Sela Ward
Award winning actress Sela Ward joined the cast of “CSI: NY” in 2010. Ward portrays “Josephine (Jo) Danville,” an investigator from Washington, D.C. on the hit CBS-TV drama, now entering its eighth season. The Mississippi native, and graduate of the University of Alabama, moved to New York after graduation. She planned to pursue a career in advertising, but soon after arriving she began to model for the Wilhelmina Agency, and embarked on a successful modeling career. A move to Los Angeles then catapulted Ward into the world of acting. Her feature film credits include “The Fugitive” with Harrison Ford, “The Guardian” with Kevin Costner, “The Day After Tomorrow” with Dennis Quaid and “The Stepfather” with Dylan Walsh. Ward received an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award and two Emmy nominations for Best Actress in a Drama for her portrayal of ‘Lily Manning’ from 1999-2002 on ABC’s critically acclaimed dramatic series “Once and Again.” Ward also received an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe nomination in 1994, and a Screen Actors Guild nomination in 1996, all as Best Actress, for her performance as ‘Teddy,’ the struggling artist and recovering alcoholic, on NBC’s award-winning series “Sisters.” Portraying the title character in “Almost Golden: The Jessica Savitch Story,” Ward was presented with the CableAce award in 1996 for Actress in a Movie or Miniseries, and received an Emmy nomination in the category of Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Special as well as a Screen Actors Guild nomination in the category of Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a TV Movie or Miniseries for the role. In 2005-2006, Ward starred opposite Hugh Laurie on theacclaimed medical drama “House.” In a specially-tailored recurring role, Ward played Dr. House’s ex-girlfriend who returned to his life, and to Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, where she used to work as a lawyer. In 2000, Ward founded Hope Village for Children in Mississippi to provide a safe haven and an alternative to the traditional foster care system. The organization offers a more permanent home that provides a continuum of specialized treatment programs, services and facilities to meet the individual needs of neglected and abused children. In 2002, Ward published her first book, Homesick. Part inspirational story, part memoir, the book tells Ward’s quest for a balance of the comforts of her small-town childhood and her big city way oflife. The book appeared on the New York Times bestseller list.
