Jorja Fox
About
Biography
Filmography
Notes
Fox on acting with silences: "I think that's the whole idea of listening. I've seen that with other actors-the moment where it could be an actor's most brilliant moment, where the actor says nothing. There are also times when it's great to have this five-page dialogue, like Mamet. Our shows are great because most of the time we're talking about the science." --quoted in Venice Magazine, April 2001.
Biography
Attractive brunette actress Jorja Fox got her start with a brief modeling career before landing roles in some of television's most popular and critically acclaimed series including "ER" and "The West Wing" (both NBC) and "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (CBS). Born in New York City and raised in Melbourne Beach, Florida, Fox returned to her birthplace at age sixteen to being modeling after winning a local contest in Florida. With a whirlwind career that took her to Milan, she retired from modeling at the ripe age of eighteen and began honing her acting skills, studying with veteran character actor William Hickey at New York's Lee Strasberg Institute and making her acting debut in the 1989 independent feature "The Kill-Off."
Fox began the 1990s with roles in TV productions including the specials "Summer Stories: The Mall," an installment of "ABC Afterschool Specials" and "Dead Drunk: The Kevin Tunell Story," one of HBO's "Lifestories: Families in Crisis." A 1993 episode of "Law & Order" (NBC) marked Fox's transition to primetime series, where she would land a regular role as an investigator for the Chicago police on ABC's "Missing Persons" (1993-94). In 1996, Fox began her portrayal of Dr. Maggie Doyle, a gun-toting vegetarian lesbian who was in residency at the "ER" (NBC). A recurring character from 1996 through 1999, Doyle had some powerful scenes and storylines in the course of her run, and Fox handled her character with a combination of grace, reserve and vulnerability. Known to a wide audience for her portrayal of Maggie, Fox was featured in the groundbreaking 1997 "coming out" episode of ABC's "Ellen."
In 1999, Fox began a recurring role on the acclaimed NBC drama "The West Wing" playing Gina Tuscano, the Secret Service agent in charge of protecting the daughter (Elisabeth Moss) of the President of the United States (Martin Sheen). Leaving in 2000 to work full-time on "CSI," Fox and Tuscano could feasibly return to "The West Wing" thanks to an open-ended exit, but the success of "CSI" would seem to make such insurance unnecessary. Following the cases of the Las Vegas Police forensics team, the series captured an audience fascinated with the show's use of science and thrilled by the included drama. Here Fox played Sara Sidle, an inexperienced but hard-working and determined investigator hand-picked by William Petersen's Gil Grissom for the forensics team.
Though television has hosted her greatest successes to date, Fox has appeared in several films since her debut. A supporting role as Alan Arkin's love interest in the unimpressive comedy "The Jerky Boys" was one of three of the actress' big screen appearances in 1995, including black comedy "Dead Funny" and the romance "Alchemy." In 1997, in addition to a featured role in the NBC miniseries "House of Frankenstein 1997," Fox added to the less-seen but far more critically acclaimed independent feature "How to Make the Cruelest Month." A starring role in "The Hungry Bachelor's Club" came in 1999, and in 2001 she would be remembered as the murdered wife of a man suffering from anterograde amnesia (Guy Pearce) in the inventive and critically lauded feature "Memento."
In addition to film and television, Fox has worked on stage, co-founding the experimental theater group Honeypot Productions, and writing and starring in plays for the Los Angeles-based group.
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Producer (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1971
Relocated with family to Florida at age three
1984
Began modeling after winning a local contest at age 16
1989
Made feature acting debut in "The Kill-Off"
1992
Featured in the three-part "ABC Afterschool Special" presentation "Summer Stories: The Mall"
1993
Acted in HBO's "Lifestories: Families in Crisis" special "Dead Drunk: The Kevin Tunell Story"
1993
Portrayed a Chicago police investigator on the ABC series "Missing Persons"
1995
Had a supporting role in the comedy feature "The Jerky Boys"
1996
Portrayed the recurring character of Dr. Maggie Doyle, the no-nonsense lesbian medical intern, on the hit NBC medical drama "ER"
1997
Made cameo appearance in the groundbreaking "coming out" episode of the ABC sitcom "Ellen"
1997
Featured in the independent drama "How to Make the Cruelest Month"
1997
Appeared in the NBC miniseries "House of Frankenstein 1997"
1999
Starred in the independent comedy "The Hungry Bachelor's Club"
1999
Had a supporting role in the road movie "Tiara Tango"
1999
Had a recurring role on "The West Wing" (NBC) as Secret Service Agent Gina Tuscano
2000
Co-starred on the forensic crime drama series "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (CBS)
2001
Played the murdered wife of Guy Pearce's amnesiac in Christopher Nolan's ambitious feature "Memento"
2004
Fired from "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" due to a salary dispute and failure to report for work for the new season; returned to work the following week, after what was called a misunderstanding
2007
Produced the musical "Stay Forever: The Life and Music of Dusty Springfield" at the Renberg Theatre in the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center
2008
Guest-starred in three episodes of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (CBS) in the ninth season
2009
Returned to CBS' "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" as Sara Sidle
Bibliography
Notes
Fox on acting with silences: "I think that's the whole idea of listening. I've seen that with other actors-the moment where it could be an actor's most brilliant moment, where the actor says nothing. There are also times when it's great to have this five-page dialogue, like Mamet. Our shows are great because most of the time we're talking about the science." --quoted in Venice Magazine, April 2001.
