Mary Marg Helgenberger (pronounced with a hard 'G', unlike the name Marge) (born November 16, 1958), is an American film and TV actress.
Helgenberger was born in Fremont, Nebraska to Roman Catholic parents Hugh (a German American) and Kay Helgenberger (an Irish American).
A scout for the soap opera Ryan's Hope discovered Helgenberger when she performed as Kate in a Northwestern University production of William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, in the summer of 1981. Helgenberger debuted on the series in March 1982 playing Siobhan Ryan Novak, until 1986. Although she was actually the third actress to play the role, she is the one most identified with the part.
In 1984, Helgenberger met Alan Rosenberg, a guest actor on Ryan's Hope. The two became friends and started dating in 1986. They married in 1989 and have one son, Hughie (born October 21, 1990), named after Marg's father, Hugh Helgenberger.
Her first famous television role was on the period drama China Beach. Helgenberger won an Emmy for the role (Supporting Actress).
She later won critical acclaim for her portrayal of Patsy Ramsey in Perfect Murder, Perfect Town: JonBenét and the City of Boulder. She is now best known for her current portrayal of Catherine Willows in the television series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.
While not appearing in-frame, she is the unrequited love interest of the bespectacled amphibian Buddy in Mark Heath's "Spot the Frog" comic strip.
