Biography
A former competitive ice skater, she abandoned sports after an injury to pursue acting. Bit parts on television series led to her breakthrough role as the malevolent vampiress Darla on "Buffy" and "Angel." Benz's physical beauty was an occasional obstacle in finding projects of substance, but she eventually landed another standout character in Rita, the reluctant lover and spouse of Michael C. Hall's Dexter. These and other projects, which …
Latest Tv Credits
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Career Milestones
2010 | Cast as the family matriarch in ABC's "No Ordinary Family" | |
2008 | Played an idealistic young missionary, opposite Sylvester Stallone, in "Rambo"; Stallone also produced, wrote and directed | |
2006 | Cast as Rita Bennett on Showtime's crime thriller "Dexter" | |
2006 | Appeared in the Lifetime movie "Circle of Friends" | |
2005 | Co-starred in the HBO's award winning film, "Lackawanna Blues" | |
2005 | Co-starred in The Bubble Factory's black comedy "A Fate Totally Worse Than Death" (lensed 1999) | |
2002 | Featured in the alien abduction-themed Sci-Fi Channel miniseries "Taken" | |
2001 | Became a series regular as Darla on "Angel" (The WB) | |
2001 | Played comedian Bill Bellamy's girlfriend in "The Brothers" | |
2000 | Had a supporting role in the ABC TV-movie remake "Satan's School For Girls" | |
2000 | Featured in the USA Network spoof, "Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the 13th" | |
2000 | Had a recurring guest role on the "Buffy" spin-off "Angel", reprising the role of Darla | |
1999 | Had a recurring role on "Roswell" (The WB) as Miss Topolsky, a school guidance counselor | |
1999 | Was a regular on "Payne" (NBC), a short-lived remake of the popular British comedy "Fawlty Towers" | |
1999 | Co-starred in the high school-set black comedy "Jawbreaker" | |
1998 | Featured in the parody short "Eating Las Vegas" | |
1998 | Was a regular on the short-lived Fox sitcom "Ask Harriet" | |
1997 | Had a memorable cameo as a receptionist in "As Good As It Gets" | |
1997 | Originated the role of vampire Darla on "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer" (The WB) | |
1995 | Had a cameo in the Disney Family Films presentation of "The Barefoot Executive" (ABC) | |
1991 | Played the daughter of a 1950s sitcom family relocated to the 1990s suburbs, on "Hi Honey, I'm Home" (ABC, Nickelodeon) | |
1990 | Featured in Dario Argento's episodic horror feature "Two Evil Eyes" | |
| Relocated to Los Angeles to pursue acting career | ||
| Moved to New York City; attended New York University | ||
| Landed first acting role in a local stage production of "Breaking the Code" | ||
1988 | With parter David Schilling, ranked thirteenth at the 1988 U.S. National Junior Dance Championships in Denver | |
| Began skating at age three; competed professionally until age sixteen in singles and ice dancing | ||
Awards
2010 | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in Dexter |
2009 | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in Dexter |