Olivia Birkelund (born April 26, 1963) is an American actress, best known for her role as Arlene Vaughan in the ABC daytime soap opera ''

All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 2 ...

''.

Early life and education

Birkelund was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. She attended

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

and studied acting at the Circle in the Square Theatre School.

Career

In 1991 she made her television debut as Sondra Hill in the ABC daytime soap opera, ''

One Life to Live ''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as ...

''. In 1995, Birkelund began starring as Arlene Dillon Vaughan Chandler, Hayley's alcoholic mother, in the ABC soap opera ''

''. She appeared in show to 2002 on recurring basis. In 2008 she had another soap role, on

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

's ''

Guiding Light ''Guiding Light'' (known as ''The Guiding Light'' before 1975) is an American radio and television soap opera. ''Guiding Light'' aired on CBS for 57 years between June 30, 1952, and September 18, 2009, overlapping a 19-year broadcast on radio ...

''. Birkelund appeared in films '' Letters from a Killer'' (1998), '' The Bone Collector'' (1999), '' Uninvited'' (1999), ''

Far from Heaven ''Far from Heaven'' is a 2002 historical romantic drama film written and directed by Todd Haynes and starring Julianne Moore, Dennis Quaid, Dennis Haysbert and Patricia Clarkson. It premiered at the Venice Film Festival, where Moore won the ...

'' (2002), and on made for television movies ''Night Sins'' and '' On the Edge of Innocence'' (1997). She guest-starred on ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, launching the ''Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire ...

'', '' Homicide: Life on the Street'', '' Star Trek: Voyager'', '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', ''

Third Watch ''Third Watch'' is an American crime drama television series created by John Wells and Edward Allen Bernero that aired on NBC from September 23, 1999, to May 6, 2005, with a total of 132 episodes spanning over six seasons. It was produced ...

'', '' Law & Order: Criminal Intent'', and ''

The Good Wife ''The Good Wife'' is an American legal political drama television series that aired on CBS from September 22, 2009, to May 8, 2016. It focuses on Alicia Florrick, the wife of the Cook County State's Attorney, who returns to her career in law ...

''. In 2014, Birkelund had a recurring role in the ABC drama ''

Black Box In science, computing, and engineering, a black box is a system which can be viewed in terms of its inputs and outputs (or transfer characteristics), without any knowledge of its internal workings. Its implementation is "opaque" (black). The te ...

''.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * 1963 births Brown University alumni Circle in the Square Theatre School alumni American film actresses American television actresses American soap opera actresses American stage actresses Living people Actresses from New York City 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses {{US-screen-actor-1960s-stub