Christine Lahti Biography

Christine Ann Lahti (born April 4, 1950) is an American actress and film director. Throughout her career, she has garnered 2 Golden Globe Awards from 8 nominations, an Emmy Award from 6 nominations and an Academy Award from 2 nominations. Her first Academy Award nomination was for Best Supporting Actress for her work in the 1984 film Swing Shift. Her second nomination was for her work as a director when she won the Academy Award for Short Film, Live Action for her 1995 film Lieberman in Love.

Early life

Lahti was born in Birmingham, Michigan, the daughter of Elizabeth Margaret (née Tabar), a painter, homemaker, and nurse, and Paul Theodore Lahti, a surgeon. Her paternal grandparents were Finnish immigrants and her maternal grandparents were from Austria-Hungary. Lahti was raised Lutheran.

Lahti studied fine arts at Florida State University and received her bachelor's degree in drama from the University of Michigan, where she joined Delta Gamma sorority.

Career

After college, Lahti headed to New York City, where she worked as a waitress and did commercials. Her breakthrough movie was ...And Justice for All (1979) with Al Pacino. After featuring in a few films and TV shows in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Lahti chose roles that allowed her to spend time with her three children. She has also focused on television, beginning with her role in the made-for-TV adaptation of The Executioner's Song (1982). She appeared on Broadway in Wendy Wasserstein's seriocomic play, The Heidi Chronicles. Lahti received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for Swing Shift (1984), and won an Academy Award for Best Short Film, Live Action for Lieberman in Love (1995), in which she starred and directed. It was adapted from "Lieberman in Love", a short story by W. P. Kinsella. Lahti won a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award in 1998 for her role in Chicago Hope.

In 2001, her first directorial film, My First Mister, was released. Starring Leelee Sobieski and Albert Brooks, the movie debuted with good reviews. In DVD commentary she applauds the work of her cast and crew, remarking "[I] was very lucky to have such a wonderful crew..." She did feel regret that the film was rated R, for language, despairing that the movie might not be viewed by teenagers who would like and relate with the characters. Also, Lahti mentioned several times that she would have liked to have more time to shoot different perspectives in order to facilitate story arc. Lahti starred in the Executive ADA role on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as Sonya Paxton, while the character Alexandra Cabot (Stephanie March) was in appeals. She was in the first four episodes of the 11th season and returned for the show's eighth episode, where she clashed with Alexandra Cabot. Lahti later guest starred in the ninth and seventeenth episode of the 12th season where she reprised her role as Executive ADA Sonya Paxton. Her character was murdered in the seventeenth episode.

She returned to Broadway upon joining the cast of the Tony Award-winning play God of Carnage on November 17, 2009, replacing actress Marcia Gay Harden. Both actresses had a few special appearances on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. In September 2011, Lahti starred with Morgan Freeman in the Broadway debut of Dustin Lance Black's play, '8'"?a staged reenactment of the federal trial that overturned California's Prop 8 ban on same-sex marriage"?as Kris Perry. In March 2012, she was featured with Jamie Lee Curtis and Jansen Panettiere at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre. The production was broadcast on YouTube to raise money for the American Foundation for Equal Rights.

Personal life

Lahti has been married to television director Thomas Schlamme, a native of Texas, since September 4, 1983. They have three children: Wilson and twins Joseph Tabor and Emma Kate (born 1993). She is active in political causes.

Thomas and Christine reside in Los Angeles with their children.

Since May 2005, Lahti has been a contributing blogger at The Huffington Post.

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1979	...And Justice for All	Gail Packer
1981	Whose Life Is It Anyway?	Dr. Clare Scott
1981	Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains	Aunt Linda
1982	The Executioner's Song	Brenda
1984	Swing Shift	Hazel	New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated "? Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated "? Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress " Motion Picture
1985	Love Lives On	Marylin	TV film
1986	Desert Bloom	Rose Chismore (adult)	(voice) (uncredited)
	Just Between Friends	Sandy Dunlap
1987	Stacking	Kathleen Morgan	aka Season of Dreams
	Housekeeping	Sylvie
	Amerika	Alethea Milford	Nominated "? Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress " Miniseries or a Movie Nominated "? Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress " Series, Miniseries or Television Film
1988	Running on Empty	Annie Pope/Cynthia Manfield	Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress Nominated "? Golden Globe Award for Best Actress " Motion Picture Drama
1989	Miss Firecracker	Clara Archer
	Gross Anatomy	Dr. Rachel Woodruff
	No Place Like Home	Zan Cooper	(TV Movie) Golden Globe Award for Best Actress " Miniseries or Television Film Nominated "? Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress " Miniseries or a Movie
1990	Funny About Love	Meg Lloyd Bergman
1991	The Doctor	Anne MacKee
	Crazy From the Heart	Charlotte Bain	(TV)
1992	Leaving Normal	Darly Peters
	The Fear Inside	Meredith Cole	(TV)
1994"1999	Chicago Hope	Dr. Kathryn Austin	(97 episodes) Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress " Drama Series (1998) Golden Globe Award for Best Actress " Television Series Drama (1998) Satellite Award for Best Actress " Television Series Drama Nominated "? Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress " Drama Series (1996, 1997, 1999) Nominated "? Golden Globe Award for Best Actress " Television Series Drama (1997) Nominated "? Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series (1996, 1997, 1998) Nominated "? Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series (1996, 1997, 1998, 1999)
1995	Lieberman in Love	Shaleen	Also director Academy Award for Live Action Short Film
	Hideaway	Lindsey
1996	Pie in the Sky	Ruby
1997	Hope	Emma Percy	(TV)
1999	Judgment Day: The Ellie Nesler Story	Ellie Nesler
2000	An American Daughter	Lyssa Dent Hughes	Nominated "? Golden Globe Award for Best Actress " Miniseries or Television Film
2001	My First Mister	Mall Patron Walking Past 'J' with Daughter	Also director
	Ally McBeal	"Queen Bee" One Episode "? as Sidney
2002	Women vs. Men	Dana	(TV)
	The Pilot's Wife	Kathryn Lyons	(TV)
2003	Out of the Ashes	Gisella Perl	(TV)
2004	Jack & Bobby Made for TV Drama: Book of Ruth	Grace McCallister	(15 episodes) Prism Award for Performance in a Drama Series "? Female Nominated "? Golden Globe Award for Best Actress " Television Series Drama Nominated "? Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
	Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman	Rose	(TV)
2006	Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip	Martha O'Dell	(3 episodes)
2008	Smart People	Nancy
	Yonkers Joe	Janice
2009	Obsessed	Reese
	Operating Instructions	H. Keller	(TV)
2009-2011	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	EADA Sonya Paxton	(7 episodes)
2010	Flying Lessons	Carolyn Conway
2011	Petunia	Felicia Petunia	(filming)
	The Doctor	Emily Campbell (lead role)	(pre-production)
2012	Touchback	Thelma
2012-2013	Hawaii Five-0	Doris McGarrett	Recurring television role beginning with Season 3
2013	Hateship, Loveship	Eileen	Post-production
2014	Mania Days	Sara	Post-production