCIS as a lawyer. The role has re-occuring potential.

Film

In film, she has appeared as an involuntary love interest of Ben Stiller in the film Keeping the Faith, starring Jenna Elfman, Stiller, and Edward Norton (who also directed).

She also appeared as a bride to-be in Melanie Griffith's movie A Stranger Among Us and in Penelope Buitenhuis's movie The Secret of Hidden Lake.

She played the P.E. teacher Ms. Desjardin in the TV film adaptation of Carrie in 2002.

She stars in the television movie Always and Forever, set to premiere on the Hallmark Channel on October 10, 2009.

Personal life

Sofer and General Hospital love interest and co-star Wally Kurth became involved as their characters' storyline progressed. In 1995, the actors were married, and the couple have a daughter, Rosabel Rosalind Kurth. In 1997, Sofer and Kurth divorced.

Sofer married TV director/producer Sanford Bookstaver in 2003. On August 5, 2005, Sofer gave birth to her first child with Bookstaver, named Avalon Leone, in Los Angeles. Sofer and her husband are expecting their second child.^[7]

References

External links

• Rena Sofer at the Internet Movie Database