FROM COAST

Early life

Callies moved to Honolulu, Hawaii with her family when she was one. Throughout her youth, she expressed an interest in acting through participating in various school plays at Punahou School.

While her parents are professors at the University of Hawaii, Manoa, Callies did not follow in their footsteps. Instead, she chose to pursue a career in acting. After graduating from high school, she entered Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. In conjunction with her studies, she continued her involvement in theatre. She continued her education at Denver's National Theater Conservatory where she obtained her Master of Fine Arts degree in 2002.

Career

Callies' first role on television was as Kate O'Malley, a recurring role on the short-lived CBS show Queens Supreme. Her first starring role was as Detective Jane Porter on The WB's Tarzan.

After making various guest appearances on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Dragnet (2003) and NUMB3RS, Callies gained a starring role on FOX's Prison Break as Sara Tancredi. Her role lasted from 2005 through 2007. According to Prison Break's executive producer Matt Olmstead, although he, the writers, the network and Callies herself all wanted her to stay on the show the character was written out related to contract disputes.^] She stated through a spokesperson to TV Guide in Fall 2007:

"As hard as we all tried, the Prison Break powers that be and I were unable to find a way to meet both the needs of the story and the needs of my family. We parted wishing each other well. I had a wonderful time working with the creative team and have a world of respect for all of them; they took great care of Sara. I'm also enormously grateful to the fans. They've been so gracious and supportive, and I hope they continue to enjoy the show."

However, in March 2008 Olmstead stated that the character of Sara is still alive and would return in Season 4 of Prison Break. Though the character Sara Tancredi appeared to have a violent death Olmstead stated "...we realized that there was actually a way she could still be alive." When asked by Kirstin of E! whether the fans' overwhelming response to her death (namely the STGD Campaign and Save-Sara-Tancredi.org) had factored in, Executive Producer Matt Olmstead admitted it had indeed influenced the decision^].

Callies has also starred in two feature films - Universal Pictures' Whisper and an independent, The Celestine Prophecy.

Personal life

On June 21, 2002, Callies married Josh Winterhalt, whom she met at Dartmouth College. Winterhalt is a martial arts teacher. On January 23, 2007, her publicist announced that the couple were expecting their first child. In July 2007, Callies and her husband welcomed a baby girl, Keala Winterhalt pronounced Kay-AH-lah. She is close friends with Prison Break co-star Wentworth Miller, saying: "I have the great privilege of working opposite someone who is also a great friend. That's something that makes my work easier, it makes my time on set more fun and I think it makes the work better". She was recently voted one of Maxim's "The Hottest Women of Fall TV ´08