Paige Turco Biography

Jean Paige Turco (born May 17, 1965) is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for her roles as April O'Neil in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III, and Melanie Cortlandt on the ABC soap opera All My Children. She currently appears as Zoe Morgan in the CBS crime drama Person of Interest.

Early life

Turco was born to Joyce Jean (Jodoin) and David Vincent Turco, in Springfield, Massachusetts, where she was raised. She took ballet lessons as a little girl and planned to become a classical ballerina. She attended the Walnut Hill School in Natick, Massachusetts, and performed as a soloist at the New England Dance Conservatory, the Amherst Ballet Theatre Company, and the Western Massachusetts Ballet Company. Unfortunately, she suffered an ankle injury and had to give up the possibility of professional ballet. Paige graduated from Bay Path College in Longmeadow, Massachusetts (1987) and majored in Drama at the University of Connecticut.

Acting career

Turco made her television acting debut in 1987, on the soap opera Guiding Light as Dinah Marler, going on to the soap opera All My Children as Melanie. She replaced Judith Hoag in the role of April O'Neil in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze and later in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III. She guest starred in Party of Five as Annie Mott, a single mother who is also a recovering alcoholic, co-starred in The Agency as graphic artist Terri Lowell, and in the third season of Rescue Me as science teacher Mrs. Nell Turbody. Turco also appeared in the movie Invincible, playing Carol Vermeil, the wife of Dick Vermeil and also co-starred in the Walt Disney Picture The Game Plan.

In 2007, she was cast in the ABC TV series Big Shots, portraying Lisbeth, the ex-wife of Dylan McDermott's character, Duncan Collinsworth, a cosmetics company CEO. Turco played a guest-starring role in the second season of Damages and CBS' Blue Bloods. She currently has a recurring role on Person of Interest as Zoe Morgan.

Personal life

Paige is Roman Catholic. She is married to Irish actor Jason O'Mara and has one child, David (named in honor of her father, who died when she was less than a year old). The family divides their time between Los Angeles, New York and their home in Connecticut and also frequently visits relatives in Ireland.

Filmography

• Guiding Light - Dinah Morgan Marler #2- Early 1987-February 1989
• All My Children - Melanie 'Lanie' Cortlandt Rampal
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991) - April O'Neil
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993) - April O'Neil
• Winnetka Road (1994) - Terry Mears
• Dead Funny (1994) - Louise
• American Gothic (1995) - Gail Emory
• The Pompatus of Love (1995) - Gina
• The Feminine Touch (1995) - Jennifer Barron
• NYPD Blue (1993) - Officer Abby Sullivan (1996-1997)
• Vibrations (1996) - Lisa
• Party of Five (1997-1998) - Annie Mott
• Dark Tides (1998) - Sara
• Claire Makes It Big (1999) - Bronwyn
• Silent Witness (2000) (TV)
• Dead Dog (2000) - Perri
• R2PC: Road to Park City (2000)- Herself
• Urbania (2000) - Cassandra
• Runaway Virus (2000) (TV) - Jenny Blanchard
• Astoria (2000) - Elena
• Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2001) - "Ridicule" as Pam Adler
• The Agency (2001) - Terri Lowell (2001-03)
• The Empath (2002)
• Rhinoceros Eyes (2003) - Fran
• Waltzing Anna (2005) - Barbara Rhoades
• Rescue Me (2006) - Ms. Turbody
• Invincible (2006) - Carol Vermeil
• The Favor (2006) - Caroline
• The Game Plan (2007) - Karen Kelly
• Big Shots - Lisbeth Collinsworth
• Taking Chance - Stacey Strobl
• The Stepfather - Jackie Kerns
• Damages FX series - Christine Purcell
• Life on Mars - Colleen McManus
• Secrets of the Mountain (TV Movie-NBC) (2010) - Dana James
• The Good Wife (Episode 21, Season 1: Unplugged) (2010) - Olivia Wilder
• Law & Order: Special Victims Unit  - "Blood Brothers" as Kathleen Raines
• Person of Interest (2011-2013) - Zoe Morgan
• The 100 (2014)  - Councilwoman Abigail Walters