Contents
1 Early life
2 Career
3 Personal life
4 Filmography
5 References
6 External links
Early life
Benz was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her father is a surgeon in Pittsburgh. The family settled in nearby Murrysville when Benz was two, and she started ice skating when she was three. She competed in the 1988 U.S. Championships in junior ice dancing with her partner David Schilling, finishing in 13th placeHer older brother and sister, Jeffrey and Jennifer, were the 1987 U.S. Junior Champions in ice dancing and competed internationally. When Benz was 14, she suffered a stress fracture and had to take time off. She grew up in Murrysville, graduating from Franklin Regional High School
Career
At age 15, Benz was told by an acting coach that she would never succeed as an actress. According to Benz, "I remember the teacher telling me I should not even try acting. I still have the report card where she was like, 'You will never be an actor. Your voice is horrible.' That was the best thing that ever happened to me because I was like, 'I'll show you'.
By 1989, with her figure skating career over, Benz became involved in local theater, where she was cast in the play Street Law. Her first movie role was a small speaking part in "The Black Cat" segment of the Dario Argento/George A. Romero horror movie Two Evil Eyes . A year later, she was cast in the TV show Hi Honey, I'm Home 1991 , which was canceled after two seasons.
After graduating from high school, Benz entered New York University to study acting. After graduation from NYU, she moved to Los Angeles. Two weeks after her move, she obtained a bit part in a 1994 episode of Married... with Children , playing a girl who wanted to lose her virginity to Bud Bundy
Her subsequent roles include an unaired Aaron Spelling television pilot Cross Town Traffic. She starred in another unaired TV pilot called Empire in 1995. Her other TV shows included Hang Time, High Tide, Step by Step and Boy Meets World, plus a small role in the TV movie The Barefoot Executive. She had an uncredited role in Black Sheep and appearances in Diagnosis: Murder, Sliders and The Single Guy. She played Christy in the TV movie Hearts Adrift and a lead role as Julie Falcon in Darkdrive.
In 1996, Benz auditioned for the role of Buffy Summers in the series Buffy the Vampire Slayer 1997 but lost out to Sarah Michelle Gellar. However, she was offered the small role of the vampire Darla in the pilot episode. Her performance was so well-received that her part was expanded to a few more episodes. The role helped launch her career.
She appeared in more TV shows such as The Big Easy and Fame L.A. along with a small role as a receptionist in the movie As Good as It Gets She starred in the short spoof film Eating Las Vegas and the unaired TV pilot Veronica's Video, had a small uncredited role in the TV movie A Walton Easter and a small role in Inventing the Abbotts.
1998, she had a recurring role as Joplin Russell in the TV show Ask Harriet (though the show was canceled and only two of her appearances aired, then guest-starred on Conrad Bloom and The King of Queens. She made two movies, the dark comedy Jawbreaker and Dirt Merchant, before landing a lead role in another TV show called Payne. She played undercover FBI Special Unit agent Kathleen Topolsky on Roswell during its first season, starred in the TV movie Satan's School for Girls, the unaired TV pilot Good Guys/Bad Guys and had a lead role in the horror movie parody Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the Thirteenth.
Benz in 2005
She reprised her role as Darla in 2000 for the Buffy spin-off series Angel appearing in every season for at least one episode. She was featured in the principal cast of the romantic comedy The Brothers. She was a guest host for the TV show Rendez-View. She was cast as Ellie Sparks in Glory Days and appeared in the unaired pilot; however, she left the show. She guest starred on She Spies and was in the featured cast for the mini-series Taken. She did various voices for the video game Hot Shots Golf Fore!, appeared in the short film The Midget Stays in the Picture and took over the role of Ursula for George of the Jungle 2.
Benz appeared in Peacemakers, Coupling, NCIS and Oliver Beene. She landed the lead role of Annie Garrett in the Hallmark TV movie The Long Shot. Benz also provided the voice of Miranda Keyes for the video game Halo 2, though she did not return to the role in the sequel Halo 3 as Bungie wanted to try a new direction with the Miranda Keyes voice by giving the character an accent, replaced by Justis Bolding. She played the lead role of Danielle in Bad Girls From Valley High (a film shot in 2000 under the title A Fate Totally Worse Than Death) which was released on DVD in 2005. She had a small role in the critically acclaimed TV movie Lackawanna Blues. In the Sci-Fi Channel original film Locusts: The 8th Plague, she played the lead female role Vicky. She also appeared in the straight-to-DVD movie 8mm 2 as Lynn. The film was originally called The Velvet Side of Hell and was not supposed to be a sequel to 8MM.
Benz appeared in episodes of Supernatural, CSI: Miami, Law & Order and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. She had a supporting role in a Swedish independent movie called Kill Your Darlings, a lead role in the Lifetime movie Circle of Friends and joined the cast of TV show Dexter as Rita Bennett Benz played a lead role in the fifth film of the popular horror franchise, Saw V, as Brit, a real-estate developer who is one of Jigsaw's five victims. She had a supporting role in Punisher: War Zone as Angela.
Benz co-starred with Sylvester Stallone in 2008's Rambo, the fourth film of that series.
She plays the title role in the short film Kidnapping Caitlynn, written by her close friend Jenny Mollen, premiered at the Vail Film Festival 2009 and was released online April 6, 2009. She starred in the Lifetime movie Held Hostage as Michelle Estey.in July She also starred in the Hallmark Channel movie Uncorked as Johnny Prentis which premiered in the UK in July 2009. She is the lead female character Special Agent Eunice Bloom in The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day which had a limited release on October 30, 2009, and was released on DVD March 9, 2010. She has been cast in another indie film called Bedrooms as Anna.She has recently been cast as Frankie in the upcoming movie Answers to Nothing which is scheduled for a 2010 release.
Benz appeared on The Soup with Joel McHale. Benz next took a recurring role on Desperate Housewives as Robin Gallagher, a stripper with a heart of gold and a Masters degree in education who gets offered the chance to transition into a more legitimate career The character of Robin is further developed when the audience discovers she is a lesbian and begins an affair with housewife Katherine Mayfair Dana Delany
In early 2010, ABC announced that Benz had landed a lead role as Stephanie Powell, in the network's drama pilot No Ordinary Family. The following May, ABC green-lit the series, which premiered on September 28, 2010 as part of the 201 seaAfter the Season 4 finale of Dexter, she returned for the Season 5 premiere Personal life
Benz was married to actor and voice actor John KassirThey were married on May 30, 1998. She filed for divorce in December 2007 Filmography
Film Yea Role Notes
1990 Two Evil Eyes Betty Segment: "The Black Cat"
1996 Black Sheep uncredited
1996 Darkdrive Julie Falcon
1997 Eating Las Vegas Sheila Short film
1997 Inventing the Abbotts Co-ed
1997 As Good as It Gets Receptionist
1999 Jawbreaker Marcie Fox
2000 Satan's School for Girls Alison Kingsley
2000 Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the Thirteenth Barbara
2000 Bad Girls From Valley High (aka A Fate Totally Worse Than Death) Danielle
2001 The Brothers Jesse Caldwell
2003 The Midget Stays in the Picture A-List Actress short film
2002 George of the Jungle 2 Ursula, Queen of the Jungle
2005 8mm 2 Lynn
2005 Locusts: The 8th Plague Vicky
2006 Kill Your Darlings Katherine
2008 Rambo Sarah Miller
2008 Saw V Brit
2008 Punisher: War Zone Angela
2009 The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day Eunice Bloom
2010 Bedrooms Anna
2010 Answers to Nothing Frankie
Television Year Role Notes
1991
1992 Hi Honey, I'm Home! Babs Nielson 14 episodes
1994 Married... with Children Sascha Episode: "Field of Screams"
1995 Cross Town Traffic unaired TV series pilot
1995 Empire Christine Lambert unaired TV series pilot
1995 Hang Time Linda Cantrell episode "Earl Makes the Grade"
1995 The Barefoot Executive Sexy Woman
1995 High Tide Joanna Craig Episode: "Sea No Evil"
1995 Step by Step Tawny Episode: "The Wall"
1996 Boy Meets World Bianca episode "City Slackers"
1996 Hearts Adrift Christy TV
1996 Diagnosis: Murder Julie Miller Episode" "Murder on Thin Ice"
1996 Sliders Jenny Michener Episode: "The Electric Twister Acid Test"
1996 The Single Guy Cranberries Girl Episode" "Love Train"
1997 Veronica's Video Heidi unaired TV series pilot
1997 A Walton Easter Jeannie uncredited
1997 The Big Easy Roxanne Episode" "BeGirled"
1997 Fame L.A. Vanessa Episode: "The Beat Goes On"
1997
2000 Buffy the Vampire Slayer Darla recurring; 6 episodes
1998 Ask Harriet Joplin Russell recurring 1998; 7 episodes
1998 Conrad Bloom Julie Episode: "The Rebound Guy"
1999 Dirt Merchant Angie
1999 Payne Breeze O'Rourke 9 episodes
1999 The King of Queens Julie Patterson Episode: "Train Wreck"
2000
2004 Angel Darla recurring; 20 episodes
1999
2000 Roswell Kathleen Topolsky recurring; 7 episodes
2000 Good Guys/Bad Guys unaired NBC TV series pilot
2002 Glory Days Ellie Sparks Unaired Pilot
2002 Taken Kate Keyes 2 episodes
2002 She Spies Elaine Episode: "Spies vs. Spy"
2002 Peacemakers Miranda Blanchard Episode: "The Witness"
2002 Coupling Amanda Episode: "Decatur Guy"
2004 The Long Shot: Believe in Courage Annie Garrett
2004 NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service Denise Johnson Episode: "A Weak Link"
2004 Oliver Beene Cigarette Girl Episode: "Idol Chatter"
2005 Lackawanna Blues Laura
2006 Supernatural Layla Rourke Episode: "Faith"
2006 CSI: Miami Hayley Gordon Episode: "Deviant"
2006 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Heidi Wolff Episode: "Time of Your Death"
2006 Circle of Friends Maggie
2006
2010 Dexter Rita Morgan 49 episodes
2006 Satellite Awards: Supporting Actress in a Series
2008 Eyegore Awards
2008 Scream Awards: Best Actress in a Horror Movie or TV Show
2009 Saturn Award: Supporting Actress on Television
2007 Law & Order Dawn Sterling Episode: "Church"
2009 Kidnapping Caitlynn Caitlynn
2009 Held Hostage Michelle Estey
2009 Uncorked Johnny Prentiss
2010 Desperate Housewives Robin Gallagher recurring 2010; 5 episodes
2010 - Current No Ordinary Family Stephanie Powell
Videogames Year Title Role Notes
2003 Everybody's Golf 4 aka Hot Shots Golf For Various voices
2004 Halo 2 Miranda Keyes
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