Who is Michelle Forbes?

If you are a fan of the 2015 action-adventure movie “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2”, then you must be familiar with the character of Lieutenant Jackson, a soldier from District 13, and a notable member of the Squad 451, portrayed by Michelle Forbes. Thanks to her acting performance, she gained a lot of attention from the fans of the movie, and people wanted to know more about her.

If you are one of them, let us tell you all the fun facts about this talented actress. Michelle has nearly 75 acting credits to her name, and besides the aforementioned role, she’s perhaps known best for her roles in “New Amsterdam”, “Big Sky”, and “True Blood” among others.

Early life and education

Michelle Renee Forbes Guajardo was born under the zodiac sign of Capricorn, on 8 January 1965, in Austin, Texas USA, thus she holds American nationality although she comes from a family of Mexican-American descent.

She was raised in her hometown by her mother and father, about whom nothing is known because Michelle respects their privacy. There isn’t a lot of info regarding her family and her early life, but speaking of Michelle’s educational background, she attended High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston, Texas where she was a ballet dancer. When she was 16, she signed up with William Morris Agency, and started her acting career. Upon matriculating in 1993, she didn’t enroll at college but continued to pursue her acting career.

Roles in series

Michelle made her acting debut as Sonni Carrera Lewis in the series “Guiding light”, from 1987 until 1989, which brought her nominations for the Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Villainess: Daytime, and for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 1990.

From 1991 until 1994, she was seen as Lieutenant Ro Laren in “Star Trek: The Next Generation”, followed by her role as Agent Jamie Pratt in an episode of the series “The Outer Limits” in 1996, also starring Kevin Conway, Eric Schneider and Alex Diakun.

From 1996 until 1998, Michelle had the role of Doctor Julianna Cox in the series “Homicide: Life on the Street”, which brought her a 1997 nomination for the Viewers for Quality Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Quality Drama Series.

8 January: Happy birthday Michelle Forbes. First seen in Star Trek as Dara in The Next Generation episode 'Half a Life', she returned as Ensign Ro Laren for eight appearances over the final three seasons. pic.twitter.com/mjXHSSAfCa

— Today In Star Trek History (@TodayinStarTrek) January 8, 2021

She was seen in various series in the early 2000s, and since the list is too long to enumerate, we will only number her notable performances, such as in “Strong Medicine” (2002), “24” (2002-2003) – which brought her the nomination for the Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series which she shares with the rest of the crew – and “Prison Break” (2005 until 2006), among others.

From 2008 until 2009, she was cast to play one of her signature roles, as Maryann Forrester in the crime-drama series “True Blood”, which brought her and the cast the Satellite Award for Best Ensemble, Television (2009); Michelle was nominated for the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films Award for Best Guest Performance in a Television Series (2010).

From 2011 until 2012, she portrayed Mitch Larsen in “The Killing”, which brought her a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2011, and in the following years, Michelle was seen in “Blue” (2013), “Chicago Fire” (2013), “Orphan Black” (2014), and “Powers” (from 2015 until 2016) among others.

From 2016 until 2019, she was cast to play Valerie Edwards in “Berlin Station”, also starring Mina Tander and Leland Orser, and Michelle followed with her role as Margaret Kleinsasser in “Big Sky” in 2021, before she made an appearance as Doctor Veronica Fuentes in “New Amsterdam” (2021-2022), which was her most recent television role.

Roles in movies

Michelle Forbes made her first movie appearance as Carrie Laughlin in “Kalifornia” in 1993, which brought her the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films award nomination for Best Actress in 1994, followed in the same year with her role as Dawn Lockard in “Swimming with Sharks”, before she made an appearance as Rachel Simone in the TV movie “The Prosecutors” in 1996.

In the early 2000s she was seen in numerous movies, including her performance in “Perfume” (2001), “Johnson County War” (2002), “Dandelion” (2004), and “Al Roach: Private Insectigator” (2004) among others.

In the following years, she was seen as Miranda Zero in “Global Frequency” in 2005, and was next cast to play Admiral Helena Cain in “Battlestar Galactica: Razor” in 2007, starring Edward James Olmos, Katee Sackhoff, and Mary McDonnell. Michelle then made an appearance as US Secretary of State in the 2009 short movie “Diplomacy”.

In 2011, she co-starred as Lisa’s Mom in “DisCONNECED”. Two years later, she was seen as Paige Daniels in “Dear Sidewalk”, then had a support role as Lieutenant Jackson, her most notable role to date, in “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2”. Michelle followed with her role as Janis Nimitz in the 2017 movie “Say You Will”, which was her most recent role.

Love life and relationships

There have been various rumors concerning both Michelle’s love life and her sexual orientation, however, some rumors were saying that she was in a secret relationship with her co-star Travis Tope from the movie “Say You Will”, but neither she nor he has commented on these assumptions.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CayDJioOWHu/

It’s widely known that she was previously married to Ross Kettle, a South African actor perhaps known best for his roles in “The Diamond Hunters”, “Murder, She Wrote” and “The Principal”. There is no information about when or how they met, however, the two exchanged their wedding vows in 1990. The marriage didn’t last long, Michelle and Ross divorced in 1999, and since then there isn’t any info regarding Michelle’s relationships. She prefers to keep her love life under wraps.

As of August 2022, it seems that Michelle is single, she was married once, and doesn’t have children.

Age, height, and net worth

Michelle’s age is 57, she has brown hair and green eyes; she weighs around 125lbs (57kgs), and is 5ft 9ins (1.75m) tall, with vital statistics of 36-26-34.

According to sources, as of August 2022, her net worth has been estimated at over $3 million.

Who is Jay O. Sanders?

One of the most famous names in off-Broadway plays at The Public Theatre, New York City USA, is certainly Jay O. Sanders, but those who didn’t have a chance to watch him performing in the theatre have enjoyed his movie and television roles.

He is an actor with over 150 acting credits to his name, perhaps still known best for his role as Frank Harris in the 2004 movie “The Day After Tomorrow“, while to television series lovers, Jay is well-known for his portrayal of Sam in “Sneaky Pete“.

Image source

Early life, family, and education

Jay Olcutt Sanders was born under the zodiac sign of Aries on 16 April 1953, in Austin, Texas USA, thus he holds American nationality, and his ethnicity is White. He was raised by his parents, Phyllis and James Olcutt Sanders, alongside his siblings, Elizabeth, Marta and Fred.

His family prefers to keep their lives away from the media’s attention, so Jay hasn’t shared much information about them, except that his father was in the Peace Corps, and the family spent two years in Bogota, Colombia, after which his father served as the Executive Director of Cleveland’s famed Karamu House.

Jay had an interest in acting from an early age, thus upon matriculating from high school in 1971, he enrolled at the State University of New York at Purchase (SUNY Purchase), from which he graduated with a BA degree in 1975.

In the following year, he made his off-Broadway debut playing in a Shakespeare in the Park production of “Henry V”.

Roles in movies

Jay made his big-screen debut in the 1979 movie “Starting Over”, followed by his role as Peter in “The Day Christ Died” in 1980.

In the early ‘80s, Jay had numerous support roles in movies such as “Hanky Panky” (1982), “Cross Creek” (1983), “The Misfit Brigade” (1987), and “The Prince of Pennsylvania” (1988), among many others.

In the following decade, Jay was seen in “Mr. Destiny” (1990), “JFK” (1991), “Angels in the Outfield” (1994), and “Music of the Heart” (1999), while the early 2000s saw him in “Along Came a Spider” (2001), “Aby Singer” (2003) and “Second Born” (2003).

Since the list of his roles is too long to enumerate, we mentioned just some of his most notable, one of which is his role as Frank Harris in the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA)-awarded “The Day After Tomorrow” in 2004, starring Dennis Quaid, Emmy Rossum, and Jake Gyllenhaal.

In the following years, Jay acted in “Shooting Livien” (2005), “Greetings from the Shore” (2007), “The Undying” (2009), and “Edge of Darkness” in 2010.

Jay’s next notable role came in the 2011 movie “The Jewel”, followed by his portrayal of Carl Ferris in “Green Lantern”, co-starring Ryan Reynolds, Peter Sarsgaard and Blake Lively. In 2013, Jay was seen as Agent Sanders in “Northern Brothers”, then he made appearances in several TV movies, before being cast to play Doctor Barrette in “A Loss of Shadows” in 2017.

His most recent roles were in “A Scientist’s Guide to Living and Dying” (2018), “DC Noir” (2019), and in 2022, he was seen in “When You Finish Saving the World” and “The Road to Galena”.

Roles in series

Jay made his first television appearance portraying Robert Salter in the 1979 TV mini-series “The Scarlet Letter”. He followed with his roles in “ABC Afterschools Special” (1981), “Texas” (1982), and “AfterMASH” (1983-1984).

In the following year, Jay mostly guest starred in numerous series, and from 1986 until 1988, he had a recurring role in “Crime Story”. The early ‘90s saw him in series such as “L. A. Law” (1990), “Crossroads” (1993), and “Nothing Sacred” (1997).

Someone will eventually cast Jay O. Sanders and David Harbour as father and son, right?

— Scott Mendelson (@ScottMendelson) July 12, 2021

In 2002, Jay was cast to play Detective John Maynard in “Widows”, and then until 2011, he was seen as Joseph Han in “Law & Order: Criminal Intent”. In the following year, Jay guest starred in “Pan Am”, “Blue Bloods”, and “Unforgettable”.

He followed with his roles in “Person of Interest” (2012-2014), “True Detective” (2014), “American Odyssey” (2015), and “The Good Wife” (2016).

Jay’s most recent television roles were in “The Sneaky Pete” (2017-2019), “The Sinner” (2018), and “Blindspot” (2020).

Love life and relationships

Jay hasn’t been the subject of any rumors and controversies concerning either his love life or his sexual orientation, since it’s widely known that he’s a married, family man. Jay met his future wife on the set of the series “A Man Called Hawk” in 1989when Jay guest-starred in an episode.

His wife is actress and singer Maryann Plunkett – the two married on 1 October 1991, and are still together. They have one child, a son named James Sanders, who was born in 1994.

Maryann Plunkett is perhaps known best for her role as Mrs Kirke in the 2019 movie “Little Women”, although she has over 50 acting credits to her name. Jay and Maryann have often been seen acting together in the theatre.

As of August 2022, Jay is married, and he has one child.

What is he doing today?

Besides his numerous off-Broadway roles, Jay is well known for his voice roles, having narrated more than 50 audio-books over the years, while he was also heard in video games such as “Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare”. Recently, he was heard as a Narrator in “Secrets of the Dead”, a documentary about mysteries involving notable historical events.

Jay will be seen in the second season of the TV mini-series, entitled “The Accidental Wolf”. His fans will enjoy his acting in the announced thriller drama “Songs of Revenge”, as Jay will be seen in one of the lead roles. The movie is currently in development, to be released by the end of 2022.

Age, appearance, and net worth

Jay’s age is 69, he has grey-brown hair and piercing blue eyes which is his trademark; he weighs around 175lbs (79kgs) and is 6ft 4ins (1.93m) tall.

According to sources, as of August 2022, his net worth has been estimated at over $4 million, most of his income Jay has earned acting in numerous movies, series, theatre plays and voicing.