American actress Erika Christensen was born on August 19, 1982 in Seattle, Washington, USA. She was raised on Los Angeles, California and started in the entertainment industry with a television commercial for MacDonald’s. Since then, she has had several small roles in various television programs.

Christensen began her movie career in 1997 with projects including The Geena Davis Show, Frasier, The Practice, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Touched by an Angel, Swimfan, The Perfect Score and How to Rob a Bank. She was one of People magazine’s “Breakthrough Stars of 2001”. She played the role of a heroin addict in Traffic, which earned her the awards for "Female Breakthrough Performance" at the MTV Movie Awards, "Female Standout Performance" at the Young Hollywood Awards, and "Outstanding Performance by a Cast Ensemble" at the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Erika Christensen also went into music for a brief period in 2005. She recorded a version of Let’s Fall In Love with John Stevens for his debut album Red. After a year, she starred in the series Six Degrees which premiered on ABC fall schedule. However, it was cancelled after one season due to low ratings.

Christensen then had a cameo in the video Tired of Being Sorry which was directed by Joaquin Phoenix for Balthazar Getty’s band Ringside. She became part of the cast for the film adaptation of Veronika Decides to Die (2009). She is a regular cast who plays the role of Julia Braverman-Graham in the NBC TV series Parenthood which debuted on March 2, 2010.