Erin Cohen (her original last name) was born on October 9, 1973, in St. Louis, Missouri. Ever since Erin was a small girl she harbored dreams of becoming an actress, though her architect father always hoped she'd follow in his footsteps. After graduating from Clayton High School, Erin enrolled in the prestigious New York-based Vassar College, where she studied art history and architecture. Although she eventually graduated with a degree in those two subjects, it was at Vassar that Erin first began to explore the possibility of pursuing acting as a career. After graduating from Vassar, Erin decided to devote herself full time to her fledgling acting career and moved to New York City. Already having had a taste of performing thanks to her time at Vassar (she took as many courses in theater as she could without declaring a double major), Erin knew that she would have to start out small. As such, she began accepting roles in tiny off-Broadway plays and worked diligently at honing her skills as a multi-faceted performer. In 1996, Erin made her television debut with a guest appearance on the New York-based show Law and Order. She followed that up with a series of small roles in both television shows (Dellaventura, The Outer Limits) and movies (1999's Chill Factor), but it wasn't until 1999 that Erin landed a regular gig. The Fox television show Action only managed to hang around for eight episodes before it was cancelled, but it did open up a whole new set of doors for Erin. It was around that time that Erin decided to head out to Hollywood, and after a few years of taking on small parts in high-profile projects (including 2002's One Hour Photo and 2003's House of 1000 Corpses), Erin landed a recurring role on the critically acclaimed NBC drama Boomtown. A year later, in 2004, Erin successfully auditioned for a pivotal role on a controversial new show on Showtime called The L Word. Cast as an insecure lesbian named Dana, Erin -- for the first time in her career -- found herself at the center of a critically acclaimed series that was also popular among viewers. Fans of The L Word were shocked and saddened when Dana was diagnosed with breast cancer, and in the March 12, 2006, episode entitled Losing the Light, Erin's character finally succumbed to her disease. It was a poignant and emotionally devastating hour of television, and proved without a doubt that Erin has the chops to tackle just about any sort of role. AskMen