“I like playing a woman who gets to kick some butt,” says a frank Erbe. “It is an honor to work with Vincent D’Onofrio, Jamey Sheridan and Courtney B. Vance, as well as all of the New York actors we get to work with every day.”

Born in Boston and raised in Newton, Massachusetts, Erbe’s interest in acting developed at a young age.

Shortly before graduating from the New York University drama program with a bachelor of arts degree, Erbe was cast as Lynn Redgrave’s daughter on the 1989 sitcom “Chicken Soup.” Upon her return to New York City, she joined the cast of the Steppenwolf Broadway production of “The Grapes of Wrath,” which received the 1990 Tony Award for best play. Immediately following her Broadway appearance, Erbe won the role of Anna, the daughter of Richard Dreyfuss and friend of Bill Murray in the film “What About Bob?”

Soon after, Erbe returned to Broadway to star in “The Speed of Darkness,” and was nominated for a Tony for Best Supporting Actress. A member of both the Steppenwolf Theatre Company and the Atlantic Theatre Company, Erbe has performed in many plays, including “A Streetcar Named Desire,” “A Month in the Country,” “Down the Shore” and “My Thing of Love.”

On film, Erbe appeared with Albert Finney and Alfre Woodard in “Rich in Love,” and in “Kiss of Death” with Helen Hunt and Nicolas Cage, as well as in the independent films “Dream with the Fishes,” “Love from Ground Zero” and “Entropy.” Last year, she starred opposite Kevin Bacon in “A Stir of Echoes,” and recently finished filming “Dragon Fly” with Kevin Costner. She also can be seen in the upcoming film “Speaking of Sex” with Lara Flynn Boyle and James Spader.

On the small screen, Erbe played the infamous death row inmate Shirley Bellenger on the acclaimed cable series “Oz.” She has also appeared on “Homicide: Life on the Street,” the cable miniseries “George Wallace,” the daytime drama “Another World” and the TV movie “Breathing Lessons.”

Away from the set, Erbe enjoys spending time in New York with her husband, actor-director Terry Kinney, and her 5-year-old daughter Maeve. Her birthday is July 5.