Mia Audina

Canadian actress Jennifer Finnigan used her shining face, clear blue eyes and cupid bow lips to charm American audiences and catapult onto the A-list in her breakout role as the lawyer and mother on Jerry Bruckheimer's "Close to Home" (CBS, 2005 -). Raised in Montreal, Finnigan modeled as a child, but always wanted to act. Her first brush with fame came with her role in the Canadian TV series "Student Bodies" (Telescene, 1999), a sitcom about high school students who run a humorous newspaper. Finnigan took off for Hollywood after this first success, making a string of appearances on action and horror TV shows including "The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo," "The Big Wolf on Campus," "La Femme Nikita," "Are You Afraid of the Dark?" and "The Fearing Mind." The swing dancing enthusiast parlayed these spots into the title role in the sudser "The Stalking of Laurie Show" (USA, 2000). In the reality-based Movie of the Week, Finnigan's Laurie is just trying to fit in when a popular girl singles her out for abuse and ensnares her into a web of deceit that leads to a murder. Finnigan took a break from the supernatural and thrillers in 2000 with a four-year stint as spunky teenage girl on "The Bold and the Beautiful" (CBS, 2000-2004). Over the course of her tenure on the program, Finnigan's character evolved from a meddling teenager to a mature medical student. She won Daytime Emmys for Outstanding Younger Actress for three of her four years in the role and fans mourned her departure. In 2004, she was back to the thrillers with a 10-episode stint on "Crossing Jordan" (NBC) as an opinionated rookie at the medical examiner's office opposite fellow Canadian Jill Hennessey. With little on-screen comedic experience, Finnigan got a big break to play a leading role on the romantic sit-com "Committed" (NBC, 2004). She played Marni, a perpetually cheery occupational therapist who falls in love with Nate (Josh Cooke), a mathematician who works in a record store and comes from a family of geniuses who all eventually go insane. Marni also houses former-"Newhart" handyman Tom Poston as a dying clown living in her closet. Although the show won some admirers, the program was short-lived. It turned out to be a good time to be available: Jerry Bruckheimer had been conducting a drawn-out search for a heroine for his new drama and when Finnigan nailed her audition she was selected for the lead role in "Close to Home," earning rave reviews for her portrayal of Annabeth Chase, the tough prosecutor with a perfect conviction record who is also a protective, new, suburban mother. Adding to Annabeth's unrest is that fact that the dark crimes in this legal drama come out of quiet, tree-lined suburbs - like her own. Her role resounded particularly well with working mothers who find their work-life balance slip out of whack from time to time. Annabeth's character occasionally gets carried away and she has to be reined in by her boss. She also struck a chord in this role for her use of a breast pump as a prop.