Sofer made her first big impression with a brief stint on the daytime drama
Loving before taking on the part of savvy record promoter Lois Cerullo on
General Hospital, a role that won her a Best Supporting Actress Daytime Emmy. It was here she also met Wally Kurth, her on-screen spouse who became her real-life husband. In the mid-'90s, Sofer made the leap to prime time, guest starring in a number of series before appropriately landing a regular part on the campy evening soap
Melrose Place. A string of flop series followed (
Oh, Grow Up; The Chronicle; and the sitcom
Coupling, which was infamously touted as the next
Friends), but though the shows were short-lived, Sofer proved she had staying power. Recurring roles on the sitcom
Just Shoot Me! and the dramedy
Ed widened her exposure. After taking a brief hiatus to give birth to a daughter with her second husband, TV director Sanford Bookstaver, she returned to the small screen in 2006 with recurring roles in two hits,
24 and
Heroes, as the long-suffering wife to two shady characters, a power broker and an aspiring politician, respectively. Sofer is frequently seen on both comedies and dramas, and in 2010, tackled a season-long story arc as Margaret Allison Hart, an attorney with a hidden agenda on
NCIS.
Rena Sofer Fast Facts:
- Worked briefly as a model before taking on acting, partly to overcome shyness.
- Won a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series and a Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Younger Actress, both in 1995 for General Hospital.
- Starred in numerous NBC series, including: Ed, Coupling and Just Shoot Me! In 2007 simultaneously guest starred on opposing programs: as Nathan’s wife, Heidi, on Heroes and as Jack’s sister-in-law, Marilyn, on 24.
- Rena Sofer Relationships:
- Avalon Leone Bookstaver - Daughter
- David Sofer - Brother
- Martin Sofer - Father
- Rosabel Rosalind Kurth - Daughter
- Sanford Bookstaver - Husband
- Susan Sofer - Mother
- Wally Kurth - Ex-husband
- College:
- Attended Montclair State College, Montclair, NJ