Stephanie Niznik

Perhaps best known for her role as Nina Feeney on the drama "Everwood" (WB, 2002-06), Stephanie Niznik was born in Bangor, Maine. She attended Duke University in Durham, North Carolina on a scholarship to study genetics, but found her studies so rigorous that she began taking elective theater classes on the side, as a way to explore her creativity and relieve stress. Before long, Nezik had fallen in love with acting; she switched over completely and become a theater major. She graduated magna cum laude 1990 and enrolled at California Institute of the Arts intending to obtain her master's in theater as well, but Niznik quit when she began landing professional acting roles. She was cast as Agent Judith Phillips on the short-lived adventure series "Vanishing Son" (Fox, 1995) in 1995, but even after the show was cancelled that same year, Niznik went on to guest star on a large number of series including "Murder, She Wrote" (CBS, 1984-1996), "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman" (CBS, 1993-98), and "L.A. Doctors" (CBS, 1998-99). In 1998, she was cast in the recurring role of Caitlin Sweeney on the series "Diagnosis Murder" (CBS, 1993-2001) in addition to playing the character Perim in the feature film "Star Trek: Insurection" (1998). She later appeared in the films "Spiders II: Breeding Ground" (2001) and "Beyond City Limits" (2001) before she was cast in her enduring role on "Everwood" alongside Treat Williams, Emily Van Camp, and Vivien Cardone. After "Everwood" wrapped in 2006, Niznik went on to appear on "Grey's Anatomy" (ABC, 2005-) and "Traveler" (ABC, 2007), in addition to co-starring on the short-lived "Life is Wild" (CW, 2007) before making her final on-screen appearance, co-starring in the independent drama "The Twenty" (2009) in 2009. At that point, Neznik retired from acting and opted to focus on giving back, volunteering at the Four Winds Heart-Centered Healing center. Stephanie Neznik died in 2019. She was 52 years old.