Nicole Forester (born November 19, 1972) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Maggie Zajac on the Starz original series ''

Boss Boss may refer to: Occupations * Supervisor, often referred to as boss * Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier * Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization * Fire boss, ...

'' and as

Cassie Layne Winslow Cassie Layne Winslow is a fictional character from '' Guiding Light'', an American soap opera on the CBS network. She was first portrayed by Laura Wright for an eight-year period, followed by Nicole Forester until the character's departure in 2 ...

on '' Guiding Light''. She currently appears as Christie on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

's '' Chicago Fire''.

Early life

Forester was born Nicole Theresa Schmidt in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She began dance training at the age of five and began working locally in professional musical theatre at the age of 12. She majored in drama in the Creative and Performing Arts Program at Winston Churchill High School in Livonia, Michigan (fellow alumni include actress

Judy Greer Judith Therese Evans (born July 20, 1975), known professionally as Judy Greer, is an American actress. She is primarily known as a character actress, who has appeared in a wide variety of films. She first rose to prominence in a variety of suppor ...

and musician Rosie Thomas) and majored in Musical Theatre Performance at Western Michigan University before moving to Los Angeles at age 19. She graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1993, when she took Forester, her grandmother's maiden name, as her professional name.

Career

Her early work in Los Angeles included roles in the television series ''

Two and a Half Men ''Two and a Half Men'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS for twelve seasons from September 22, 2003, to February 19, 2015. Originally starring Charlie Sheen in the lead role alongside Jon Cryer and Angus T. Jones, t ...

'', ''

Monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

'', ''

Will & Grace ''Will & Grace'' is an American television sitcom created by Max Mutchnick and David Kohan. Set in New York City, the show focuses on the friendship between best friends Will Truman ( Eric McCormack), a gay lawyer, and Grace Adler ( Debra Messi ...

'', ''

The Single Guy ''The Single Guy'' is an American sitcom television series that ran for two seasons on NBC, from September 21, 1995, to April 14, 1997. It starred Jonathan Silverman as struggling New York City writer Jonathan Eliot and followed several of his ...

'', '' Beverly Hills 90210'', and ''

Mister Sterling ''Mister Sterling'' is an American serial drama television series created by Lawrence O'Donnell for NBC. The series ran from January 10 to March 14, 2003. Starring Josh Brolin as an idealistic United States Senator, the series featured Audra McD ...

'', among others. Forester guest starred in two of the '' Star Trek''

spin-offs Spin-off may refer to: *Spin-off (media), a media work derived from an existing work *Corporate spin-off, a type of corporate action that forms a new company or entity * Government spin-off, civilian goods which are the result of military or gov ...

, playing a dabo girl in the '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' episode " Distant Voices", and Nora in the ''

Star Trek: Enterprise ''Star Trek: Enterprise'', titled simply ''Enterprise'' for its first two seasons, is an American science fiction television series created by Rick Berman and Brannon Braga. It originally aired from September 26, 2001, to May 13, 2005 on Uni ...

'' episode " Horizon". Her all-American classic beauty landed her in numerous national commercials, including The Olive Garden,

Miller Lite Miller Lite is a 4.2% ABV light American lager beer sold by Molson Coors (previously MillerCoors) of Chicago, Illinois. The company also produces Miller Genuine Draft and Miller High Life. Miller Lite competes mainly with Anheuser-Busch' ...

, Claritin, and

American Airlines American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...

. Forester has also appeared in many pilots, including playing the wife of

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...

's Chris Kattan in the

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

''Enough About Me'' for

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

. After moving to New York City in 2005, Forester booked the coveted contract role of "Cassie Layne Winslow" on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

'' Guiding Light'', replacing the originating actress,

Laura Wright Laura Wright (née Sisk) is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for her roles as Ally Rescott on ''Loving'' (1991–1995) and '' The City'' (1995–1997), Cassie Layne Winslow on ''Guiding Light'' (1997–2005) and Carly Corinthos on ...

. In her three years on the show, Forester performed in nearly 300 episodes and received a Lead Actress

Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...

nomination for her work in 2008. In 2010,

David Schwimmer David Lawrence Schwimmer (born November 2, 1966) is an American actor, director and producer. He gained worldwide recognition for portraying Ross Geller in the sitcom ''Friends'', for which he received a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Primeti ...

cast Forester in his film, ''

Trust Trust often refers to: * Trust (social science), confidence in or dependence on a person or quality It may also refer to: Business and law * Trust law, a body of law under which one person holds property for the benefit of another * Trust (bus ...

'', starring Clive Owen and

Catherine Keener Catherine Ann Keener (born March 26, 1959) is an American actress. She has portrayed disgruntled and melancholic yet sympathetic women in independent films, as well as supporting roles in studio films. She has been nominated twice for the Acad ...

. Also in 2010 (and while 7 months pregnant with her second child), Forester worked with

Richard Gere Richard Tiffany Gere ( ; born August 31, 1949) is an American actor. He began in films in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in '' Looking for Mr. Goodbar'' (1977) and a starring role in ''Days of Heaven'' (1978). He came to prominence with ...

in '' The Double'', directed by

Michael Brandt Michael Brandt (born October 1, 1968) is an American writer and director. Life and career Brandt is an alumnus of Baylor University in Waco, Texas, where as an undergrad he earned a BBA and in graduate school earned Master of Arts in Communicat ...

. In 2012, Forester appeared in ''

Jack Reacher Jack Reacher is the protagonist of a series of crime thriller novels by British author Lee Child. In the stories, Jack Reacher was a major in the US Army's military police. Having left the Army at age 36, Reacher roams the United States, tak ...

'', starring

Tom Cruise Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962), known professionally as Tom Cruise, is an American actor and producer. One of the world's highest-paid actors, he has received various accolades, including an Honorary Palme d'Or and three Go ...

and directed by Academy Award-winner

Christopher McQuarrie Christopher McQuarrie is an American filmmaker. He received the BAFTA Award, Independent Spirit Award, and Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the neo-noir mystery film ''The Usual Suspects'' (1995). He made his directorial debut wit ...

. In 2012, Forester filmed season two of ''

'', the Golden Globe nominated drama series on Starz, starring

Kelsey Grammer Allen Kelsey Grammer (born February 21, 1955) is an American actor and producer. He gained notoriety and acclaim for his role as psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane on the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'' (1984-1993) and its spin-off ''Frasier'' (1993-2004), ...

. Forester played "Maggie Zajac", the politically savvy wife of gubernatorial candidate and chronic philanderer "Ben Zajac", played by

Jeff Hephner Jeffrey Lane Hephner (born June 22, 1975) is an American actor, best known for the role of Jeff Clarke, first on the NBC television series '' Chicago Fire'' and then on its sister show, ''Chicago Med''. More recently, he co-starred with Jennifer ...

Personal life

She is married to Paul Brown and they have two children: Frances Eleanor, born on February 11, 2009,Nicole Forester Welcomes Daughter
Celebrity Baby Blog, February 28, 2009 and Paul Walker III, born on October 14, 2010. Of French and German descent, Forester spent three years studying German at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

and, in 2006, a term at the

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...

Institut in Schwaebisch Hall,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. An avid knitter, Forester models on the cover of and inside the book ''Greetings from Knit Cafe'' by former

vice president, Suzan Mischer.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

NicoleForester.com
- Official website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Forester, Nicole 1972 births Living people Actors from Ann Arbor, Michigan Western Michigan University alumni 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses American film actresses American television actresses Actresses from Michigan American Academy of Dramatic Arts alumni