Erika Christensen

Erika Jane Christensen (born August 19, 1982) is an American actress whose film appearances include Traffic (2000), Swimfan (2002), How to Rob a Bank (2007), and The Perfect Score (2004), among others. She also co-starred in the short-lived drama Six Degrees on ABC. She is currently co-starring in the 2010 television series Parenthood as Julia Braverman-Graham. Christensen was born in Seattle, Washington, the daughter of Kathy, a construction manager, and Steven, an insurance worker/human-resources executive. She has an older half-brother, Nick, and two younger twin brothers, Dane (who appeared in the film The Upside of Anger) and Brando. She has Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Welsh, and Irish ancestry. Christensen was raised in Los Angeles, California and started out on television in commercials for McDonald's. Christensen is a member of the Church of Scientology. Her parents became Scientologists during their 20s and raised her to be a Scientologist as well as home-schooling her. Christensen had several small roles in various television programs before starting her movie career.

These include The Geena Davis Show, Frasier, The Practice, 3rd Rock from the Sun, and Touched by an Angel. She was named one of People magazine's "Breakthrough Stars of 2001." For her performance as a heroin addict in Traffic she received the awards for Female Breakthrough Performance at the MTV Movie Awards, Female Standout Performance at the Young Hollywood Awards, and Outstanding Performance by a Cast Ensemble at the Screen Actors Guild Awards. In 2005, she briefly went into music as she recorded a version of "Let's Fall In Love" with John Stevens for his debut album Red. In 2006, she starred in the series Six Degrees, which debuted on the ABC fall schedule in 2006 but low ratings caused its cancellation after one season. She made a cameo in the Joaquin Phoenix-directed video "Tired of Being Sorry" for Balthazar Getty's band Ringside. She is part of the cast of the film adaptation of Veronika Decides to Die. Christensen is also a regular in the new NBC series Parenthood, based on the Ron Howard film. It debuted on Mar. 2, 2010.