Erika Christensen: Bio – Career – Quotes – Net Worth – Personal

Who is Erika Christensen?

Erika Jane Christensen was born on August 19, 1982.  She is an American actress and singer.  Christensen has appeared in films such as Traffic (2000), Swimfan (2002), The Banger Sisters (2002), The Perfect Score (2004), Flightplan (2005), How to Rob a Bank (2007), The Tortured (2010), and The Case for Christ (2011). She and her co-stars won the MTV Movie Award for Breakthrough Female Performance and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture for their work in Traffic.

Among her notable television credits, there are appearances on programs including Frasier, Touched by an Angel, and The Practice. Christensen appeared on ABC’s drama series Six Degrees (2006). and she featured as Julia Braverman-Graham on the NBC family drama series Parenthood (2010 to 2015). She received a Gracie Award for her Parenthood role in 2014. Later, Christensen starred as Betty Beaumontaine in ABC’s short-lived criminal thriller Wicked City (2015).

Early Life

Christensen was born in Seattle, Washington.  She is the daughter of Kathy (née Hendricks) and human resource professional, Steven Christensen. Erika has an older half-brother named Nick, as well as two younger twin brothers named Dane (who starred in the 2005 film The Upside of Anger) and Brando. Her ancestry is Danish, Icelandic, Swedish, Norwegian, Welsh, and Irish. Christensen resided in Seattle until she was four years old.  Then, her family moved to suburban Los Angeles, California. She began her career in television, appearing in ads for McDonald’s and Volvo.

Erika belongs to the Church of Scientology. Her parents became Scientologists in their twenties while living in Seattle.  As a result, Erika was reared as a Scientologist as well. Her parents also made the decision to homeschool her.  In 1997, she made her acting debut in the television series Nothing Sacred (1997), playing a minor role. The following year, she made her feature film debut in Leave It to Beaver (1998). It was a critically and commercially successful picture that helped her break into the industry.

Awards & Nominations

• Nominated – YoungStar Award (1998), Best Performance by a Young Actress: Nothing Sacred
• Winner –  Young Hollywood Award  (2001),  Standout Performance – Female: Traffic  
• Nominated – Teen Choice Award (2001), Film – Choice Breakout Performance:  Traffic
• Winner – Screen Actors Guild Award (2001), Outstanding Performance in a Motion Picture: Traffic
• Nominated – Online Film & Television Association Award (2001), Best Youth Performance: Traffic
• Winner – MTV Movie Award (2001), Breakthrough Female Performance: Traffic
• Winner – Gracie Award (2014), Outstanding Female Actor in a Supporting Role: Parenthood

(Source: en.wikipedia.org)

Erika Christensen – Career Highlights

Thanks (1999)  Erika Christensen plays Abigail Winthrop

The Winthrops are a typical 17th-century Puritan family.  Like everyone else in the New World, they are contending with starvation, plague, and the stodginess of their fellow colonists in a newly-settled colony. As expected, the show is about a family of Puritans colonizing America.  However, it is an unexpected hidden gem. This show’s comedy is lively and well-paced, with creative jokes and a terrific cast of actors. The show is humorous and innovative in its storyline while not being constrained by the time period. The dark comedy and satire are reminiscent of The Simpsons. The episode in which the entire town of Plymouth becomes addicted to tobacco was especially well done. It was belly-achingly humorous.

Traffic (2000)  Erika Christensen plays Caroline Wakefield

Watching Traffic leads one to conclude that drug laws only serve as a price support system for the illicit drug sector. Clearly, they do not put an end to drug use. Despite billions of dollars spent and death, addiction, criminality, corruption, anyone who wants drugs may get them today. The film follows the drug trade in North America from the bottom of the supply chain to the top. This is a masterfully edited piece of work that manages to maintain ten separate balls in the air at the same time.

We’ve got the bad guys including drug lords, hitmen, drug connections, drug victims, dumb politicians, and so on. Deftly, we are moved from one to the other.  However, what appears to be inexplicable at first begins to grow on us.  The characters are either involved in the drug trade or attempting to fight the war on drugs. Together, these various accounts portray a very, very bleak image.  It presents a picture of hopelessness about our government’s efforts to combat the illegal drug trade. However, because of the film’s artistry, you can’t help but be drawn into the message.  And that stark message is that what we’re doing now just isn’t working. By the way, Traffic won four Oscars.

Parenthood (2010-15)  Erika Christensen plays Julia Braverman-Graham

It is the narrative of an extended family with a strong sense of family identity. Like any family, they are constantly having disagreements.  Sometimes with each other, but only because they love each other.  Nevertheless, they always manage to overcome these conflicts. The actors deliver incredibly realistic performances.  Whether they are expressing passion, wrath, or worry in the face of the disagreeable situations that individuals are forced to endure. The show tackles common topics with genuine wit. It will make you laugh as well as cry. It depicts the dynamics of all the various family connections.  This includes marriage, child difficulties, and other issues that contribute to the formation of an extended family. Julia (Erika Christensen) is a high-pressure lawyer who is married to Joel Graham (Sam Jaeger).  The couple has a daughter named Sydney and they appear to have it all going for them.

Erika Christensen – Memorable Quotes

Regarding the documentary Going Clear

“It honestly doesn’t have anything to do with anything that I’ve ever learned about the group or organization. To be specific, if somebody has read a book, read Dianetics or some Scientology book and wants to philosophically tell me what they disagree with it, cool.  That is a totally different thing. But, specifically with that documentary, the documentary was based on a book. The book was not even published in some English-speaking countries because the libel laws are stricter than they are here.  There’s so much that is actually talking about sources. They have proved themselves to be irrelevant. There’s no relevance in what they’re saying.” – Erika Christensen

Being raised in Scientology

“It’s hard to raise someone as a Scientologist because it’s something that you do, it’s not something that you believe. My parents definitely are Scientologists, approached parenting from a Scientology viewpoint,” she continued. “I can see that in the way that they approached me as a kid and really tried to do what I’m doing now, which is trying to temper absolutely necessary discipline and rules and structure with fostering independent thought and freedom of personality. It has to be true for you. I was a kid. I was like, ‘Sounds cool to me, fine.’  When I was 12, I started doing a bunch of the little introductory courses that they still have now that are maybe a few hours each.” – Erika Christensen

Personal: Net Worth and Zodiac

Erika Christensen has an estimated net worth of approximately $10 million as of 2021. (Source: multiple sources)

Erika was born on August 19th.  That puts her under the zodiac sign Leo – the lion.

The AUGUST 19 birthday horoscope says that hanging out with you may evolve into a mental and physical boot camp. It seems you enjoy seeing how far you can push yourself before having to give up. However, this could help with concentration and clarity. As motivation, it provides you with the jolt you might need to keep going. Of course, you know you’ll shine in the end! You’re a tough nut to crack.

Leo is the zodiac sign for August 19th. People born on that date are generous leaders and devoted partners. However, these same folks can be arrogant and self-centered. As a boss, this Leo can be a tyrant, and not afraid of anything. Of course, you are well-known for speaking your mind. Nonetheless, you possess a potential that the majority of individuals do not. You are sensitive and may be misconstrued as an August 19 birthday personality. On the other hand, you have the ability to read people. Be cautious because you have a tendency to exaggerate at times.

Erika Christensen – Bits and Pieces

Up Next: Who is Liam O’Brien?

Liam O’Brien (Liam Christopher O’Brien) was born on May 28, 1976.  He is an American voice actor, writer, and director.  Liam was raised in Weehawken, New Jersey, USA.

He worked in the theater during his early career, before branching out into work in animation, video games, and film. He has been married to Amy Kincaid since July 6, 2002. They have two children.

Liam is a regular cast member of the Dungeons & Dragons actual play series Critical Role, playing Vax’ildan (“Vax”) and Caleb Widogast. Also, he has been involved in many video games, cartoons, and English-language adaptations of Japanese anime.

His major anime roles include Gaara in Naruto, Vincent Law in Ergo Proxy, Captain Jushiro Ukitake in Bleach, Lloyd in Code Geass, Kenzo Tenma in Monster, Akihiko in Persona 3, and Nephrite in the Viz Media dub of Sailor Moon. (Source: wikipedia.com)