Christine Lahti

Unpredictable American actress Christine Lahti majored in drama at the University of Michigan, then toured Europe with a group of pantomimists. She studied with Uta Hagen in New York, taking whatever stage work that came along (including her Obie award-winning performance in an Off-Broadway revival of Little Murders) before being steadily employed on TV. In 1978, Lahti was co-starred in The Harvey Korman Show as Korman's daughter. The following year, she made her first film, ...And Justice for All. A scene stealer par excellence, Lahti often found her film roles reduced in the cutting room, usually at the behest of nervous stars. Her performance as Hazel Zenutti in Swing Shift (1984) was severely pared down after previews, but that didn't prevent Lahti from being nominated for an Oscar. The endearingly off-balance nature of many of Lahti's screen characters is best summed up by her scene in Housekeeping (1987), in which she calmly carries on a conversation while her living room fills up with water. In 1995, Lahti joined the cast of the Emmy-Award-winning TV medical drama Chicago Hope, playing the part of heart-surgeon Dr. Kathryn Austin. - Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide