Nicole Forester (born November 19, 1972) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Maggie Zajac on the

Starz Starz (stylized in all caps as STARZ; pronounced "stars") is an American pay television network owned by Starz Entertainment, and is the flagship property of Starz Inc. Launched in 1994 as a multiplex service of what is now Starz Encore, ...

original series ''

Boss Boss may refer to: Occupations * Supervisor, often referred to as boss * Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier * Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization * Fire boss, ...

'' and as

Cassie Layne Winslow Cassie Layne Winslow is a fictional character from ''Guiding Light'', an American soap opera on the CBS network. She was first portrayed by Laura Wright for an eight-year period, followed by Nicole Forester until the character's departure in 20 ...

on ''

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 ...

''. She currently appears as Christie on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

's '' Chicago Fire''.

Early life

Forester was born Nicole Theresa Schmidt in

Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...

. She began dance training at the age of five and began working locally in professional

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

at the age of 12. She majored in drama in the Creative and Performing Arts Program at Winston Churchill High School in Livonia, Michigan (fellow alumni include actress

Judy Greer Judith Therese Evans (born July 20, 1975), known professionally as Judy Greer, is an American actress. She is primarily known as a character actress who has appeared in Judy Greer filmography, a wide variety of films. She rose to prominence for ...

and musician Rosie Thomas) and majored in Musical Theatre Performance at Western Michigan University before moving to Los Angeles at age 19. She graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1993, when she took Forester, her grandmother's maiden name, as her professional name.

Career

Her early work in Los Angeles included roles in the television series ''

Two and a Half Men Two and a Half Men is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Lee Aronsohn that aired on CBS for 12 seasons from September 22, 2003, to February 19, 2015. The series originally starred Charlie Sheen as Charlie Harper, a hedonis ...

'', ''

Monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

'', ''

Will & Grace ''Will & Grace'' is an American television sitcom created by Max Mutchnick and David Kohan. Set in New York City, the show focuses on the friendship between best friends Will Truman (Eric McCormack), a Gay men, gay lawyer, and Grace Adler (Debra ...

'', ''

The Single Guy ''The Single Guy'' is an American sitcom television series that ran for two seasons on NBC, from September 21, 1995, to April 14, 1997. It starred Jonathan Silverman as struggling New York City writer Jonathan Eliot and followed several of his c ...

'', ''

Beverly Hills 90210 ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (often referred to as ''90210'') is an American teen drama television series created by Darren Star and produced by Aaron Spelling via his production company Spelling Television. The series ran for 10 seasons on Fo ...

'', and ''

Mister Sterling ''Mister Sterling'' is an American drama television series created by Lawrence O'Donnell for NBC. The series ran from January 10 to March 14, 2003. Starring Josh Brolin as an idealistic United States Senator, the series featured Audra McDonald, ...

'', among others. Forester guest starred in two of the ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...

spin-offs Spin-off, Spin Off, Spin-Off, or Spinoff may refer to: Entertainment and media *Spinoff (media), a media work derived from an existing work *''The Spinoff'', a New Zealand current affairs magazine * ''Spin Off'' (Canadian game show), a 2013 Canad ...

, playing a dabo girl in the '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' episode " Distant Voices", and Nora in the '' Star Trek: Enterprise'' episode "

Horizon The horizon is the apparent curve that separates the surface of a celestial body from its sky when viewed from the perspective of an observer on or near the surface of the relevant body. This curve divides all viewing directions based on whethe ...

". She also appeared in numerous national commercials, including The Olive Garden,

Miller Lite Miller Lite is a 4.2% ABV reduced calorie light American lager beer produced by Molson Coors. It was introduced in 1973 in limited markets by the Miller Brewing Company (then owned by Philip Morris, Inc.) and began being distributed nationa ...

Claritin Loratadine, sold under the brand name Claritin among others, is a medication used to treat allergies. This includes allergic rhinitis (hay fever) and hives. It is also available in drug combinations such as loratadine/pseudoephedrine, in whic ...

, and

American Airlines American Airlines, Inc. is a major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, and is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the ...

. Forester has also appeared in many pilots, including playing the wife of

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

Chris Kattan Christopher Lee Kattan ( ; born October 19, 1970) is an American actor and comedian. After performing with numerous comedy troupes, including The Groundlings in Los Angeles, he broke through as a regular cast member on the sketch comedy show ''Sat ...

in the

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

''Enough About Me'' for

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

. After moving to New York City in 2005, Forester booked the coveted contract role of "Cassie Layne Winslow" 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 ...

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

'', replacing the originating actress,

Laura Wright Laura Alice Wright (née Sisk; born September 11, 1970) is an American actress. She is best known for playing the roles of Allison "Ally" Rescott on ''Loving (TV series), Loving'' (1991 to 1995) and ''The City (1995 TV series), The City'' (1995 ...

. In her three years on the show, Forester performed in nearly 300 episodes and received a Lead Actress

Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NA ...

nomination for her work in 2008. In 2010,

David Schwimmer David Lawrence Schwimmer (born November 2, 1966) is an American actor, director, and producer. He gained worldwide recognition for portraying Ross Geller in the sitcom '' Friends'', for which he received a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Pri ...

cast Forester in his film, ''

Trust Trust often refers to: * Trust (social science), confidence in or dependence on a person or quality It may also refer to: Business and law * Trust (law), a legal relationship in which one person holds property for another's benefit * Trust (bu ...

'', starring

Clive Owen Clive Owen (born 3 October 1964) is an English actor. He first gained recognition in the United Kingdom for playing the lead role in the ITV series '' Chancer'' from 1990 to 1991. He received critical acclaim for his work in the film '' Close ...

and

Catherine Keener Catherine Ann Keener (born March 26, 1959) is an American actress. She has portrayed disgruntled and melancholic yet sympathetic women in independent films, as well as supporting roles in studio films. She has been nominated twice for the Academ ...

. Also in 2010 (and while 7 months pregnant with her second child), Forester worked with

Richard Gere Richard Tiffany Gere ( ; born August 31, 1949) is an American actor. He began appearing in films in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in ''Looking for Mr. Goodbar (film), Looking for Mr. Goodbar'' (1977) and a starring role in ''Days of Hea ...

in '' The Double'', directed by

Michael Brandt Michael Brandt (born October 1, 1968) is an American screenwriter. Life and career Brandt is an alumnus of Baylor University in Waco, Texas, where as an undergrad he earned a BBA and in graduate school earned Master of Arts in Communication Stu ...

. In 2012, Forester appeared in ''

Jack Reacher Jack Reacher is the protagonist of a series of crime thriller novels by British author Lee Child, a 2012 film adaptation, its 2016 sequel, and a television series on Amazon Prime Video. In the stories, Jack Reacher was a major in the U.S. ...

'', starring

Tom Cruise Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962) is an American actor and film producer. Regarded as a Cinema of the United States, Hollywood icon, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Tom Cruise, various accolades, includ ...

and directed by Academy Award-winner

Christopher McQuarrie Christopher McQuarrie (born October 25, 1968) is an American filmmaker. He received the BAFTA Award, Independent Spirit Award, and Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the neo-noir mystery film ''The Usual Suspects'' (1995). He made hi ...

. In 2012, Forester filmed season two of ''

'', the Golden Globe nominated drama series on

, starring

Kelsey Grammer Allen Kelsey Grammer (born February 21, 1955) is an American actor and producer. He gained fame for his role as the psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane on the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'' (1984–1993) and its spin-off ''Frasier'' (1993–2004, and again F ...

. Forester played "Maggie Zajac", the politically savvy wife of gubernatorial candidate and chronic philanderer "Ben Zajac", played by

Jeff Hephner Jeffrey Hephner is an American actor, best known for the role of Jeff Clarke, first on the NBC television series '' Chicago Fire'' and then on its sister show, '' Chicago Med''. On film, he co-starred with Jennifer Garner in the action thrill ...

Personal life

She is married to Paul Brown and they have two children: Frances Eleanor, born on February 11, 2009,Nicole Forester Welcomes Daughter
Celebrity Baby Blog, February 28, 2009 and Paul Walker III, born on October 14, 2010. Of French and German descent, Forester spent three years studying German at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

and, in 2006, a term at the

Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...

Institut in Schwaebisch Hall,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. An avid knitter, Forester models on the cover of and inside the book ''Greetings from Knit Cafe'' by former

vice president, Suzan Mischer.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

NicoleForester.com
- Official website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Forester, Nicole 1972 births Living people Actresses from Ann Arbor, Michigan Western Michigan University alumni 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses American film actresses American television actresses American Academy of Dramatic Arts alumni