Julie K. White was born on Jun. 4, 1961 in San Diego, CA, and grew up in Austin, TX. White took up acting in local productions in her teen years. She enrolled in Southwest Texas State University, later known as Texas State University, and then transferred to Fordham University in New York, NY. She left school to pursue acting professionally, kicking off her career with performances in stage productions like "On the Verge; or, The Geography of Yearning" in Boston in 1985, "Lucky Stiff" Off-Broadway in 1988, and "Marvin's Room" in Seattle in 1992. White got her big break by way of the television series "Grace Under Fire" (ABC 1993-98), on which she starred as the main character's neighbor Nadine Swoboda. Her next significant bout of television work came on the series "Six Feet Under" (HBO 2001-05), on which she played a recurring role as Mitzi, a rival funeral home owner, and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (NBC 1999-) as physician Dr. Anne Morella. Going forward, White began to accrue more and more big screen roles, beginning with "Transformers" (2007) and "Michael Clayton" (2007). Around the same time, White won her first Tony Award for her role in the Broadway play "The Little Dog Laughed." White went on to appear in the Steven Spielberg-directed biography film "Lincoln" (2012), the short-lived sitcom "Go On" (NBC 2012-13), and the acclaimed dramedy "Nurse Jackie" (Showtime 2009-2015). In 2015, she was nominated for a Tony Award for her performance in the play "Airline Highway"; she was nominated for another four years later for her performance in the play "Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus."