Rena Sofer

A ravishing, raven-haired looker, Sofer made her first big impression in a succession of daytime dramas. She was particularly beloved for her turn as the savvy, "Noo Yawk" record promoter Lois Cerullo on General Hospital, a role that won her a Best Supporting Actress Daytime Emmy, as well as a husband — Wallace Kurth, who played her on-screen spouse. In the mid-'90s, Sofer made the leap to prime time, guest-starring in a number of series before appropriately landing a regular part on the campy evening soap Melrose Place. A string of flop series followed (Oh, Grow Up, The Chronicle, and the notorious sitcom Coupling, which was infamously touted as the next Friends), but although the shows were short-lived, Sofer proved that she wasn't just another vapid pretty face. Recurring roles on the sitcom Just Shoot Me! and the dramedy Ed widened her exposure. After taking a brief hiatus to give birth to a daughter with her second husband, TV director Sanford Bookstaver, she returned to the small screen in 2006 with recurring roles in two hits, 24 and Heroes, as long-suffering wife to two shady characters, a power broker and an aspiring politician, respectively.