Natalie Zea (born March 17, 1975) is an American actress, known for her performances on television. Zea began her acting career in theatre. Her first major role was on the NBC daytime soap opera Passions (2000–2002), where she played the role of Gwen Hotchkiss. Her breakout role was on the ABC primetime soap opera Dirty Sexy Money as socialite Karen Darling, where she starred from 2007 to 2009. Zea also has made many guest appearances on television, starred in the number of independent and made for television movies, and had the recurring roles in The Shield, Hung and Californication.In 2010, Zea began starring as Winona Hawkins in the FX critically acclaimed crime drama series, Justified as regular cast member during the first three seasons and recurring guest star later. In 2013 she also began starring as Claire Matthews in the Fox series The Following. Zea is starring as Mickey Holmes-Harris, the lead character, in the upcoming ABC comedy-drama series, Members Only.
I've actually done a lot of comedy. I think especially when you're on TV, once you become associated with one genre or the other, it's near impossible to break into the other one, even if you have experience with both. I was in a meeting a couple years ago at CBS, and I expressed interest in comedy and everyone looked at me like I had two heads. And I couldn't understand why, and one of the guys said, "You know, you're everyone's go-to drama girl." And I said, "That's lovely and flattering, but I also went to acting school." I'm not a one-trick pony.
2
I seem to always get in this role of sort of being either the estranged love interest or the forlorn love interest or the unrequited love interest of the main gentlemen and that's kind of my gig. So I would love to experience it differently at some point, but I think I do it pretty well, so maybe that's why it keeps coming up over and over again.
3
[on Justified costar [Timothy Olyphant] Let me tell you about him, I have worked with some of the nicest people in Hollywood, he knocks all of them out of the water. When I first met him, I held my hand out to shake his hand, he pushed my hand away, he got up, he took his hat off, and he gave me a hug, and he said, "I'm so glad you're doing this, thank you so much for coming out." I've never worked with somebody who would upon first meeting do something like that.
4
About halfway through [the first season of Justified (2010)] I actually assumed I would be let go. So I approached the producers and said, "Listen, I understand if you're done, can I go ahead and go now because it's pilot season?" And they said, "Absolutely not."
5
I think television scripts have become really intriguing and well-done. And writers have stopped drawing any actual line between film and television they used to never cross.
#
Fact
1
Gave birth to her first child at age 40, a daughter named Reygan Zea Schuldt on October 25, 2015, in Los Angeles. Child's father is her husband, Travis Schuldt.
2
(July 16, 2014) Married her boyfriend of 11 years Travis Schuldt following a 13-month-long engagement.
3
Ranked #80 on the Maxim magazine Hot 100 of 2008 list.
4
Born in Houston, Texas, raised in Monahans, Texas.
5
A graduate of The American Music and Dramatic Academy in New York.
$16 Million
