Early life

Margulies, the youngest of three daughters, was born in Spring Valley, New York. Her mother, Francesca (née Goldberg, later Gardner), was a ballet dancer and eurythmy teacher, and her father, Paul Margulies, was a writer, philosopher, and well-known Madison Avenue advertising executive. Her parents were both born Jewish (descended from immigrants from Romania, Austria, Hungary, and Russia). Margulies' mother converted to Christianity during Margulies's childhood; Margulies herself still identifies as Jewish. The Margulies family lived in Israel for a period of time before Julianna's birth, then moved back to the Upper West Side of New York City.

Margulies attended grade school at Green Meadow Waldorf School and high school at High Mowing School. As a child, she lived in New York, France, and England. Margulies obtained a BA from Sarah Lawrence College, where she appeared in several campus plays.

Career

Margulies made her feature film debut as a prostitute looking to go straight in Steven Seagal's film Out for Justice. In 1994, Margulies was cast in the pilot episode of the NBC medical drama ER as Carol Hathaway, an emergency care nurse who, despondent over her relationship with pediatrician Doug Ross (George Clooney), attempted suicide. Her character was originally intended to die; however, the producers changed the plot and she remained on the show for six seasons until 2000. She won an Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Television Drama in 1994, and was nominated for this award every year during her tenure. She was the only series regular cast member to win an Emmy Award. In March 2012, Julianna finally broke her silence on her decision to leave "ER" at the height of her career — and a $27 million payday. She revealed that although everyone said it would be "career suicide" not to return to the medical drama she had starred on for six years, she was never concerned of the consequences. "I'm a smart girl," said Margulies. "I had a year's worth of work waiting and a mortgage completely paid at age 32. I was under no illusion that I was going to be some big movie star. My dad said, 'If you got hit by a bus tomorrow, were you living your life truthfully, or were you waiting to get rich?' If I died and my soul started leaving my body, would I be looking down going, 'You idiot. You could have gone to Prague, you could have been on Broadway'? Those are the things I wanted to do."

After leaving the series, Margulies worked on stage and screen. On stage, she appeared in a MCC Theater production of Kate Robin's Intrigue With Faye, a Lincoln Center production of Jon Robin Baitz's Ten Unknowns, and The Vagina Monologues. Her film work after ER included Evelyn with Pierce Brosnan and Ghost Ship with Gabriel Byrne and Ron Eldard. She starred as the protagonist and narrator (Morgaine) in the 2001 TNT miniseries The Mists of Avalon and participated in the 2002 documentary film Searching for Debra Winger. In 2004, she guest-starred in a two-episode arc in season 4 of the hit TV show Scrubs as Neena Broderick, an unscrupulous lawyer who sues Turk and has a brief sexual relationship with J.D. She starred in another miniseries on TNT, The Grid, in 2004. In April 2006, she appeared in four episodes of the sixth season of The Sopranos, portraying realtor Julianna Skiff. In August 2006, she appeared in Snakes on a Plane as flight attendant Claire Miller. In December 2006, she played Jennifer Bloom in the Sci Fi Channel miniseries The Lost Room.

In an August 2006 interview with tvguide.com, Margulies said that she was close to accepting an offer to return to ER for a four-episode arc with Noah Wyle that filmed in Hawaii during the 2005/06 season. However, she decided against it at the last minute. Margulies was again invited to return during ER's final season, but the actress initially turned down the offer, saying that she felt like she left Carol Hathaway in the perfect place and could not imagine bettering her departure episode. Later, however, Margulies did return to ER for one episode during its 15th and final season.

She had a minor role in 2007's The Darwin Awards. In 2008, Margulies starred in the legal series Canterbury's Law, a Fox mid-season replacement show. She played the title character, Elizabeth Canterbury, a lawyer described as "a tough-minded defense attorney who isn't afraid to push boundaries in order to protect innocent clients." She was also credited as a producer of the show. The series was severely impacted by the 2007-2008 Writers Guild of America strike and cancelled by the network after only six episodes.

In 2009, Margulies began starring in the CBS legal drama The Good Wife. She plays Alicia Florrick, an attorney returning to legal practice after her husband Peter Florrick (played by Chris Noth) resigned as Illinois State's Attorney amidst a sex and corruption scandal.

Since 2011, starting with the third season, Margulies has been credited as a producer of The Good Wife. In 2013, the actress did the voice-over for a Chase "Blue Sapphire" Credit Card commercial. In 2014, Margulies narrated "Women in Business", an episode of season 2 of Makers: Women Who Make America.

In 2015, Time featured her as one of the "100 Most Influential People in the World", noting her work to get Erin’s Law, concerned with child sexual abuse, passed in every US state.

Personal life

Margulies and actor Ron Eldard, whom she met in an acting class in 1991, dated for twelve years before splitting in 2003. Margulies and attorney Keith Lieberthal, the son of academic Kenneth Lieberthal, were married on November 10, 2007 in Lenox, Massachusetts. They have one child, a son named Kieran, and reside in Manhattan, New York City.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1991	Out for Justice	Rica
1997	Traveller	Jean
1997	Paradise Road	Topsy Merritt
1998	Newton Boys, TheThe Newton Boys	Louise Brown
1998	Price Above Rubies, AA Price Above Rubies	Rachel
2000	What's Cooking?	Carla
2000	Dinosaur	Neera	Voice
2002	Man from Elysian Fields, TheThe Man from Elysian Fields	Dena
2002	Evelyn	Bernadette Beattie
2002	Ghost Ship	Maureen Epps
2005	Slingshot	Karen
2006	The Darwin Awards	Carla
2006	Armenian Genocide, TheThe Armenian Genocide	Narrator
2006	Snakes on a Plane	Claire Miller
2006	Beautiful Ohio	Mrs. Cubano
2009	City Island	Joyce Rizzo
2011	No Job for a Woman	Narrator
2013	Stand Up Guys	Nina Hirsch

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1993	Murder, She Wrote	Rachel Novaro	Episode: "Murder at Discount"
1993	Law & Order	Lt. Ruth Mendoza	Episode: "Conduct Unbecoming"
1994	Homicide: Life on the Street	Linda	2 episodes
1994-2000, 2009	ER	Nurse Carol Hathaway	Main role, 132 episodes
1995	The Larry Sanders Show	Herself	Episode: "Larry's on Vacation"
1998	Ellen	Ellen Screen Test #5	Episode: "Ellen: A Hollywood Tribute: Part 1"
2001	Mists of Avalon, TheThe Mists of Avalon	Morgaine	TV miniseries, 8 episodes
2001	Jenifer	Jenifer's Psychiatrist	TV movie
2003	Hitler: The Rise of Evil	Helene Hanfstaengl	2 episodes
2004	Scrubs	Neena Broderick	2 episodes
2004	The Grid	Maren Jackson	Lead role, 2 episodes
2006	The Lost Room	Jennifer Bloom	TV miniseries, 3 episodes
2006-07	Sopranos, TheThe Sopranos	Julianna Skiff	4 episodes
2008	Canterbury's Law	Elizabeth Canterbury	Lead role, 6 episodes
2009-2016	Good Wife, TheThe Good Wife	Alicia Florrick	Lead role, 156 episodes
2010	Sesame Street	Dr. Berger	Episode: "Big Bird Sprains His Wing"
2014	Makers: Women Who Make America	Narrator	Episode: "Women in Business"

Awards and nominations

Year	Association	Category	Nominated work	Result
1995	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series	ER	Won
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series		Nominated
	Viewers for Quality Television	Best Supporting Actress in a Quality Drama Series		Won
1996	Golden Globe Awards	Best Supporting Actress - Series, Miniseries or Television Film		Nominated
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series		Nominated
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series		Nominated
		Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series		Won
1997	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series		Nominated
	Satellite Awards	Best Actress - Television Series Drama		Nominated
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series		Won
	Viewers for Quality Television	Best Actress in a Quality Drama Series		Won
1998	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actress - Television Series Drama		Nominated
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series		Nominated
	Satellite Awards	Best Actress - Television Series Drama		Nominated
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series		Won
		Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series		Won
	Viewers for Quality Television	Best Actress in a Quality Drama Series		Nominated
1999	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actress - Television Series Drama		Nominated
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series		Nominated
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series		Won
		Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series		Won
2000	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actress - Television Series Drama		Nominated
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series		Nominated
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series		Nominated
	Viewers for Quality Television	Best Actress in a Quality Drama Series		Nominated
2001	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series		Nominated
2002	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actress - Miniseries or Television Film	The Mists of Avalon	Nominated
2005		Best Actress - Miniseries or Television Film	The Grid	Nominated
2009	Satellite Awards	Best Actress - Television Series Drama	The Good Wife	Nominated
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series		Won
		Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series		Nominated
2010	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actress - Television Series Drama		Won
	Online Film & Television Association Award	Best Actress in a Drama Series		Won
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series		Nominated
	Satellite Awards	Best Actress - Television Series Drama		Nominated
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series		Won
		Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series		Nominated
	Television Critics Association Awards	Individual Achievement in Drama		Won
2011	Critics' Choice Television Awards	Best Actress in a Drama Series		Won
	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actress - Television Series Drama		Nominated
	Online Film & Television Association Award	Best Actress in a Drama Series		Nominated
	People's Choice Awards	Favorite Dramatic TV Actress		Nominated
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series		Won
	Satellite Awards	Best Actress - Television Series Drama		Nominated
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series		Nominated
		Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series		Nominated
	Television Critics Association Awards	Individual Achievement in Drama		Nominated
2012	Critics' Choice Television Awards	Best Drama Actress		Nominated
	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actress - Television Series Drama		Nominated
	Golden Nymph Award	Outstanding Actress - Drama Series		Nominated
	Online Film & Television Association Award	Best Actress in a Drama Series		Nominated
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series		Nominated
	Satellite Awards	Best Actress - Television Series Drama		Nominated
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series		Nominated
2013	Critics' Choice Television Awards	Best Drama Actress		Nominated
	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actress - Television Series Drama		Nominated
2014	Critics' Choice Television Awards	Best Drama Actress		Nominated
	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actress - Television Series Drama		Nominated
	Online Film & Television Association Award	Best Actress in a Drama Series		Nominated
	People's Choice Awards	Favorite Dramatic TV Actress		Nominated
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series		Won
	Satellite Awards	Best Actress - Television Series Drama		Nominated
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series		Nominated
	Television Critics Association Awards	Individual Achievement in Drama		Nominated
2015	Critics' Choice Television Awards	Best Drama Actress		Nominated
	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actress - Television Series Drama		Nominated
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series		Nominated

Charities

Julianna Margulies supports the following charitable cause: ALS (amyrotrophic lateral sclerosis).

[ Source: Wikipedia ]