Sonya Walger

Sonya Walger (born June 6, 1974) is a British and American actress. She had a starring role in the HBO sitcom The Mind of the Married Man (2001–2002) before landing her role as Penny Widmore in the ABC drama series Lost (2006–2010). Walger later starred on Tell Me You Love Me, FlashForward (2009–2010), Common Law (2012), The Catch (2016–2017), and For all Mankind (2019–2022).

Early life Walger was born in London, England, and educated at the independent Wycombe Abbey School and at Christ Church, Oxford, where she studied English Literature, receiving a first class degree. Walger is conversational in French and fluent in Spanish, as her father was Argentinian.

Career

Walger began her career on British television. In 1998, she appeared in an episode of ITV crime series, Midsomer Murders - Death of a Hollow Man. She had a recurring role in the BBC 1 sitcom Goodnight Sweetheart in 1999, and appeared in two episodes of the crime/drama The Vice. Also in 1999, she played the daughter of newspaper magnate Max Van der Vuurst, Hilde, in the Heat of the Sun story "The Sport of Kings". The following year, Walger made her film debut in the biographical drama Eisenstein. In 2001, she moved to the United States and was cast as Donna Barnes on the HBO comedy series, The Mind of the Married Man. The series was cancelled after two seasons. In 2003, she starred on the short-lived U.S. version of Coupling, which aired on NBC. In 2004, Walger played Nicole Noone opposite Noah Wyle in the TNT television film, The Librarian: Quest for the Spear, for which she received Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress on Television nomination.

From 2006 to 2010, Walger had a recurring role as Penny Widmore in the ABC drama series, Lost. She also had recurring roles on Sleeper Cell, CSI: NY, and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. In 2007, Walger appeared in the original Broadway production of Frost/Nixon, as Charlotte Cushing, David Frost's then-girlfriend. Then she starred in the HBO series Tell Me You Love Me. From 2009 to 2010, Walger starred as Olivia Benford, a surgeon and wife of FBI agent Mark Benford (Joseph Fiennes) in the ABC series, FlashForward. Later in 2010, she appeared as Julia in season 3 of the HBO drama series In Treatment. She played John Cusack's wife in the 2011 Direct-to-video crime thriller The Factory. In 2012, she was regular cast member in the USA Network short lived series Common Law. In 2013, Walger had a brief role in the comedy film Admission, as a Virginia Woolf scholar. From 2013 to 2014, Walger appeared on the NBC drama series Parenthood.

In 2014, Walger guest-starred in Shonda Rhimes's series Scandal as Katherine Winslow. The following year, Walger was cast in the new Rhimes series The Catch, co-starring opposite Mireille Enos and Peter Krause.

In 2018 she had a recurring role in her husband's show Get Shorty as Lila, an Argentine drug lord.

In 2019, Walger starred as NASA astronaut Molly Cobb in the first season of the Apple TV+ original science fiction space drama series For All Mankind. In 2021 and 2022, Walger returned for seasons two and three.

In 2024, she starred in horror thriller New Life along with Hayley Erin.

In 2025, Walger's debut novel, Lion, was published. A piece of autobiographical fiction, the novel is about the relationship between an actress and her father. The novel received acclaim and was shortlisted for the Carol Shields Prize for Fiction in 2026. Walger's second novel, Wifehouse, was published in April 2026.

In March 2026, she was cast as the Norse goddess Freya in the upcoming live-action adaptation of the two Norse mythology-based video games in the God of War series.

Personal life Walger married screenwriter/producer Davey Holmes in July 2009. She gave birth to a daughter on 14 February 2013. She also gave birth to a son in 2015. Walger became a U.S. citizen on 23 May 2013.

Filmography

Film

Television