julie benz

The daughter of a competitive ice skater, Julie Benz was born on May 1, 1972. She followed in her mother’s footsteps and became ranked as 13th in United States for ice dancing. At 14, she suffered a stress fracture and her ice skating career was cut short.

Benz began acting in the early 1990s. She had minor roles on different TV series and in movies, and in 1997 she landed the TV role of Darla on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off, Angel. The following year Benz married actor John Kassir. The couple was married for nine years until Benz filed for divorce in 2007.

In 2006 Benz landed the role of Rita on Showtime’s Dexter. The show became a huge success, and Benz won a Satellite Award, Scream Award and Saturn Award for her role. In 2010, Benz’s character was murdered during the season 4 finale.

In June 2011 Benz announced her engagement to marketing executive Rich Orosco.