Rena Sofer

An attractive, pouty-lipped, raven-haired player, Rena Sofer first came to prominence through her work in daytime dramas. The California-born, New Jersey-raised actress was still a teenager when she was spotted by a talent agent who helped her land a modeling contract. After working in TV commercials, industrial and student films (notably the award-winning NYU picture "Theresa") and music videos. Sofer landed the role of Joyce Abernathy on NBC's "Another World" in the late 1980s. She shot to stardom, though, as the tough-talking romantic heroine Amelia 'Rocky' McKenzie on the ABC drama "Loving" on which she appeared from 1988 to 1991.

After a featured role as a Hassidic wife in Sidney Lumet's "A Stranger Among Us" (1992), she joined the cast of ABC's "General Hospital" as the street smart record promoter Lois Cerullo, replete with a thick Brooklyn accent. During her three years (1993-96) on the show, Sofer quickly became a fan favorite and found her on and off screen husband in co-star Wallace Kurth (who portrayed a wealthy socialite with musical abilities). She also picked up a 1995 Best Supporting Actress Daytime Emmy. While still on "General Hospital," Sofer began branching out in features (the direct-to-video release "Twin Sitters") and TV-movies ("Hostile Advances: The Kerry Ellison Story" Lifetime 1996). After leaving her role to give birth, she resumed her career as a guest performer on the sitcoms "Caroline in the City" and "Seinfeld." In 1998, Sofer joined the cast of Fox's "Melrose Place" in the role of singer Eve Cleary, a woman with a mysterious tie to Heather Locklear's Amanda. After stints in a pair of short-lived series (Alan Ball's sitcom "Oh Grow Up" and the prep school drama "The Opposite Sex") and minor roles in films such as "Traffic" (2000) and "Keeping the Faith" (2000), Sofer would next find her way to Stuckeyville and the David Letterman-produced dramedy "Ed" (NBC, 2000 - ), where she had a major recurring role as Bonnie Hane, Ed's courtroom rival-turned-eventual lover. The attention from "Ed" eventually earned Sofer a regular stint on the final season of the venerable sitcom "Just Shoot Me" (NBC, 1997-2003), where she would play Vicki Costas, an earthy girl with no magazine experience hired to help keep the magazine in touch with its readers. But her biggest mainstream exposure came when she was cast as Susan on the NBC sitcom "Coupling" (2003 - ), an adaptation of the randy BBC series and the show largely touted to become the next "Friends." Sofer's Susan was one of a sextet of New York twentysomethings who have dated and bedded each other in various configurations.