Born in Arcadia, California, and raised in Pennsylvania and New Jersey by her Orthodox rabbi father, Rena Sofer caught the eye of a modeling scout while shopping in Greenwich Village when she was just 16. Although it took less than a month of going out on calls and auditioning to be convinced that modeling was not for her, it did whet her appetite for acting, and she went on to study the Meisner Technique and Method Acting.
While still in her teens, she landed the role of ‘Rocky McKenzie’ on the ABC daytime drama “Loving.” Toward the end of her two-year run on the show, she was cast in Sidney Lumet's feature film “A Stranger Among Us,” starring Melanie Griffith. After that, Sofer packed up and drove West by herself and was soon cast in ABC's long-running “General Hospital.” The role of the brassy, Brooklyn-bred music promoter ‘Lois Cerullo’ catapulted Sofer to fame, capturing audiences’ hearts with her gutsy performance and earning her an Emmy® Award.
While still on “General Hospital,” Sofer starred in her first TV movie, the Lifetime Original Film “Hostile Advances: The Kerry Ellison Story.” She has since starred in such telefilms as USA Networks’ “The Stepsister” and ABC's “Nightmare Street.” Sofer also appeared in NBC’s remake of the classic Stephen King thriller, “Carrie.” Sofer joined the cast of FOX’s “Melrose Place” in its final season, playing ‘Eve,’ a lounge singer and long-lost friend of Heather Locklear's character. She was also a series regular on the Sci-Fi Channel’s “The Chronicle” and ABC's “Oh, Grow Up,” the latter of which was created and executive-produced by Academy Award winner Alan Ball (“American Beauty,” “Six Feet Under”). She had a recurring role on NBC’s “Ed,” and she guest-starred on numerous series, such as NBC’s “Friends” and “Seinfeld” and ABC’s “Spin City,” “Ellen” and “Caroline in the City.”
She co-starred in Steven Bochco’s “Blind Justice” for ABC. She has recurred in two current primetime series, NBC's “Heroes” as the wife of Adrian Pasdar's character, and in FOX TV's “24” playing the wife of Paul McCrane's character. She also starred as ‘Susan,’ a beautiful go-getter with an uninhibited attitude towards life and romance on NBC’s comedy “Coupling.” Previously, she had a story arc on NBC's “Just Shoot Me.”
For the big screen, Sofer appeared in director Steven Soderbergh’s highly acclaimed “Traffic.” She also had a featured role opposite Edward Norton, Ben Stiller and Jenna Elfman in Disney’s romantic comedy “Keeping The Faith.” Recently, she filmed the independent feature “Rock Slyde” starring Patrick Warburton, and “The New Daughter” with Kevin Costner.
Sofer resides in Los Angeles with her daughters Rosabel and Avalon, her husband, director/producer Sanford Bookstaver and her father. In her free time, she enjoys activities that keep her fit. She likes to hike and rollerblade, and she is a yoga and Pilates enthusiast.
