Jorja Fox

Infobox actor
name = Jorja Fox


image_size = 170px
caption= Jorja Fox on the set of "CSI", March 2004
birthname = Jorja-An Fox
birthdate = birth date and age|1968|7|7
height = 5'9" (1.78 m)
location = New York, New York, USA
othername = Jorjan Fox
yearsactive = 1989-"present"
homepage = http://www.jorjafox.org
notable role = Sara Sidle in ""

Jorja-An Fox (born July 7, 1968, in New York, New York), is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for her work as Sara Sidle in the hit CBS crime drama "", and for starring in two other successful television dramas, "ER", and "The West Wing".

In 2003, she was ranked #80 in "Stuff" magazine's list of the 103 sexiest women. She is annually nominated for PETA's "World's Sexiest Vegetarian".

Biography

Early life

Fox is the youngest child of Montreal-born parents, and was raised on a narrow barrier island in Melbourne Beach, Florida. She describes herself as being overweight while growing up, with a prominent gap between her teeth. ["Stuff" magazine, 2002] By her twenties, neither her wisdom teeth nor braces had appreciably helped, and Fox said "forget it." ["People" magazine, 2003]

After attending Melbourne High School for two years, she began a modeling career after winning a local contest. She subsequently enrolled as a drama student at the Lee Strasberg Institute in New York, under the tutelage of actor William Hickey.

Career

After appearing in several minor films and TV series, including a 1993 episode of "Law & Order", Fox entered the limelight in 1996 when she joined the hit NBC television series "ER", as the no-nonsense vegetarian and lesbian medical intern Dr. Maggie Doyle.

Playing up that fame, Fox appeared on the coming out episode of "Ellen" ("The Puppy Episode Part 2," April 30 1997).

In 1999, she was cast as Secret Service Agent Gina Toscano on NBC's series "The West Wing", where she starred for one season.

Fox has appeared in the films "Velocity Trap", "Food for the Heart" and she also appeared briefly in "Memento", playing Guy Pearce's wife.

In 2000, she became one of the characters on the CBS series "", in which she portrayed a Las Vegas forensic scientist named Sara Sidle. She announced that the show's 2007-2008 season would be her last. On November 15, 2007, the episode "Goodbye and Good Luck," marked the character's final regular appearance in an episode of "CSI".

On May 22, 2008, TV Guide's Michael Ausiello reported that Jorja Fox will be returning to in the ninth-season premiere. The episode aired October 9th, 2008.

She is the co-founder of Honeypot Productions, an independent avant-garde theatre company in Los Angeles. The company has produced five original plays, four of them written by Fox. The fourth play, "Lovely Stanley", is a comedic romp about the women's bowling circuit. [ [http://toireasamoore.tripod.com/id2.html Cast Biographies ] ] Her friend and HoneyPot co-founder Heather Reid wrote "Dear Bernard", which Fox helped produce.

Fox is also a musician: she plays guitar (badly, she says) and recently purchased a drum kit. She also sings and writes songs, most notably the song "Lullabye" for the movie "Traveling Companion", as well as the song "Satellite" which she published on her official web site. Jorja and "CSI" co-star Marg Helgenberger sang "Stand by Me" as a duet for What a Pair 4!!, an annual charity event to raise money for breast cancer research.

She currently resides in Los Angeles with her dog Ali and two cats, Rumplestiltskin and Sid Poitier.

Personal life

Her name is pronounced as "Georgia." She is most often credited as Jorja Fox, but has also been credited as "Jorjan Fox." Emily Procter, one of Fox's friends and a co-star in "Forever Fabulous", calls her "Horha", the Spanish pronunciation of Jorja's name, as a nickname. [cite web|url=http://www.star-ecentral.com/news/story.asp?file=/2005/9/4/tvnradio/11909399&sec=tvnradio|title=Procter prospers|accessdate=2007-11-24|author=Evelyn Teo|date=2005-09-04|publisher=www.star-ecentral.com]

Activism

Fox is a supporter of the Human Rights Campaign [ [http://www.jorjafox.org/ jorjafox.org] ] and has been a dedicated vegetarian since the age of 20, working with PETA to help promote vegetarianism. [ [http://www.goveg.com/f-jorjafox.asp GoVeg.com] ] She has a purse named after her by the Montréal company "Matt & Nat", which designs vegan purses. [ [http://www.mattandnat.com matt & nat ] ]

Controversy

She and "CSI" co-star George Eads were fired from the show in 2004. Fox had allegedly failed to submit a letter to CBS confirming that she would be on time for shooting. The disputes were resolved in just over a week, and the two were rehired by CBS; however, neither actor's salary was raised, in spite of other cast members receiving raises. It was also reported that of the two, Fox was approached first to resume her contract with "CSI", but she refused until Eads was rehired as well. [ [http://tv.zap2it.com/tveditorial/tve_main/1,1002,271|89520|1|,00.html "CSI" Rehires Fox; Eads Waits to Hear"] ]

On April 18, 2007, "TV Guide" began reporting that Fox may not be returning for the eighth season of "CSI", having not yet signed a new contract. [ [http://www.tvguide.com/News-Views/Columnists/Ask-Ausiello/default.aspx?columndate=18-Apr-2007 Ask Ausiello] ] The season finale turned out to be a cliffhanger involving her character, Sara Sidle. [ [http://theedge.bostonherald.com/tvNews/view.bg?articleid=197461 "Channel your energy for what May come during television sweeps month"] ] The "New York Post" reported that Fox did not show up to film the finale because of ongoing issues over her employment. [ [http://www.nypost.com/seven/05022007/tv/jorjas_rules_tv_michael_starr.htm "New York Post"] ] Neither CBS nor Jorja's agent have confirmed the allegations.

In September 2007, after rumors emerged about Fox's departure from the show, [ [http://community.tvguide.com/blog/TVGuide-Editors-Blog/Ausiello-Report/700000049 Ausiello Report Blog | TVGuide.com ] ] an online forum called "Your Tax Dollars At Work", that has about 15,000 members, started a campaign to keep Sara Sidle on "CSI", the campaign (called Dollars for Sense) includes mailing the show's producers a dollar so as to keep Fox on the show. With the help of donations, the campaign also organized plane flyovers, on Tuesdays and Thursdays of October's two first weeks, over the Universal Studios, in California, where "CSI" is filmed. The banners read"Keep Jorja Fox on CBS". [http://www.dollarforsense.com] [ [http://tvfilter.spaces.live.com/Blog/cns!DB9D137CC0F754C9!22137.entry MSN TV Blog: Want to Keep Jorja Fox On 'CSI'? ] ]

On October 15, 2007, Fox told Entertainment Weekly that she left "CSI," saying that she wanted a break "from the commitment of a weekly television series." [cite web|url=http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2007/10/jorja-fox-makes.html|title=Jorja Fox makes it official: She's leaving 'CSI'|accessdate=2007-10-15|author=Lynette Rice|date=2007-10-15|publisher=Entertainment Weekly] At her request, the money collected during the "Dollars for Sense" campaign will be donated to CASA, an organization dedicated to aiding foster children.

In May 2008, Jorja Fox agreed to return for CSI's ninth season as a guest star [ [http://tvguide.sympatico.msn.ca/TVNews/Articles/080523_casting_411_DW '24' and 'CSI' casting news!] ] for three episodes [ [http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2008/08/ask-ausiello-sp.html Ask Ausiello: Spoilers on 'The Office,' 'Supernatural,' 'HIMYM,' 'Bones,' 'Heroes' and More!] ] .

Producer

Since leaving "CSI", Jorja Fox has produced the musical "Stay Forever: The Life and Music of Dusty Springfield", about the musician Dusty Springfield. [cite web|url=http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117936161.html?categoryid=33&cs=1|title=Stay Forever: The Life and Music of Dusty Springfield|accessdate=2008-02-28|author=Julio Martinez|date=2008-02-10|publisher=www.variety.com]

Partial filmography

References

External links

*
* [http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20054547_20055147_20152746,00.html Why I Left CSI--Jorja Fox Interview with EW]
* [http://www.jorjafox.net/ Jorja Fox: Online (fansite)]
* [http://bt.submystic.com/physicaljorja/ Bombshell - the approved Jorja Fox physical fanlisting]