Claire Coffee

After just a few short years in show business, Claire Coffee managed to become one of those performers you couldn't help but spot while channel surfing. Founding her career on brief appearances in sitcoms and crime procedurals, Coffee was a natural when it came time to enliven characters of her own on series like "The West Wing" (NBC 1999-2006) and "General Hospital" (ABC 1963-). With her turn as a central player on the fantasy series "Grimm" (NBC 2011-17), Coffee came a long way from jumping from one background appearance to the next. Claire Elizabeth Coffee was born on April 14, 1980 in San Francisco, California. Though enamored by performance from an early age, her original focus was on stage acting. At the age of five, Coffee began appearing in productions through the Mountain Play Association, and starred in a number of school plays at the private boarding institution Santa Catalina School. She went on to study theater at Northwestern University before moving to Los Angeles, California, and pursuing a career on the screen. After a handful of one-off appearances on television programs including the sitcom "The Mind of the Married Man" (HBO 2001-02) and "Yes Dear" (CBS 2000-06), Coffee landed her first recurring role, playing White House intern Cassie Tatum on three episodes of the acclaimed drama series "The West Wing" (NBC 1999-2006). Shortly afterward, Coffee made her big screen debut in the action-thriller "Leave No Trace" (2004). She continued to amount minor appearances in popular TV series, notably "Bones" (Fox 2005-), "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (CBS 2000-), and "Psych" (USA 2006-2014), before earning a regular part on the long-running daytime soap opera "General Hospital" (ABC 1963-). Coffee portrayed Nadine Crowell, a nurse at the titular establishment, for 170 episodes between 2007 and 2009. Following her leave from the series, Coffee endeavored to make her mark behind the scenes. She wrote, directed, and starred in the comedic short film "Chelsey & Kelsey Are Really Good Roommates" (2009), playing the former eponymous character opposite co-writer and director Ellie Knaus. By 2011, Coffee's visibility had substantially increased thanks to two new major roles: a recurring supporting part on the comedic law procedural "Franklin & Bash" (TNT 2011-14) and a starring position as the magically-endowed Adalind Schade on the fantastical crime drama "Grimm" (NBC 2011-17). In 2014, Coffee and Knaus began producing and starring in a "Chelsey & Kelsey" web series.