Laura Innes

After years of stage experience and a half-decade of guest roles on television, actress Laura Innes earned her big break as the steely Dr. Kerry Weaver on "ER" (NBC, 1994-2009), which in turn launched her successful career as a television director. As played by Innes, Weaver was one of the strongest and longest-running female characters on network television, facing seemingly impossible internal and external challenges during her 12 seasons on the series. Her work, both indomitable and fragile, brought two Emmy nominations to the actress. She later showed the same skill as a director on "ER" and "The West Wing" (NBC, 1999-2006); the latter of which earned her an Emmy nomination and solidified her status as a multi-hyphenate whose talents were yet to reveal their full potential.