Christine Lahti (born April 4, 1950) is an
American actress and
film director.
Early life
Lahti was born in
Birmingham, Michigan, the daughter of Elizabeth Margaret (
née Tabar), a painter, homemaker and nurse, and Paul Theodore Lahti, a
surgeon.
[Christine Lahti Biography (1950-)] Lahti has
Finnish ancestry. Her surname means "a gulf", "a bay" or "a cove" in
Finnish;
Lahti is also a city in
Finland, near
Helsinki. 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 then toured
Europe as part of a pantomime acting troupe.
Career
After college, Lahti headed to
New York City, where she worked as a waitress and did commercials. Her breakthrough movie was
…And Justice for All (
1979) with
Al Pacino. After starring in a few hits in the 1970s and early 1980s, Lahti chose to be primarily in films in which she wants to act, rather than take roles in bigger films, and she is adamant about spending time with her three children. She has also focused on television, beginning with her role in the 1979 made-for-TV adaptation of
The Executioner's Song. 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 in
1984, and won an Academy Award for
Best Short Film, Live Action for
Lieberman in Love (1995), in which she starred and directed.
She won an
Emmy and a
Golden Globe for her role in
Chicago Hope. When she won her Golden Globe in 1998, she was in the bathroom, which was highly publicized in the press. She later made it a point to be good-humored about the incident, usually poking fun at herself at other awards shows.
In
2001, her first directorial 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 "
[1] was very lucky to have such a wonderful crew..." She did feel regret that the film was rated R, for language, despairing that the movie might not be viewed by teenagers who would like and relate with the characters. Also, Lahti mentioned several times that she would have liked to have more time to shoot different perspectives in order to facilitate story arch.
Lahti will appear in the
USA Network drama series
Operating Instructions, directed by
Hitch director
Andy Tennant.
Lahti will also begin starring in the ADA role on
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit while the character
Alexandra Cabot (
Stephanie March) is on leave. She will be in the first four episodes.
[ausiellofiles.ew.com/2009/06/svu-scoop-christine-lahti-is-the-new-ada.html] According to
Michael Ausiello, March will appear in a minimum of ten episodes after her. The show may still try to find an additional star to fill the role of ADA.
[ausiellofiles.ew.com/2009/06/svu-exclusive-stephanie-march-staying-.html]
She will be returning to
Broadway upon joining the cast of the
Tony Award-winning play
God of Carnage on November 17, 2009, replacing actress
Marcia Gay Harden.
Personal life
Lahti has been married to
TV director Thomas Schlamme, a native of
Texas, since September 4, 1983. They have three children: son Wilson, and twins Joe Tabor and Emma Kate (born 1993). Over the past decade she has mainly acted in independent films or TV series, and she is active in political causes.
Since May 2005, Lahti has been a contributing blogger at
The Huffington Post.
Filmography
