Erin Daniels

Daniels was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, to a Jewish family. Her father is an architect, and her mother is a clinical social worker who co-founded the Central Reform Congregation in St. Louis. Her grandmother received an award from the National Conference of Christians and Jews.^[1][2] She attended Clayton High School and Vassar College, graduating from the latter in 1995^[3] after majoring in art.^[1]

After Vassar, she moved to New York City, where she studied with William Esper, a protégé of Sanford Meisner, and worked off-Broadway. She then moved to Los Angeles for a part on the short-lived TV series Action.^[1]

In 2002, the St. Louis Film Festival awarded Daniels the Emerging Star Award. She appeared in One Hour Photo, Wheelmen, and House of 1000 Corpses^[4] before becoming a major cast member of Showtime's The L Word. Her depiction of Dana Fairbanks on that show prompted an anonymous donation of a million dollars to the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation,^[5] an organization that promotes and funds breast cancer intraductal research.^[6]

Daniels has also appeared in the TV shows Action, Jericho, Dexter, Saving Grace, Big Shots, Justice, CSI, and Swingtown.

She played the role of The Mother in Joshua Tree, 1951: A Portrait of James Dean.^[7]

Daniels married producer Chris Uettwiller in 2008 and had two children with him. The couple divorced in February 2019.