| Co-founded the Eclipse Theater Company, a small Chicago theatre ensemble. |
| Studied opera at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music. |
| Got her start on TV with small parts in syndicated series like Star Trek: The Next Generation and Highlander, as well as a regular role on The WB's short-lived Muscle (1995). |
| Earned a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination in 1999 for her role as the title character's best friend, Annie Spadaro, on Caroline in the City. |
| Was inspired to volunteer as a doula, or birthing coach, by the people who aided her during the birth of a son Pietz gave up for adoption when she was 23. |