Ally Walker

Ally Walker was born in Tullahoma, Tennessee and raised in Santa Fe,
New Mexico. Actress Ally Walker studied biology and chemistry at the
University of California Santa Cruz and went on to work for a genetic
engineering firm in San Francisco. While spending a semester at
Richmond College of the Arts in London, Ally became interested in
theater but did not pursue it in lieu of her education in the sciences.
After graduating with a science degree, Ally continued to work in
genetic engineering, but her life changed one day when a producer
discovered her in an L.A. restaurant and cast her in her first project.From that point on, Ally made her mark in both television and film,
starring in daytime's Emmy-winning
Santa Barbara (1984) and
True Blue (1989), followed by the
cult classic Singles (1992) and the
action flick,
Universal Soldier (1992). Ally
then returned to TV, playing a private eye in the series
Moon Over Miami (1993). It
was during this time that Ally was offered the opportunity to test for
both "Rachel" and "Monica" for NBC's
Friends (1994), choosing instead to
take on a different type of comedic role in the film
Steal Big Steal Little (1995),
starring alongside Andy Garcia and
directed by Andrew Davis.Although Walker has appeared in a number of big screen films, she is
popularly remembered as "Ashley Bartlett Bacon",
Peter Gallagher's girlfriend in
While You Were Sleeping (1995).
Her most notable role however, was that of "Dr. Samantha Waters" in
Profiler (1996), where she played a
forensic psychologist with a dark past. The show was a pioneer in what
is now the forensic drama phenomenon, and combined the standard
"whodunit" with an intuitive/psychic twist which changes the landscape
of television. Many credit
Profiler (1996) with paving the way
for hit shows such as
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000),
Medium (2005) and
The Mentalist (2008). At the
time, Walker was the only single female lead on network television and
it ranked in the top ten in worldwide syndication for several years
that followed its run.Some have compared Ally to
Leigh Anne Tuohy, who was portrayed by
Sandra Bullock in the film
The Blind Side (2009), for making
her documentary, "For Norman...Wherever You Are". Shot in 2005, it
chronicles Ally's experience through the Los Angeles Foster Care
System, a journey that she was inspired to take after helping a
one-year-old baby and his mother get off the streets. The film exposes
the errors in the system, but never loses sight of the fact that the
system itself is necessary. This heartfelt project won Best Documentary
Feature at the San Fernando Valley International Film Festival, as well
as the Champion of Conscience Award at Wine Country Film Festival. Ally
returned to the small screen in HBO's "Tell Me You Love Me" (2007), a
show that holds a special place in her heart. It was an honest
depiction of people in relationships, filled with scenarios that were
tender and raw. "To explore intimacy in such an honest, brave way was a
dream come true for me", Walker says. "I had been brought up on the
films of the 1970s, and the material we were given on the show was sort
of a throwback to a time when films were about people, not car
explosions". Ally also continued to be seen on the big screen, most
recently starring in Toe to Toe (2009)
and Wonderful World (2009),
alongside Matthew Broderick.However, in a complete about face, Ally can now be seen as the
sociopath, "ATF Agent June Stahl", on
Sons of Anarchy (2008), FX's
dramatic hit series. Originally cast for three episodes by the show's
creator, Kurt Sutter, Ally has been
recurring every year, and is now on her third season.Walker has supported the Environmental Defense Fund and CYFC - Children
Youth and Family Collaborative, among many other children's
organizations. She resides in Santa Monica with her husband, three boys
John Walker, William, Caleb, and her three dogs - Flora, Daisy and
Flower, 2 mutts and a Rottweiler.