Angela Michelle "Angie" Harmon (born August 10, 1972) is an American fashion model and television/film actress. She became a well-known model before gaining international fame for her roles in Baywatch Nights and Law & Order.

She currently stars as Detective Jane Rizzoli on the television series Rizzoli & Isles.

Early life[link]

Harmon was born in Highland Park, Texas, the daughter of Daphne Demar (née Caravageli) and Lawrence Paul "Larry" Harmon, a hospital information-network executive in Dallas.^[1] Her mother is of Greek descent and her father is of English and Cherokee Native American ancestry.^[2][3] Both of her parents were models in the 1970s.^[1] They divorced in 1982, and her father later remarried.^{[citation needed]} She is not related to actor Mark Harmon.

Harmon worked as a child model and in 1988, won a Seventeen modeling contest. She attended Highland Park High School until 1990, where she was a member of the Highland Belles. One of her fellow students was Stephanie March of Law & Order: SVU who was a sophomore when Harmon was a senior. She won a Spectrum Model Search contest shortly afterward, subsequently pursuing a successful modeling career and becoming well known in the early 1990s. She worked as a runway model for Calvin Klein, Giorgio Armani, and Donna Karan and appeared on the covers of ELLE, Cosmopolitan, and Esquire. She is signed with IMG Models in New York City.

Career[link]

Harmon began acting in 1995 after being discovered on a plane by David Hasselhoff.^[4] She then starred in several television series, including Baywatch Nights, Baywatch and C-16: FBI. She also appeared in the 1998 film, Lawn Dogs, which received only a limited theatrical release. In the late 1990s, Harmon became better known by joining the long-running NBC series Law & Order, playing ADA Abbie Carmichael from 1998-2001. During this time, she also voiced Barbara Gordon in the animated film Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, succeeding Stockard Channing in that role.

Harmon left Law & Order to concentrate on her film career, saying that she preferred working in film to television.^[5] After appearing in the 2001 direct-to-video film Good Advice, she had a supporting role in Agent Cody Banks (2003), playing the CIA handler of a teenage agent (Frankie Muniz).^[6] In 2006, Harmon co-starred with Cuba Gooding Jr. and James Woods in the direct-to-DVD political suspense drama End Game.

In 2006, Harmon starred as the lead in the ABC pilot Secrets of a Small Town, which did not go to series.^{[citation needed]} She also starred in another failed television show on NBC, Inconceivable, which was canceled after two episodes. The following year, she starred in another ABC pilot, Women's Murder Club. The police drama was picked up, but only ten of the thirteen episodes aired.

Harmon was one of five actresses who posed discreetly nude for the May 2008 issue of Allure magazine, along Gabrielle Union, Zoe McLellan, Jill Scott, and Ana Ortiz.^[7]

In 2010 Harmon hosted an Infomercial for "UpLiv", a stress management program and also appeared in an infomercial for Olay "Pro-X" wrinkle cream.^[8][9]

Harmon co-stars with Sasha Alexander in the TNT crime-drama series Rizzoli & Isles, playing Boston, Massachusetts, police detective Jane Rizzoli. The show premiered July 12, 2010.^[10]

Personal life[link]

Harmon is married to former professional football player, Jason Sehorn.^[11] The two were engaged on October 13, 1998.^[12] Harmon was taping an interview segment on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno when Leno called Sehorn out as a surprise guest. Sehorn immediately walked up to Harmon, knelt down on one knee and proposed.^[12] They were married on June 9, 2001,^{[citation needed]} and have three daughters;^[13] Finley Faith (born October 14, 2003),|date=June 2010}} Avery Grace (born June 21, 2005),and Emery Hope (born December 18, 2008).^[11]

Harmon is a Republican, and she and her husband delivered a speech at the 2004 Republican National Convention,^[14][15] and supported John McCain for president in 2008.^[16][17] She also said that she would support Sarah Palin if she ran for President in 2012.^[18]

Harmon is left-handed.

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Angie Harmon at the Internet Movie Database
• Angie_Harmon on Twitter
• Angie Harmon, Askmen.com