A rising star on the big and small screens, Julie Bowen stars as the dream-girl of former classmate-turned-lawyer Ed (Tom Cavanagh) whom he pursues upon returning to his hometown on "Ed." "Carol is the pretty girl who has always been idolized," says Bowen, "but now she needs to be more than just a male fantasy. She's at a point where she wants to decide who she really is."
Bowen was raised in Baltimore, Maryland, where she caught the acting bug as a child while putting on plays with her two sisters in their backyard. She attended Brown University, where she starred in "Guys and Dolls," "Stage Door" and "Lemon Sky." While earning a degree in Italian Renaissance studies she spent a year in Florence, Italy, and became fluent in Italian.
During her senior year at Brown, Bowen landed the lead role in an independent film called "Five Spot Jewel." She continued working in commercials and eventually earned a recurring role on the daytime drama "Loving." She was also featured in actor-director Ed Burns' debut film "No Visible Bruises," and guest-starred on the dramatic series "Class of '96." She then moved to Los Angeles, and within weeks, landed the lead in the Showtime drama "Runaway Daughters," directed by Joe Dante.
She went on to star as Adam Sandler's girlfriend in the big screen comedy "Happy Gilmore," and appeared with Michael Keaton in "Multiplicity." She also starred in "An American Werewolf in Paris," and performed with Lynn Redgrave in the independent romantic comedy "Venus & Mars."
Bowen also played Noah Wyle's girlfriend for nine episodes of NBC's "ER," and made guest appearances on "Party of Five" and "Strange Luck." She made her series regular debut playing a paramedic opposite James Brolin in the outdoor adventure drama "Extreme," and also starred as a former career criminal recruited for perilous, top-secret missions in the action-adventure series "Three."
Bowen lives in Los Angeles and when she's not working, she enjoys hiking, reading and tutoring high school students. Her birthday is March 3.