Michelle Forbes

Actor

• Born: January 8, 1965
• Birthplace: Austin, Texas

Contribution: Michelle Forbes is a character actor best known for her work in various popular television series including Star Trek: The Next Generation, Homicide: Life on the Street, True Blood, The Killing, and Berlin Station.

Background

Michelle Forbes was born Michelle Renee Forbes Guajardo on January 8, 1965, in Austin, Texas. As a young girl, Forbes was enamored of ballet but knew she would never become a professional dancer. Hoping to one day make her dream of performing a reality, Forbes enrolled at Houston’s High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, where she began to experiment with acting as part of her educational curriculum. Before long, she was on her way to pursuing an acting career.

Forbes’s entry into the professional acting ranks happened almost by accident. When she was sixteen, she went to visit her sister in New York City. A chance introduction eventually led her to the offices of the William Morris Agency, where she signed her first talent contract. She then moved to New York for an audition and spent the next several years trying to break into the acting world.

Career

Forbes made her television debut in 1987 on the daytime drama Guiding Light. She played Dr. Sonni Carrera, a psychiatrist who struggles with her own deep-seated demons as the result of the childhood death of her twin sister, Solita. So impressive was Forbes in her very first role that she received a Daytime Emmy Award nomination in 1990 for her work.

Thanks in part to her efforts on Guiding Light, as well as other early work, Forbes landed a guest spot on an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation in 1991 as Dara, a young alien woman who must persuade her father to follow through with the ritual suicide their society expects him to commit. Forbes was lauded for her performance, and Star Trek producers offered to create a regular place in the cast for her. She accepted and subsequently became Ensign Ro Laren starting in the fifth season of the series. Her character is an intractable young Bajoran crew member who joins the Enterprise after being court-martialed for violating direct orders from a superior. Forbes remained on the show into its seventh and final season in 1994 before deciding to move on to other projects.

In the midst of her run on Star Trek, Forbes also made her feature film debut, appearing alongside Brad Pitt in Kalifornia (1993). Other early film appearances included The Road Killers (1994) and Swimming with Sharks (1994). Shortly after she stepped away from Star Trek, Forbes made a notable guest appearance on the popular NBC sitcom Seinfeld (1994), playing a young woman who inadvertently takes credit for the neurotic George Costanza’s purchase of a “Big Salad” for his friend Elaine.

After playing a few other small parts, Forbes landed one of the most substantial roles of her career, that of Dr. Julianna Cox on the crime drama Homicide: Life on the Street, in 1996. She spent most of two seasons playing the wise-cracking, no-nonsense Baltimore morgue director before her character was written off the show. She would later return for 2000’s Homicide: The Movie, a made-for-television feature that capped the show’s seven-year run.

Forbes’s work on Homicide increased her professional profile and helped her land several recurring parts on shows such as Wonderland (2000), The District (2000), and 24 (2002–3). She also continued to pursue feature film work and built a movie résumé that includes Perfume (2001), American Girl (2002), and Dandelion (2004).

In 2005 Forbes made her return to the science-fiction genre, this time on the SyFy network’s Battlestar Galactica (a remake of the 1970s cult TV show of the same name). She played the iron-fisted Admiral Helena Cain, who is obsessed with getting revenge on the murderous Cylons. She reprised the role in the television movie Battlestar Galactica: Razor (2007), in which her character plays a substantial role.

After Battlestar Galactica, Forbes continued her already impressive career with more recurring roles in shows such as In Treatment and Durham County between 2008 and 2009. At the same time she also took on the role of Maryann Forrester, a social worker consumed by her devotion to the Greek god Dionysus in the HBO series True Blood, which was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for best ensemble in 2010.

In 2011 Forbes moved to the AMC series The Killing, playing Mitch Larsen, a grief-stricken mother struggling to cope with her daughter’s murder, for which she earned a 2011 Emmy Award nomination and won a 2012 Saturn Award for best supporting actress. After she was dropped from the third season of The Killing, Forbes accepted the part of consultant Gail McLeod on the NBC drama Chicago Fire, appearing in ten episodes in 2013. Despite her busy television schedule, Forbes continued to make sporadic film appearances in several projects, including DisCONNECTED (2011), Highland Park (2013), and Dear Sidewalk (2013).

After appearing in a recurring role as Helen Goddard in several episodes of the short-lived A&E series The Returned (2015) and having a regular part in the cast of the Playstation Network original series Powers (2015–16), Forbes began her next regular role as station chief Valerie Edwards in the Epix spy drama Berlin Station upon its premiere in 2016. In the meantime, she returned to the big screen in the drama Columbus, the crime-drama Gemini, and the drama Say You Will, all in 2017 alone. Though Berlin Station was renewed twice and ran for three seasons, it was ultimately canceled in early 2019. Next, she joined the cast of USA network's thriller series Treadstone, about an organization inspired by the Jason Bourne novels by Robert Ludlum. The series premiered in the fall of 2019.

Impact

Forbes has built her commendable professional reputation on her strong, varied performances in a wide range of television and film projects. Her high-profile work on television programs such as Star Trek: The Next Generation, Homicide: Life on the Street, True Blood, and The Killing, among others, have firmly established Forbes as a versatile and talented character actor.

Personal Life

Forbes was formerly married to Ross Kettle. She was also romantically involved with her Homicide costar Reed Diamond.

Principal Works

Television

Guiding Light, 1987–89

Star Trek: The Next Generation, 1991–94

Homicide: Life on the Street, 1996–98

Wonderland, 2000

The District, 2000

24, 2002–3

Battlestar Galactica, 2005–6

Prison Break, 2005–6

Waking the Dead, 2007–8

In Treatment, 2008–9

Durham County, 2009

True Blood, 2008–9

The Killing, 2011–12

Chicago Fire, 2013

Berlin Station, 2016–19

Film

Kalifornia, 1993

The Road Killers, 1994

Swimming with Sharks, 1994

Escape from LA, 1996

Perfume, 2001

American Girl, 2002

Dandelion, 2004

DisCONNECTED, 2011

Highland Park, 2013

Dear Sidewalk, 2013

Say You Will, 2017

Bibliography

Forbes, Michelle. “Emmys Watch: Michelle Forbes.” Interview by Jeremy Egner. New York Times. New York Times, 12 Sept. 2011. Web. 15 Aug. 2013.

Forbes, Michelle. “The Killing Star Michelle Forbes: Why I Avoided Watching Forbrydelsen.” Interview by Eleanor Morgan. Guardian. Guardian News, 15 July 2011. Web. 15 Aug. 2013.

Forbes, Michelle. “Michelle Forbes’ Good Grief.” Interview by Jace Lacob. Daily Beast. Newsweek/Daily Beast, 22 May 2011. Web. 15 Aug. 2013.

Forbes, Michelle. “Michelle Forbes Makes a ‘Killing’ as a Character Actor.” Interview by Jenelle Riley. Backstage. Backstage, 26 May 2011. Web. 15 Aug. 2013.

Forbes, Michelle. “True Blood’s Michelle Forbes Adds a New Sexy Psycho to Her Repertoire.” Interview by Emma Rosenblum. Vulture. New York Media, 8 Jan. 2010. Web. 15 Aug. 2013.