Erika Christensen Biography

Erika Jane Christensen (born August 19, 1982) is an American actress whose film appearances include Traffic (2000), Swimfan (2002), The Perfect Score (2004) and How to Rob a Bank (2007), among others. She also co-starred in the short-lived drama Six Degrees (September 2006 " March 2007) on ABC. She is currently co-starring in the 2010 television series Parenthood as Julia Braverman-Graham.

Personal life

Christensen was born in Seattle, Washington, the daughter of Kathy, a construction manager, and Steven, an insurance worker/human-resources executive. She has an older half-brother, Nick, and two younger twin brothers, Dane (who appeared in the 2005 film The Upside of Anger) and Brando. She has Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Welsh, and Irish ancestry. Christensen was raised in Los Angeles, California and started out on television in commercials for McDonald's.

Christensen is a member of the Church of Scientology. Her parents became Scientologists in their 20s and raised her to be a Scientologist as well as home-schooling her.

Career

Christensen had several small roles in various television programs before starting her movie career in 1997. These include The Geena Davis Show, Frasier, The Practice, 3rd Rock from the Sun, and Touched by an Angel.

She was named one of People magazine's "Breakthrough Stars of 2001". For her performance as a heroin addict in Traffic (2000) she received the awards for Female Breakthrough Performance at the MTV Movie Awards, Female Standout Performance at the Young Hollywood Awards, and Outstanding Performance by a Cast Ensemble at the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

In 2005, she briefly went into music as she recorded a version of "Let's Fall in Love" with John Stevens for his debut album Red.

In 2006, she starred in the series Six Degrees, which debuted on the ABC fall schedule in 2006 but low ratings caused its cancellation after one season. She made a cameo in the Joaquin Phoenix -directed video "Tired of Being Sorry" for Balthazar Getty's band Ringside. She is part of the cast of the film adaptation of Veronika Decides to Die (2009). Christensen is also a regular in the new NBC TV series Parenthood, which debuted on March 2, 2010.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1997	Leave It to Beaver	Karen	Comedy film
1997	Nothing Sacred	Romy Carrol	Episode: "House of Rage"
1998	'	Melissa	Episode: "The Pursuit of Dignity"
1998	Frasier	Teenager	Episode: "Frasier's Curse"
1998	3rd Rock from the Sun	Brianna	Episode: "Collect Call for Dick"
1999	Can of Worms	Katelyn Sands	TV movie
1999	Thanks	Abigail Winthrop	6 episodes
1999	Touched by an Angel	Ivy	Episode: "Voice of an Angel"
2000	Time of Your Life	Flynn Halloway	Episode: "The Time She Turned 21"
2000	Movie Stars	Tawny	Episode: "La Vida Loca"
2000	'	Leigh Wright	Episode: "Corn Man"
2000	FreakyLinks	Cassie	Episode: "Subject: Coelacanth This!"
2000	Traffic	Caroline Wakefield	American crime drama film
2001	'	Isabel	3 episodes
2001	That '70s Show	Stacey	Episode: "Red and Stacey"
2002	Home Room	Deanna Cartwright	Independent film
2002	Swimfan	Madison Bell	Erotic thriller film
2002	'	Hannah Kingsley	American comedy film
2003	Wuthering Heights	Cate	TV movie
2004	'	Anna Ross	American teen heist film
2004	Riding the Bullet	Jessica Hadley	Horror/thriller film
2005	'	Andrea 'Andy' Wolfmeyer	American romantic comedy-drama film
2005	'	Irene Prior	Drama film
2005	Flightplan	Fiona	Thriller film
2005	Robot Chicken	Crack-Ho / Debbie Benton / Mom (voice)	Episode: "Toyz in the Hood" Episode: "A Piece of the Action"
2006-2007	Six Degrees	Mary Alice 'Mae' Edwards	13 episodes
2007	I'm in Hell	Jennifer	TV movie
2007	Gardener of Eden	Mona Huxley	American comedy-drama film
2007	How to Rob a Bank	Jessica	American independent film
2008	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	FBI Special Agent Lauren Cooper	Episode: "Signature"
2008	Struck	Bus Stop Girl	Short film
2009	Veronika Decides to Die	Claire	Drama film adapted from the novel by Paulo Coelho
2009	Lie to Me	Sophie / Trisha / Jessie / RJ	Episode: "The Core of It"
2009	Mercy	Dana Harper McPhearson	Episode: "Destiny, Meet My Daughter, Veronica"
2009	Robot Chicken	Della Dingham Young / Mother (voice)	Episode: "Dear Consumer"
2010	Melon	Catherine	Video short
2010	'	Elise Landry	Mystery horror-thriller film
2010"present	Parenthood	Julia Braverman-Graham	TV series