Erica Leerhsen

Erica Leerhsen was born February 14, 1976 in New York City, New York, where she was raised along with her two sisters, Nora and Debbie. She is the daughter of Barbara and Charles Leerhsen, a longtime editor of celebrity publication US Magazine (which became US Weekly in March 2000). She attended St. Augustine's School and Ossining High School (where she sang in the choir) and graduated from Boston University College of Fine Arts in 1998. She earned B.F.A (summa cum laude) in acting the same year. After graduation, Erica's first role was as Sarah in a 1999 short film Junior Creative (2000), which received several good reviews. During its production, she got the lead role of a practicing witch in the controversial Horror sequel Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (2000), though she originally auditioned for the part that eventually went to Kim Director. She went to the audition with short blond hair, and, as director Joe Berlinger described it, "completely Gothed-out", but ultimately was giv