By Debra Nussbaum Cohen February 7, 2010

My current favorite (Jewish) actress is Julianna Margulies, whose return to the small screen as Alicia Florrick in “The Good Wife” has re-introduced her to the American viewing public.

I’ve been thinking she’s Jewish but this Web site claims that she was raised Catholic.

Say it ain’t so! (It’s all part of my irrational pride in any Jew who does good or does well.)

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

In any case, Margulies has begun collecting awards (Golden Globe) and nominations for awards (Screen Actors Guild) for her performance as the estranged wife of a high-profile state attorney (played by Chris Noth), who screwed around on her and is in prison after having been convicted of political corruption.

It’s all very of the moment, reportedly inspired by former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer’s fall from grace two years ago. But Margulies’ character seems even more closely modeled on Jenny Sanford, on-her-way-to-being-ex-wife of former South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, who is emerging from her husband’s scandalous affair, with a future of her own, starting with a new memoir.

“The Good Wife” is a legal drama but I think the best part is watching Margulies, who plays a new associate at a glossy Chicago law firm, all taut chic in stylish suits and heels. She does a good job of communicating without words that she’s working hard to keep roiling emotions from spilling out – especially when she’s meeting with her imprisoned ex or being archly labeled as his wife by a judge or another lawyer.

Margulies became famous as neurotic Nurse Carole Hathaway (and George Clooney love interest) as part of the original cast of ER. She also played a hasidic woman, “Rachel” in the 1996 film “A Price Above Rubies.”

In real life, Margulies married Keith Lieberthal, whom I presume on account of his last name to be a Member of the Tribe, and two years ago gave birth to their son, Kieran Lindsay Lieberthal.

Here’s doyenne of dish Liz Smith talking about the first time she met Margulies — when she was waiting tables at a downtown restaurant and waited on Smith and Julia Roberts.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount