Born Emily Rose Maier on Feb. 2, 1981 in the Seattle suburb of Renton, WA, Rose grew up in Seattle. Developing a love for theater as a child, Rose acted in youth performance groups and went on to teach scene study and acting for the camera at a local acting studio while still in high school. Rather than set her sights on Hollywood after graduating from high school, Rose chose to continue studying her craft. Enrolling at Vanguard University, a Christian liberal arts college in Costa Mesa, CA, Rose majored in Theater Arts. While at Vanguard, the young actress performed in numerous school productions including “Quilters” – for which she was honored by Vanguard’s theater program with a Best Supporting Actor award – and toured with the university’s sketch comedy troupe, Entourage. Upon receiving her BA in Theater Arts in 2003, Rose was accepted into UCLA’s prestigious master’s theater program – a program that accepted only 12 students each academic year. While at UCLA, Rose spent time teaching for Arts Bridge America and spent a summer abroad in Oxford studying Shakespeare at the British American Drama Academy. Rose received her MFA in Acting from UCLA in 2006.
She went on to perform on stage in productions of “I Gelosi,” “Tartuffe,” and “Wounded” with the Los Angeles Theater Ensemble at the Powerhouse Theater. Making the transition from stage to screen, Rose made her screen acting debut in an episode of the short-lived CBS drama “Smith” (2006). Unfortunately for the actress, the episode went unaired after the show was pulled in its third week. She went on to land the role of Cass in David Milch’s surfer drama, “John from Cincinnati” (HBO, 2007). Though the series aired its full 10 episodes, poor ratings led the show to be cancelled only a day after the season ended. Rose went on to try a new medium: video games. Serving as a model for the lead female character, Elena Fisher, on the 2007 PayStation 3 adventure game “Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune,” Rose performed voiceover and motion-capture.
Fairing better in her next television role, Rose appeared as Lena Branigan on “Brothers & Sisters.” Guest-starring opposite an all-star cast including Sally Field, Calista Flockhart and Patricia Wettig, Rose appeared in a 10 episode arc during the second season as a young assistant who has an affair with her boss, Tommy Walker (Balthazar Getty). The following year, Rose appeared as Trish Merrick, an employee of the corrupt Jennings and Rall who begins to question their motives, on the resurrected final season of “Jericho.”