Nicole Forester, who was born Nicole Theresa Schmidt on November 19, 1972 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is an Emmy Award-nominated actress. She majored in musical theatre at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, and was a drama major at CAPA (Creative and Performing Arts) high school in Livona. In 1993, she graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Pasadena, California.
In November 2005, Nicole Forester joined the cast of the CBS soap opera Guiding Light, portraying Cassie Layne Winslow. Her character was that of an exotic dancer who went under the alias of Shady Lane. Prior to this, Forester has obtained roles in several other television series. She had recurring roles in Two and a Half Men, Will & Grace, Monk, and Beverly Hills 90210. She also became a guest star on a number of Star Trek spin-offs, including Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Enterprise. She has worked with Chris Kattan of Saturday Night Live as well, on a sitcom for ABC. Some of the films that the actress has appeared in are Vampires Anonymous, Simpatico with Jeff Bridges and Sharon Stone, and The Omega Code. In 2008, she received her first Daytime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress, due to her performance on Guiding Light. On stage, she is known for beating out Broadway star Sutton Foster for a regional production of The Sound of Music. They were only preteens then, when she was cast as Louisa on the play.
Aside from acting, Forester is involved with charity organizations in New York and Los Angeles, and also performs as a singer with the acoustic band Telegraph Road. She has an extensive background on jazz and ballet, and is fluent in German. In her spare time, Forrester likes to knit, and even became the cover model of Suzan Mischer’s book, Greetings from Knit Caf?.
(Photo courtesy of CBS.com)