Actress Julie Benz was born on May 1, 1972 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. At three, she started ice skating, eventually competing in different championships across the country. With her partner David Schilling, she joined the 1988 U.S. Championships in junior ice skating. She was forced to take time off, however, after a bad stress fracture; she eventually pursued an acting career.
Benz was first involved in local theater, before making her screen debut with a small role in 1990’s Two Evil Eyes. She later became a regular on the short-lived series Hi Honey, I’m Home. After finishing her acting studies at the New York University, she moved to Los Angeles, where she continued to play minor roles, in some unaired pilots, as well as guest appearances in Married… with Children, Hang Time, Boy Meets World, Diagnosis Murder and Sliders, among others.
In 1996, Benz auditioned for the lead role in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Despite losing out to Sarah Michelle Gellar, she was offered a small role in the pilot episode—a role later expanded into the vampire Darla. Her acting career took off afterwards, and she appeared in three seasons of the show, as well as on every season of its spin-off, Angel. She also had a recurring role on the short-lived Ask Harriet and Roswell, as well as in numerous television movies.
After Angel concluded, she made guest appearances in shows such as Coupling, NCIS, Supernatural, CSI, CSI: Miami and Law & Order. She later joined the cast of the crime drama Dexter, as Rita Bennett, a battered wife who starts a relationship with Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall). Her performance won her a Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2006. She also starred as the female lead, the American missionary Sarah Miller, in the 2008 action film Rambo.