MEAT PACKER BECOMES EMMY WINNING ACTRESS
October 6, 2002
Amarillo Globe
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Marg Helgenberger fantasized about becoming a star while plunging knives into beef carcasses during her summer job at a meatpacking plant in her Nebraska hometown.
“I would just daydream about doing Broadway, sing songs through my head. I guess I am sort of proof that dreams do come true,” said the Emmy-winning actress, star of the CBS hit “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.”
“I just kind of put one foot in front of the other and got lucky,” said Helgenberger, who worked as a meatpacker in North Bend, Neb. (population 1,213), more than 20 years ago.
She went from college graduation to a four-year role on the daytime soap “Ryan’s Hope.” Then came her Emmy-winning role of K.C. Koloski, a heroin-addicted prostitute, on “China Beach.”
Helgenberger, who plays crime scene investigator Catherine Willows, says she isn’t surprised that “CSI” is one of television’s top-rated shows.
“A good mystery is always going to be in vogue,” the 43-year-old said.