One of the most beloved faces of ’80s and ’90s TV made a surprise appearance in LA – and fans did a double take.
The 67-year-old actress – who won hearts as Catherine Willows on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation from 2000 to 2013 – looked effortlessly chic even in a casual ensemble of a loose shirt, faded jeans, and fedora.
It was a far cry from her Emmy-winning turn as sex worker K.C. Koloski on China Beach in the late ’80s, a role that earned her critical acclaim and a 1990 Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.
The bombshell also made her mark on the big screen with memorable roles in films like Species (1995), Erin Brockovich (2000), and Mr. Brooks (2007).
Fans of daytime TV also remember her early days as Siobhan Ryan on the soap opera Ryan’s Hope from 1982 to 1986, where her career first began to take off.
So, who is the stunning star spotted during her rare outing?
One of the most beloved faces of ’80s and ’90s TV made a surprise appearance in LA
The 67-year-old actress looked effortlessly chic even in a casual ensemble of a loose shirt, faded jeans, and fedora
It was a far cry from her Emmy-winning turn as sex worker K.C. Koloski on China Beach in the late ’80s
None other than Marg Helgenberger!
In 2012, Helgenberger opened up about saying goodbye to CSI after 12 years and what she took away from her time on the hit show.
‘The creative, collaborative camaraderie. The execution of a great idea in television involves so many people, and to sustain that for as many years as we have takes a group of people that are incredibly dedicated, passionate and committed and who enjoy each other’s company,’ she told The Hollywood Reporter.
‘That’s what we’ve always had on CSI, and that’s why, in large part, it’s still a success.’
A decade later, in 2022, she returned to the franchise as a series regular on CSI: Vegas, reprising her long-running role of Catherine Willows.
Helgenberger also reflected on how she first got into acting.
‘I got the bug in high school, but in terms of thinking this could be a possible career, it was that production and that role,’ she said of portraying Blanche DuBois in a college production of A Streetcar Named Desire.
‘I’ve always been a shy person. Acting gave me the opportunity to express myself. I enjoyed bringing material to life and playing off other people. I still do.
The mystery star is Marg Helgenberger; (pictured 2023)
Marg won hearts as Catherine Willows on CSI: Crime Scene Investigationfrom 2000 to 2013; (clockwise from left: William Petersen, Jorja Fox, Paulo Guilfoyle, George Eads, Gary Dourdan, Helgenberger)
Helgenberger reflected on how she first got into acting, saying ‘I got the bug in high school’
Helgenberger starred on China Beach, a war drama set at an evacuation hospital during the Vietnam War, named after My Khe Beach in Đà Nẵng, Vietnam, which was nicknamed ‘China Beach’ by American and Australian soldiers
A decade later, in 2022, she returned to the franchise as a series regular on CSI: Vegas, reprising her long-running role of Catherine Willows
‘Even if we didn’t like the location or the cold or the hour of the night, I always loved being with the CSI cast. That was one of the reasons that made it so special and why it was so hard to leave.’
On why she left CSI, she explainedat the time, ‘I instinctively felt it was time to end that chapter of my career. I’m 53 now, and I feel like I’m still young enough to switch it up. I don’t have the energy at 53 that I did when I started this show at 41. In that 12-year span, there were lots of changes in my life.’
As for her favorite roles, Helgenberger said, ‘K.C. was a good one. I love [CSI’s] Catherine Willows. Who could not love Blanche DuBois? The role I had in Erin Brockovich was a very good one — small but meaty and emotionally charged.
‘It set the whole story in motion. I loved that even though she was suffering from cancers that were brought on by chromium-6 in the groundwater in Hinkley, Calif., she always had such a sunny disposition and a spirit about her — she just pulled herself back up by her bootstraps.
‘I loosely based her on my mom, who is a cancer survivor, and other hardworking people I know in the Midwest.’
Off-screen, Helgenberger has had her share of personal milestones.
She married Alan Rosenberg in 1989, had their son Hugh in 1990, and divorced in 2010.
In April 2022, she married Charlie Haugk, whom she had been dating since 2019.
