New York-based Kathryn Erbe got her first professional break on series TV and soon forged a career for herself as a versatile stage, movie, and TV actress. Born and raised in the Boston area, Erbe left her hometown to study drama at New York University. After making her TV debut as Lynn Redgrave's daughter on the short-lived TV sitcom Chicken Soup (1989), she returned to New York and was cast in the acclaimed 1990 Broadway production of {+The Grapes of Wrath}.
Erbe soon scored her first major film credit as Richard Dreyfuss' daughter in the Bill Murray comedy What About Bob? (1991) and alternated stage work as a member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company and Atlantic Theatre Company with TV and films throughout the 1990s. Burnishing her reputation, the talented Erbe held her own among the distinguished casts of Rich in Love (1992), Breathing Lessons (1994), and George Wallace (1997), as well as in supporting roles in Kiss of Death (1995) and indies The Addiction (1995) and Dream With the Fishes (1997). Erbe garnered further recognition when she joined the cast of HBO's acclaimed series Oz in 1998 as one of the titular prison's inmates; during the series' hiatus, Erbe returned to films with a starring role as Kevin Bacon's wife in Stir of Echoes (1999). Erbe is married to Oz co-star Terry Kinney. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide. 