Sarah Gray Rafferty (born December 6, 1972) is an American actress, widely known for her role as Donna Paulsen on the

USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...

legal drama '' Suits''.

Early life and education

Rafferty grew up as the youngest of four daughters in the

Riverside Riverside may refer to: Places Australia * Riverside, Tasmania, a suburb of Launceston, Tasmania Canada * Riverside (electoral district), in the Yukon * Riverside, Calgary, a neighbourhood in Alberta * Riverside, Manitoba, a former rural m ...

neighborhood of

Greenwich, Connecticut Greenwich (, ) is a New England town, town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the town had a total population of 63,518. The largest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast (Conne ...

. She credits her mother, Mary Lee Rafferty, the Chairwoman of the English Department at Convent of the Sacred Heart school, and her father, Michael Griffin Rafferty Jr., who enjoys two successful careers in finance and oil painting, for cultivating her passion for the arts. Her sisters are Maura, Ann, and Constance. Rafferty studied at

Phillips Academy ("Not for Self") la, Finis Origine Pendet ("The End Depends Upon the Beginning") Youth From Every Quarter Knowledge and Goodness , address = 180 Main Street , city = Andover , state = Ma ...

Andover, Massachusetts Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was settled in 1642 and incorporated in 1646."Andover" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th ed., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 387. As of th ...

, and graduated in 1989. She majored in English and Theatre at

Hamilton College Hamilton College is a private liberal arts college in Clinton, Oneida County, New York. It was founded as Hamilton-Oneida Academy in 1793 and was chartered as Hamilton College in 1812 in honor of inaugural trustee Alexander Hamilton, following ...

, studied theatre abroad in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

during her junior year, and, after graduating magna cum laude from Hamilton in 1993, went on to study at the

Yale School of Drama The David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University is a graduate professional school of Yale University, located in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1924 as the Department of Drama in the School of Fine Arts, the school provides training in e ...

, receiving a Master of Fine Arts.

Personal life

Rafferty's husband is Aleksanteri Olli-Pekka Seppälä, an American of Finnish descent, who is an equity research analyst in the asset management unit of Lazard Frères & Company. They married on June 23, 2001, at the Roman Catholic church of St. Mary in Greenwich, Connecticut, and have two daughters, Oona Gray and Iris Friday. She and her '' Suits'' co-star

Gabriel Macht Gabriel Swann Macht (born January 22, 1972) is an American actor and film producer, known for portraying Harvey Specter in the USA Network series '' Suits'' (2011–2019) and the title character in the 2008 superhero film ''The Spirit''. Earl ...

have been friends since 1993, when they met at the Williamstown Theatre Festival. Rafferty was one of the guests at

Meghan Markle Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (; born Rachel Meghan Markle; August 4, 1981) is an American member of the British royal family and former actress. She is the wife of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, the younger son of King Charles III. Meghan was ...

’s

wedding A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vo ...

Prince Harry Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, (Henry Charles Albert David; born 15 September 1984) is a member of the British royal family. He is the younger son of Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales. He is fifth in the line of succ ...

at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle on May 19, 2018.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rafferty, Sarah 1972 births Actresses from Connecticut American film actresses American television actresses Living people People from New Canaan, Connecticut Yale School of Drama alumni 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Phillips Academy alumni Hamilton College (New York) alumni People from Riverside, Connecticut