Julianne Nicholson

Julianne Nicholson (born July 1, 1971)^[1] is an American actress. She is known for her roles in the film August: Osage County (2013) and the television series Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2006–2009), Masters of Sex (2013–2014), Eyewitness (2016), and Mare of Easttown (2021), the last of which earned her a Primetime Emmy Award.^[2][3]

Julianne Nicholson
Nicholson in 2017
Born	(1971-07-01) July 1, 1971 (age 53) Medford, Massachusetts, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1997–present
Spouse	Jonathan Cake ​ (m. 2004)​
Children	2

Nicholson's other notable credits include Tully (2000), Ally McBeal (2001–2002), Kinsey (2004), Conviction (2006), Boardwalk Empire (2011–2013), Black Mass (2015), I, Tonya (2017), Togo (2019), The Outsider (2020), Blonde (2022), and Paradise (2025).

Early life

Nicholson was born and raised in Medford, Massachusetts, the eldest of Kate (née Gilday) and James O. Nicholson Jr.'s four children.^[4]

After graduating from Arlington Catholic High School, she modeled in New York for six months, quit for a year, then resumed her modeling career in Paris for another six months. After returning to New York, she attended Hunter College as a general studies major for two years. While in New York, Nicholson supported herself by waitressing and eventually left school to study acting and begin her professional career.^[5]

Career

Film

In her first feature film role, Nicholson starred opposite Michael Caine and James Spader in the Peter Yates film Curtain Call. Later she won what proved to be both her breakthrough and favorite role as a headstrong young feminist in Peter Chan's The Love Letter. She has worked with other international directors in films such Alain Berliner's Passion of Mind, and Nick Hurran's Little Black Book. Nicholson's domestic drama credits include William Vincent, Staten Island, Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, Tully, Kinsey, and August: Osage County, for which the ensemble cast was nominated for several awards. Her domestic comedy credits include Seeing Other People, Puccini For Beginners, and Disney's Togo opposite Willem Dafoe. She also stars in the American espionage thriller, The Amateur.^[6]

Television

Among Nicholson's television credits are a supporting role in the television miniseries Storm of the Century and guest-starring roles in ER and Law & Order. She was tapped by Steven Spielberg for the lead role in the paranormal drama The Others. In late 2001, Nicholson became one of the main cast members of the hit show Ally McBeal, portraying Jenny Shaw for 13 episodes. She worked on the medical drama Presidio Med and the HBO pilot Marriage. Julianne worked on the short-lived NBC television drama, Conviction and in what is her best known role, as Megan Wheeler, in the sixth, seventh, and eighth seasons of Law & Order: Criminal Intent.^[7] Nicholson has said her favorite Criminal Intent episode was "Weeping Willow".^[8] As of the Criminal Intent episode "Major Case", Nicholson departed the series when she went on maternity leave for the birth of her second child (which was written into the show as the birth of her first child).

In 2011, she guest-starred on Royal Pains as "Jess", one of Dr. Lawson's patients, who has panic attacks. She also appeared on Boardwalk Empire as the recurring character of U.S. Assistant Attorney General Esther Randolph (a character based on the real life Mabel Walker Willebrandt) that same year. In 2012, she guest-starred on The Good Wife as Callie Simko, an attorney who has an interest in Will Gardner.

On October 16, 2016, Nicholson played the lead role of Sheriff Helen Torrance in USA Network's 10-episode police drama, Eyewitness.

In 2021, Nicholson starred in the HBO series Mare of Easttown as Lori Ross, best friend of the titular Mare Sheehan, played by Kate Winslet. The series proved to be a ratings hit for HBO, breaking viewership records. Her role in the series brought her critical acclaim, with critics especially highlighting her harrowing performance in the series finale. The role won Nicholson her first Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series. She also earned a nomination at the Critics Choice Awards for the same role.^{[citation needed]}

Theater

Nicholson has been in a number of plays in New York. Her work in theater includes plays written by Craig Lucas, Adam Rapp, and Sam Shepard.

Personal life

In 2004, she married British actor Jonathan Cake in Italy; they met while playing a couple on an unaired HBO pilot called Marriage. They have two children, son Ignatius Cake^[9] and daughter Phoebe Margaret Cake.^[10]

Acting credits

Key

† Denotes works that have not yet been released

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1998	Harvest	Lou Yates
	Long Time Since	Vivian James / Phoebe
	One True Thing	College Student
	Curtain Call / It All Came True	Sandra Hewson
1999	The Love Letter	Jennifer McNeely
2000	Hero	Young German Woman	Short film
	Passion of Mind	Kim
	Godass	Nancy
	Tully	Ella Smalley	Nominated—Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female
2001	Dead Dog	Charity
2002	Speakeasy	Rebecca
	Strike a Light	Girl
	I'm with Lucy	Jo
2004	Seeing Other People	Alice	US Comedy Arts Festival Award for Best Actress
	Little Black Book	Joyce Moore
	Kinsey	Alice Martin
2005	Seagull	Julianne
	Her Name Is Carla	Carla
2006	Flannel Pajamas	Nicole Reilly
	Puccini for Beginners	Samantha
	Two Weeks	Emily Bergman
2009	Brief Interviews with Hideous Men	Sara Quinn
	Staten Island	Mary Halverson
2010	Shadows and Lies	Ann	Also known as In Praise of Shadows and William Vincent
2012	Keep the Lights On	Claire
2013	August: Osage County	Ivy Weston	Hollywood Film Festival for Ensemble of the Year Nominated—Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast Nominated—Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Nominated—Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Acting Ensemble
2015	Black Mass	Marianne Connolly
	Ten Thousand Saints	Harriet Horn
2016	Sophie and the Rising Sun	Sophie Willis
	From Nowhere	Jackie
2017	Novitiate	Nora Harris
	I, Tonya	Diane Rawlinson
	Who We Are Now	Beth	Also producer
2018	Weightless	Janeece
2019	Monos	'Doctora' Sara Watson
	Togo	Constance Seppala
	Iniciales S.G.	Jane
2021	With/In: Volume 2	Mom	Segment: "Touching"; also director
2022	Blonde	Gladys Pearl Baker
	Weird: The Al Yankovic Story	Mary Yankovic
2023	Janet Planet	Janet
	Dream Scenario	Janet Matthews	[11]
2025	The Amateur	Samantha O'Brien	[12]

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1997	Nothing Sacred	Cara	Episode: "Parents and Children"
1998	Dellaventura	Carol Dakin	Episode: "David & Goliath"
	New York Undercover	Daisy	Episode: "Sign o' the Times"
1999	Storm of the Century	Katrina Withers	TV miniseries
2000	The Others	Marian Kitt	Main role (13 episodes)
2001	Law & Order	Jessie Lucas	Episode: "All My Children"
2001–2002	Ally McBeal	Jenny Shaw	Main role (13 episodes)
2002	Presidio Med	Dr. Jules Keating	Main role (4 episodes)
2004	ER	Jordan	Episodes: "Just a Touch", "Abby Normal"
2006	The Water Is Wide	Barbara	TV film
	Conviction	Christina Finn	Main role (13 episodes)
2006–2009	Law & Order: Criminal Intent	Detective Megan Wheeler	Main role (Seasons 6–8)
2011	Royal Pains	Jess Walsh	Episode: "Fight or Flight"
2011–2013	Boardwalk Empire	Esther Randolph	Recurring role (11 episodes)
2012	The Good Wife	Callie Simko	Episodes: "Pants on Fire", "The Penalty Box"
	Covert Affairs	Anna Lise Pound	Episode: "The Last Thing You Should Do"
2013–2014	Masters of Sex	Dr. Lillian DePaul	Recurring role (12 episodes) Nominated—Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Guest Performer in a Drama Series
2014–2015	The Red Road	Jean Jensen	12 episodes
2016	Eyewitness	Sheriff Helen Torrance	Main role (10 episodes)
2017	Law & Order True Crime	Jill Lansing	Main role (5 episodes)
2020	The Outsider	Glory Maitland	TV miniseries
	Robot Chicken	Winifred Sanderson (voice)	Episode: "Ghandi Mulholland in: Plastic Doesn't Get Cancer"
2021	Mare of Easttown	Lori Ross	TV miniseries Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie Nominated—Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television Nominated—Gold Derby TV Award for Best Supporting Actress in an Anthology Series or Television Movie Nominated—Hollywood Critics Association TV Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series, Anthology Series, or Television Movie Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries, or Television Film
2022	Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty	Cranny McKinney	7 episodes
2025	Paradise	Samantha 'Sinatra' Redmond	Main cast (8 episodes)[13]
	Dope Girls	Kate Galloway	6 episodes[14]

Theater

Year	Title	Role	Playwright	Director	Notes
2000	Stranger	Stewardess / Linda's Mom / Girl	Craig Lucas	Mark Brokaw	The Vineyard Theater
2009	This	Jane	Melissa James Gibson	Daniel Aukin	Playwrights Horizons
2010	Parents' Evening	Judy	Bathsheba Doran	Jim Simpson	The Flea
2011	The Hallway Trilogy: Rose	Mary	Adam Rapp	Adam Rapp	Rattlestick Playwrights Theater
	The Hallway Trilogy: Paraffin	Margo	Adam Rapp	Daniel Aukin	Rattlestick Playwrights Theater
2012	Heartless	Sally	Sam Shepard	Daniel Aukin	Signature Theatre