Julianna Margulies Bio
Julianna Margulies (born June 8, 1966) is an American actress, producer, and author whose career has spanned television, film, and stage for more than three decades. She is widely recognized for her leading role as Carol Hathaway on the NBC medical drama ER and for playing Alicia Florrick on the CBS legal drama The Good Wife, both of which earned her major industry awards. She later joined the cast of the Apple TV+ drama The Morning Show, further cementing her reputation as one of television’s most respected performers. Beyond acting, she has written a picture book and a memoir, and she actively supports charitable and advocacy initiatives.
Early Life and Background
Julianna Margulies was born on June 8, 1966, in Spring Valley, New York, the youngest of three daughters. Her mother, Francesca Goldberg, was a ballet dancer and eurythmy teacher, and her father, Paul Margulies, was a writer, philosopher, and Madison Avenue advertising executive. Both parents were Jewish, descendants of Ashkenazi immigrants from Austria, Hungary, Romania, and Russia, and they divorced when Margulies was about a year old. In her memoir, Margulies described a difficult, nomadic childhood spent moving between New York City, Sussex in England, and Paris, France. As a result, French became her first language, though she has since lost fluency in it.
She attended several different schools as a child, including Green Meadow Waldorf School and High Mowing School. Margulies ultimately enrolled at Sarah Lawrence College, where she graduated with a degree focused on art history, English, and theatre. Originally planning to become a lawyer or psychologist like her grandmother, she fell in love with acting while performing in campus plays. That decision redirected her path toward the entertainment industry.
Path to Acting
Margulies began her professional career in 1991 with a small role in the Steven Seagal action film Out for Justice. She then took on a string of early television guest appearances while taking acting classes in New York. During one of those classes, she met fellow actor Ron Eldard, with whom she would later have a long-term relationship. Her persistence through minor roles and stage work in the early 1990s built the foundation for her eventual casting on a major network series.
In 1994, she was offered an extended part on NBC’s Homicide: Life on the Street after a two-episode appearance earlier that year. Around the same time, she auditioned for a new medical drama pilot called ER, where she was cast as Carol Hathaway, an emergency care nurse whose character was originally written to die. When test audiences reacted strongly to her, the producers reversed course, and the role became a central part of the series. Encouraged by her ER co-star George Clooney, she chose ER over the other offer, launching her into television stardom.
Julianna Margulies Career
Early Career (1991-1994)
Margulies’ earliest work included her 1991 film debut in Out for Justice, where she played a small part opposite Steven Seagal. Throughout the early 1990s, she built experience through television guest spots, stage work, and acting classes in New York. She made appearances on shows that helped her refine her craft before her big break came. These formative years were essential in preparing her for the demanding pace of a network drama.
She also took on a two-episode guest arc on NBC’s Homicide: Life on the Street in 1994, which caught the attention of casting directors. The small but memorable performance, combined with her training, made her a top candidate for several major pilots that same year. Her work in this period showed a clear range and a willingness to take on varied roles.
Breakthrough (1994-2009)
Julianna Margulies’ breakthrough came in 1994 when she was cast as Carol Hathaway on ER. The role earned her a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 1994, and she was nominated for an Emmy every year during her tenure. She was the only series regular to win a Primetime Emmy Award for the show. She also received four Golden Globe Award nominations while on the series and was honored with six Screen Actors Guild Awards for her work on ER.
After six seasons, Margulies made the difficult decision to leave ER in 2000 in order to return to New York, pursue theatre, and take on a wider variety of projects. She went on to star in the TNT miniseries The Mists of Avalon in 2001 and appeared in films including Evelyn and Ghost Ship in 2002, the latter co-starring her former partner Ron Eldard. She also appeared in the action film Snakes on a Plane in 2006 and had a four-episode arc on The Sopranos the same year. She briefly returned to ER for a single episode during its 15th and final season in 2009.
Notable Works and Milestones
Her most signature role after ER came in 2009 when she was cast as Alicia Florrick on The Good Wife, a performance that won her two additional Primetime Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. The series ran for seven seasons and became one of the most celebrated legal dramas of its era. She has also distinguished herself in film with credits including Dinosaur, City Island, and The Upside, and on stage with her 2024 Broadway debut in Left on Tenth. Across her career, she has earned three Primetime Emmy Awards, one Golden Globe Award, and eight Screen Actors Guild Awards, making her one of the most awarded women in Screen Actors Guild history.
Julianna Margulies Award Nominations
Julianna Margulies has received numerous high-profile nominations across her television career, including four Golden Globe Award nominations for ER and additional nominations for her later work on The Good Wife. She was also nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award every year she appeared on ER, and she continued earning Emmy nominations for her later performances on The Good Wife and The Morning Show. Beyond television, she has received industry recognition for her voiceover, producing, and stage work, including honors associated with her 2024 Broadway debut in Left on Tenth.
Julianna Margulies Awards Won
Julianna Margulies has won three Primetime Emmy Awards, one Golden Globe Award, and eight Screen Actors Guild Awards across her career. Her first Emmy came in 1994 for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for ER, and she later added two more Emmys for The Good Wife. In 2015, Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world, and she has also been honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Julianna Margulies Family
Julianna Margulies is the youngest of three daughters born to Paul Margulies, a writer, philosopher, and Madison Avenue advertising executive, and Francesca Goldberg, a ballet dancer and eurythmy teacher. Her parents divorced when she was about a year old, and she was raised primarily by her mother. She is the daughter-in-law of academic Kenneth Lieberthal, the father of her husband Keith Lieberthal. Margulies also shares a close bond with her sisters, and her father’s storytelling inspired her later picture book, Three Magic Balloons.
Personal Life
From 1991 to 2003, Julianna Margulies was in a long-term relationship with actor Ron Eldard, whom she met in an acting class. On November 10, 2007, she married attorney Keith Lieberthal in Lenox, Massachusetts, and the couple has a son, Kieran Lindsay Lieberthal, born in 2008. The family resides in Manhattan and also owns a country house in Upstate New York. Outside of her professional work, Margulies serves on the board of the MCC Theater Company in New York City, supports Project ALS, and advocates for Erin’s Law to help prevent child sexual abuse.