Julie M. Benz is an American actress, best known for her roles as Darla on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel and as Rita Bennett on Dexter, for which she won the 2006 Satellite Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television. She starred on the series No Ordinary Family until it was cancelled on May 13, 2011. She had a recurring role in the CBS show A Gifted Man until it was cancelled on May 12, 2012. Benz was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her father is a surgeon in Pittsburgh. The family settled in nearby Murrysville when Benz... was two, and she started ice skating when she was three. She competed in the 1988 U.S. Championships in junior ice dancing with her skating partner David Schilling, finishing in 13th place. Her older brother and sister, Jeffrey and Jennifer, were the 1987 U.S. Junior Champions in ice dancing and competed internationally. When Benz was 14, she suffered a stress fracture in her right leg and had to take time off. She grew up in Murrysville, graduating from Franklin Regional High School. At age 15, Benz was told by an acting coach that she would never succeed as an actress.
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