She was born in Seattle, Washington though she was raised in Los Angeles, California. Of Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Welsh, and Irish descent, she started out on television in commercials for McDonald's. Erika had several small roles in various television programs before starting her movie career. These shows include Frasier, The Practice, 3rd Rock from the Sun, and Touched By An Angel.

Erika was named one of People Magazine's 'Breakthrough Stars of 2001'. For her performance in Traffic she received the awards for Female Breakthrough Performance at the MTV Movie Awards, Female Standout Performance at the Young Hollywood Awards, and Outstanding Performance by a Cast Ensemble at the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Erika is also a Scientologist.

Filmography

• Flightplan (2005)
• The Sisters (2005)
• The Upside of Anger (2005)
• Riding the Bullet (2004)
• The Perfect Score (2004)
• Wuthering Heights (2003) (TV)
• The Banger Sisters (2002)
• Swimfan (2002)
• Home Room (2002)
• Traffic (2000)
• Thanks (1999) (TV series)
• Can of Worms (1999)
• Leave It to Beaver (1997)

External links

• Official website
• Erika Christensen at the Internet Movie Database