Julianna Margulies - Career

Career

Margulies's first movie role was as a prostitute looking to go straight in the Steven Seagal film Out for Justice. In 1994, Margulies was cast in a role in the pilot episode of ER as an emergency care nurse who, despondent over her relationship with George Clooney's character, Doug Ross, attempted suicide. Her character was originally intended to die; however, the producers changed the plot and she went on to play the role of Nurse Carol Hathaway for six years. 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 is also notable for being the only series regular cast member to win an Emmy Award.

Following her departure from ER, 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 2005-2006 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 after 6 episodes.

Margulies currently stars as Alicia Florrick in the CBS series The Good Wife (she also has been listed as a producer for several episodes of the 2011-12 season). She plays an attorney returning to legal practice after her husband (played by Chris Noth) resigned as Illinois State's Attorney amidst a sex and corruption scandal. On October 7, 2009, CBS gave the series a full-season pickup, extending the first season from 13 to 22 episodes. In 2009, she received a NYWIFT Muse Award celebrating the achievements of women who work in film and television. On January 17, 2010, Margulies won a Golden Globe award for her role in The Good Wife. On January 23, Margulies won her record third Screen Actors Guild award for a role. Also that year, Margulies was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Drama Series, her seventh Emmy nomination, losing to The Closer's Kyra Sedgwick. On January 30, 2011, she won another Screen Actors Guild award for her role while The Good Wife was once again nominated for best ensemble in a drama show but lost to Boardwalk Empire. On July 14, 2011, Margulies was nominated for a second Emmy for Best Actress in a Dramatic Series; at the Emmy ceremony on September 18, 2011, she won the award.