Christine Lahti

Christine Ann Lahti (born April 4, 1950) is an American actress and filmmaker. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the 1984 film Swing Shift. Her other film roles include ...And Justice for All, Housekeeping (1987), Running on Empty (1988), Leaving Normal (1992), and A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019). For her directorial debut with the 1995 short film Lieberman in Love, she won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film.

Lahti made her Broadway debut in 1980 as a replacement in Loose Ends and went on to star in the Broadway productions of Present Laughter (1982) and The Heidi Chronicles (1989). An eight-time Golden Globe nominee and six-time Emmy Award nominee, she won a Golden Globe for the 1989 TV movie No Place Like Home and won a Golden Globe and an Emmy in 1998 for her role as Kate Austin in the CBS series Chicago Hope (1995–99). She returned to Broadway in 2009 to star in God of Carnage. She has had a number of recurring roles: as Sonya Paxton in the NBC series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2009–11), as Doris McGarrett in the CBS series Hawaii Five-0 (2012–19), as Laurel Hitchin in NBC's The Blacklist (2015–17), as Sheryl Luria in the CBS/Paramount+ series Evil (2019–24), and as Ruby Quinn in the CBS series Fire Country (2025).

Early life and education Lahti was born in Birmingham, Michigan, the daughter of Elizabeth Margaret (née Tabar), a painter, homemaker, and nurse, and Paul Theodore Lahti, a surgeon. She has three sisters, Carol, Catherine, and Linda, and two brothers, Paul Jr. and James Lahti. Her paternal grandparents were Finnish immigrants and her maternal grandparents were from Austria-Hungary. Lahti was raised in the Lutheran Church.

Lahti studied Fine Arts at Florida State University and received her bachelor's degree in Drama from the University of Michigan, where she joined Delta Gamma sorority. She studied acting at HB Studio in New York City, as well as completing a two-year professional actor training program at the William Esper Studio for the performing arts in Manhattan.

Career After college, Lahti headed to New York City in 1973, where she worked as a waitress and did commercials. Her breakthrough movie was ...And Justice for All (1979) with Al Pacino. In the film Whose Life Is It Anyway? (1981), starring Richard Dreyfuss and John Cassavetes, she was cast as a physician who grows attached to a paralyzed patient seeking the right to leave the hospital. Later, she was cast in an important role in Running on Empty, a 1988 movie in which she and Judd Hirsch played the parents of a musically promising son; the family went underground to avoid the FBI after the parents had damaged a napalm factory, and they all must periodically move on short notice and assume new identities. She has also focused on television, beginning with her role in the made-for-TV adaptation of The Executioner's Song (1982). She appeared on Broadway in Wendy Wasserstein's seriocomic play, The Heidi Chronicles.

Lahti received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for Swing Shift (1984), and won an Academy Award for Best Short Film, Live Action for Lieberman in Love (1995), in which she starred and also directed. It was adapted from Lieberman in Love, a short story by W. P. Kinsella. Lahti won a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award in 1998 for her role in Chicago Hope. Lahti was in the bathroom when she won the third award and finally came to the stage following an attempt by show producer John Tinker to accept on her behalf and an interruptive riff by Robin Williams. In 1999, she presented with a piece of toilet paper attached to her shoe as an "inside joke" about her previous appearance.

In 2001, her first directorial feature-length film, My First Mister, was released. Starring Leelee Sobieski and Albert Brooks, the movie debuted with good reviews. In DVD commentary she applauds the work of her cast and crew, remarking " was very lucky to have such a wonderful crew..." She said she felt regret that the film was rated R, for language, despairing that the movie might not be viewed by teens who would relate with the characters. Also, Lahti mentioned that she would have liked to have had more time to shoot different perspectives in order to facilitate story arc.

Lahti starred in the executive ADA role on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as Sonya Paxton while the character Alexandra Cabot (Stephanie March) was in appeals. She was in the first four episodes of the 11th season and returned for the show's eighth episode, where she clashed with Cabot. Lahti later guest starred in the ninth and 17th episodes of the 12th season, where she reprised her role as Paxton. Her character was murdered in the 17th episode.

She returned to Broadway upon joining the cast of the Tony Award–winning play God of Carnage on November 17, 2009, replacing Marcia Gay Harden. Both actresses had a few special appearances on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. In September 2011, Lahti starred with Morgan Freeman in the Broadway debut of Dustin Lance Black's play, 8—a reenactment of the federal trial that overturned California's Prop 8 ban on same-sex marriage—as Kris Perry. In March 2012, she was featured with Jamie Lee Curtis and Jansen Panettiere at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre. The production was broadcast on YouTube to raise money for the American Foundation for Equal Rights.

Her book of autobiographical essays, titled True Stories From an Unreliable Eyewitness, was published in 2018 by Harper Wave.

In 2020, Lahti appeared as a guest on the Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip marathon fundraiser episode of The George Lucas Talk Show.

Personal life Lahti has been married to television director Thomas Schlamme since September 4, 1983. They have three children. Lahti resides in Los Angeles, California, with her family. She also owns an apartment in Greenwich Village.

Since May 2005, Lahti has been a contributor at HuffPost. 2012–2019 Hawaii Five-0 Doris McGarrett Recurring role, 10 episodes 2015 Grace and Frankie Lydia Foster Episode: "The Funeral" 2015–2017 The Blacklist Laurel Hitchin Recurring role, 10 episodes 2015–2016 The Good Wife Andrea Stevens 2 episodes 2017–2018 The Good Fight Andrea Stevens 2 episodes 2019–2024 Evil Sheryl Luria Main roleNominated—Critics' Choice Super Award for Best Actress in a Horror SeriesNominated—Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series 2020 Curb Your Enthusiasm Herself Episode: "Artificial Fruit" 2025 Fire Country Ruby Quinn 1st Episode: "Your Voice in My Head"

Theater + Year Title Role Director(s) Venue 1980 Loose Ends Susan Alan Schneider Circle in the Square Theatre Division Street Dianah Tom Moore Ambassador Theatre 1981 Scenes and Revelations Helena Sheldon Epps Circle in the Square Theatre 1982–83 Present Laughter Joanna Lyppiatt George C. Scott Circle in the Square Theatre 1989–90 The Heidi Chronicles Heidi Holland Daniel Sullivan Plymouth Theatre 2009–10 God of Carnage Veronica Matthew Warchus Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre 2017 Fucking A Hester Smith Jo Bonney Signature Theatre 2018 Gloria: A Life Gloria Steinem Diane Paulus Daryl Roth Theatre 2023 The Smile of Her Herself Robert H. Egan Berkshire Theatre Festival 2026 Mêlisa Annis Marylebone Theatre, London

Published works Lahti, Christine. True Stories from an Unreliable Eyewitness (2018)

Awards and nominations

Lahti has received numerous accolades for her work in film and television, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and awards from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, New York Film Critics Circle, and the Screen Actors Guild.

+ Christine Lahti awards and nominations Year Award Category Work Result 1984 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards Best Supporting Actress Swing Shift 1984 New York Film Critics Circle Awards Best Supporting Actress Swing Shift 1985 Academy Awards Best Supporting Actress Swing Shift 1987 New York Film Critics Circle Awards Best Actress Housekeeping 1988 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards Best Actress Running on Empty 1990 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Special No Place Like Home (as Zan Cooper) 1990 Golden Globe Awards Best Actress – Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television No Place Like Home 1992 CableACE Awards Actress in a Movie or Miniseries Crazy from the Heart 1993 CableACE Awards Actress in a Movie or Miniseries The Fear Inside 1996 Academy Awards Best Live Action Short Film Lieberman in Love (shared with Jana Sue Memel) 1996 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series Chicago Hope (as Kathryn Austin) 1996 CableACE Awards Supporting Actress in a Movie or Miniseries The Four Diamonds 1996 Viewers for Quality Television Awards Best Actress in a Quality Drama Series Chicago Hope 1997 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series Chicago Hope (as Kathryn Austin) 1997 Golden Globe Awards Best Actress – Television Series Drama Chicago Hope 1997 Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series Chicago Hope 1997 Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Chicago Hope (shared with cast) 1997 Online Film & Television Association Awards Best Actress in a Series Chicago Hope 1997 Viewers for Quality Television Awards Best Actress in a Quality Drama Series Chicago Hope 1997 Satellite Awards Best Actress in a Series, Drama Chicago Hope 1998 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series Chicago Hope (as Kathryn Austin) 1998 Golden Globe Awards Best Actress – Television Series Drama Chicago Hope 1998 Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series Chicago Hope 1998 Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Chicago Hope 1998 Online Film & Television Association Awards Best Actress in a Drama Series Chicago Hope 1998 Online Film & Television Association Awards Best Actress in a Series Chicago Hope 1998 Viewers for Quality Television Awards Best Actress in a Quality Drama Series Chicago Hope 1998 Lone Star Film & Television Awards Best TV Supporting Actress Hope 1999 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series Chicago Hope (as Kathryn Austin) 1999 People's Choice Awards Favorite Female TV Performer Chicago Hope 1999 Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series Chicago Hope 1999 Online Film & Television Association Awards Best Actress in a Drama Series Chicago Hope 2001 Golden Globe Awards Best Actress – Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television Trial by Media 2001 Chicago International Film Festival Gold Hugo – Best Feature My First Mister 2005 Golden Globe Awards Best Actress – Television Series Drama Jack & Bobby 2005 Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series Jack & Bobby 2005 Prism Awards Performance in a Drama Series Storyline Jack & Bobby 2005 Women's Image Network Awards Actress in Made-for-TV Movie/Miniseries Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman 2005 High Falls Film Festival Susan B. Anthony "Failure is Impossible" Award — 2007 Online Film & Television Association Awards Best Guest Actress in a Drama Series Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip 2011 Prism Awards Performance in a Drama Series Episode Law & Order: Special Victims Unit 2017 Northern Ontario Music and Film Awards Best Performance by an Actor in a Northern Ontario Production The Steps 2022 Critics Choice Awards Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Evil 2022 Critics' Choice Super Awards Best Actress in a Horror Series Evil