Laura Innes

This charismatic, stage-trained player is so convincing as the dedicated but difficult Dr. Weaver on ER, it's hard to imagine her in other roles, let alone in real life. But rest assured, Innes who has two children with her actor husband, David Brisbin isn't such a hard-ass off screen. Although she was still in college when she made her film debut in The Fury, Innes spent the next decade in Chicago theater. After moving to Hollywood, she did guest spots and small parts in TV-movies before landing a recurring role as Thomas Hayden Church's sex-crazed ex-wife in Wings. In 1995, Innes signed on to ER for 14 episodes, and her deeply flawed character proved so popular she became a regular during the medical drama's third season. Over the years, her TV alter ago grappled with a physical handicap and her sexual orientation, and continually locked horns with her colleagues, often due to her own shady behavior. Innes earned two Emmy nods for her on-camera work and, after launching a concurrent career as a small-screen director, also picked up a nomination for helming an episode of The West Wing.