Sonya Walger (born June 6, 1974) is a British and American actress. She had a starring role in the HBO sitcom '' The Mind of the Married Man'' (2001–2002) before landing her role as Penny Widmore in the ABC drama series '' Lost'' (2006–2010). Walger later starred on '' Tell Me You Love Me'' (2007), ''

FlashForward A flashforward (also spelled flash-forward, and more formally known as prolepsis) is a scene that temporarily takes the narrative forward in time from the current point of the story in literature, film, television and other media. Flashforwards a ...

'' (2009–2010), ''

Common Law Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law primarily developed through judicial decisions rather than statutes. Although common law may incorporate certain statutes, it is largely based on prece ...

'' (2012), ''The Catch'' (2016–2017), and ''For all Mankind'' (2019–2022).

Early life

Walger was born in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England, and educated at the independent

Wycombe Abbey School Wycombe Abbey is a private girls' boarding and day school in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. The school was founded in 1896 by Dame Frances Dove (1847–1942), who was previously headmistress of St Leonards School in Scotland. Its ...

and at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

, where she studied

English Literature English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...

, receiving a first class degree. Walger is conversational in French and fluent in Spanish, as her father was Argentinian.

Career

Walger began her career on British television. In 1998, she guest-starred in an episode of ITV crime series, ''

Midsomer Murders ''Midsomer Murders'' is a British Mystery fiction, mystery television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the ''Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series created by Caroline Graham (writer), Caroline Graham. ...

''. She had the recurring role in the BBC 1 sitcom '' Goodnight Sweetheart'' in 1999, and appeared in two episodes of the crime/drama ''The Vice''. Also in 1999, she played the daughter of newspaper magnate Max Van der Vuurst, Hilde, in the '' Heat of the Sun'' story "The Sport of Kings". The following year, Walger made her film debut in the biographical drama '' Eisenstein''. In 2001, she moved to the United States and was cast as Donna Barnes on the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

comedy series, '' The Mind of the Married Man''. The series was cancelled after two seasons. In 2003, she starred on the short-lived U.S. version of '' Coupling'', which aired on NBC. In 2004, Walger played Nicole Noone opposite Noah Wyle in the TNT television film, '' The Librarian: Quest for the Spear'', for which she received

Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress on Television The Saturn Awards, Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress on Television is presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films, honoring the work of actresses in science fiction, fantasy, and horror fiction on televis ...

nomination. From 2006 to 2010, Walger had a recurring role as Penny Widmore in the ABC drama series, '' Lost''. She also had recurring roles on '' Sleeper Cell'', '' CSI: NY'', and '' Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles''. In 2007, Walger appeared in the original Broadway production of '' Frost/Nixon'', as Charlotte Cushing, David Frost's then-girlfriend. Then she starred in the

series '' Tell Me You Love Me''. From 2009 to 2010, Walger starred as Olivia Benford, a surgeon and wife of

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

agent Mark Benford ( Joseph Fiennes) in the ABC series, ''

''. Later in 2010, she appeared as Julia in season 3 of the HBO drama series '' In Treatment''. She played

John Cusack John Paul Cusack ( ; born June 28, 1966)(28 June 1996)Today's birthdays ''Santa Cruz Sentinel'', ("Actors John Cusack is 30") is an American actor. With a career spanning over four decades, he has appeared in over 80 films. He began acting in f ...

's wife in the 2011 Direct-to-video crime thriller ''

The Factory The Factory was Andy Warhol's art studio in Manhattan, New York City, which had four locations between 1963 and 1987. The Factory became famous for its parties in the 1960s. It was the hip hangout spot for artists, musicians, celebrities, and ...

''. In 2012, she was regular cast member in the USA Network short lived series ''

''. In 2013, Walger had a brief role in the comedy film '' Admission'', as a Virginia Woolf scholar. From 2013 to 2014, Walger appeared on the NBC drama series '' Parenthood''. In 2014, Walger guest-starred in

Shonda Rhimes Shonda Lynn Rhimes (born January 13, 1970) is an American television producer and screenwriter, and founder of the production company Shondaland. Inducted into the Television Hall of Fame and NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame, Rhimes became known ...

's series ''

Scandal A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when accusations or rumours circulate or appear for some reason, regarding a person or persons who are perceived to have transgressed in some way a ...

'' as Katherine Winslow. The following year, Walger was cast in the new Rhimes series '' The Catch'', co-starring opposite Mireille Enos and Peter Krause. In 2018 she had a recurring role in her husband's show

Get Shorty ''Get Shorty'' is a 1990 novel by American novelist Elmore Leonard. In 1995, the novel was adapted into an eponymous film, and in 2017 it was adapted into a television series of the same name. Plot summary The story is about Ernesto "Chili ...

as Lila, an Argentine drug lord. In 2019, Walger starred as

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

astronaut Molly Cobb in the first season of the

Apple TV+ Apple TV+ is an American subscription over-the-top streaming service owned by Apple. The service launched on November 1, 2019, and it offers a selection of original production film and television series called Apple Originals. The service w ...

original

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

space

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

series ''For All Mankind''. In 2021 and 2022, Walger returned for seasons two and three. In 2023, Walger announced that she had written a book, ''Lion'', about her father, to be published by New York Review Books in February 2025. In 2024, she starred in horror thriller '' New Life'' along with Hayley Erin.

Personal life

Walger married screenwriter/producer

Davey Holmes Davey Holmes (born October 4, 1969, in Massachusetts) is an Americans, American screenwriter, Television producer, producer and Television director, director. He is the creator and executive producer of the television show ''Get Shorty (TV series ...

in July 2009. She gave birth to a daughter on 14 February 2013. She also gave birth to a son in 2015. Walger became a

U.S. citizen Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Consti ...

on 23 May 2013.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Walger, Sonya Living people 21st-century English actresses Actresses from London Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford English emigrants to the United States English people of Argentine descent English television actresses People educated at Wycombe Abbey American television actresses 21st-century American women Actors from the London Borough of Camden People from Hampstead Year of birth missing (living people)