Early life

Erbe was born the oldest of three children in Newton, Massachusetts. Her mother, Elisabeth Magnarelli, was a vice-president of a Boston management firm, and her father, Dr. Richard Erbe, is an internist at the University at Buffalo subspecialized as a medical geneticist. Her youngest brother, Barrett Erbe, is an up-and-coming political mogul and associate of Regional Development at Buffalo Niagara Partnership.

She graduated from New York University (NYU) in 1989.

Career

While an undergraduate student at NYU, Erbe was cast as the daughter of Lynn Redgrave's character on the sitcom Chicken Soup. She later became a member of Steppenwolf Theatre Company and has starred in many of their productions, including A Streetcar Named Desire, Curse of the Starving Class, and The Grapes of Wrath, which ran for six months and won the 1990 Tony Award for Best Play. Erbe earned a Tony Award nomination in 1991 for her portrayal of Mary in The Speed of Darkness.

Erbe starred in such films as What About Bob?, Stir of Echoes, Rich in Love, and the independent films Dream with the Fishes, Love from Ground Zero, and Entropy. She played opposite David Caruso in Kiss of Death. She portrayed Shirley Bellinger on the HBO series Oz, to critical acclaim, and made a guest appearance on Homicide: Life on the Street in 1997. From 2001 to early 2010, she starred as Detective Alexandra Eames on the NBC/USA Network series Law & Order: Criminal Intent, alongside Vincent D'Onofrio.

In 2010, both Erbe and D'Onofrio left Criminal Intent. Erbe signed on to reprise the role of Detective Eames for the eight-episode final season of the series, joining Vincent D'Onofrio, who had already signed up to return as Detective Robert Goren. Erbe reprised the role in guest appearances on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

In 2014, Erbe appeared in an episode of Last Week Tonight parodying her role on Law & Order.

Personal life

Erbe was formerly married to actor Terry Kinney, with whom she has two children.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1989	Runaway Dreams	Denise Donaldson
1991	What About Bob?	Anna Marvin
1992	Rich in Love	Lucille Odom
1994	D2: The Mighty Ducks	Michele MacKay
1994	Breathing Lessons	Fiona	Television film
1995	Addiction, TheThe Addiction	Anthropology Student
1995	Kiss of Death	Rosie Kilmartin
1997	Dream with the Fishes	Liz
1997	George Wallace	Mrs. Folsom	Television film
1998	Love from Ground Zero	Alex
1998	Naked City: Justice with a Bullet	Sarah Tubbs	Television film
1999	Entropy	Evan
1999	Stir of Echoes	Maggie Witzky
2000	Runaway, TheThe Runaway	Evelyn Carnes	Television film
2001	Speaking of Sex	Helen
2010	3 Backyards	John's Wife
2011	Mother's House	Catherine	Short film
2011	Love Guide, TheThe Love Guide	Cora
2014	Worst Friends	Sam's Mom

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1989	Chicken Soup	Patricia Reece	12 episodes
1997	Homicide: Life on the Street	Rita Hale	Episode: "All Is Bright"
1998-2003	Oz	Shirley Bellinger	17 episodes
2001-2011	Law & Order: Criminal Intent	Det. Alexandra Eames	142 episodes Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actress - Television Series Drama
2012-2013	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Lt. Alexandra Eames	2 episodes
2014	Last Week Tonight with John Oliver	Alexandra Eames	Episode: "Civil Forfeiture"
2015	Blue Bloods	Sharon Bennett	Episode: "Unsung Heroes"
2016	Elementary	Nancy Davenport	Episode: "Miss Taken"

Theatre

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1990	The Grapes of Wrath	Aggie Wainwright
1991	The Speed of Darkness	Mary	Nominated—Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play
1995	A Month in the Country	Verochka
2016	The Father	Anne	Broadway: Samuel J. Friedman Theatre

[ Source: Wikipedia ]