Just when You Least Expect It: Success Came Along for Angie Harmon

Angie Harmon was on the verge of retiring when the opportunity to do "Rizzoli & Isles" came along. She was even planning to relocate her entire family - probably to Texas where she's from - because she was convinced her acting career wasn't going anywhere.

Born Angela Michelle Harmon, August 10, 1972 in Highland Park, Texas, Harmon began her modeling career at a young age. She won a Seventeen modeling contest in 1988 and has appeared on the covers of magazines such as ELLE, Cosmopolitan and Esquire.

But her acting career began by chance. She happened to be on the same plane as David Hasselhoff who took notice of the young model. She transitioned her modeling career into acting, with roles in Baywatch Nights, Baywatch and Law & Order. She left Law & Order to focus on a career in movies.

This move, however, proved to be not such a good one. She was in two direct-to-DVD movies, Good Advice and End Game, and had a supporting role in Agent Cody Banks. But none of these roles lead to any that set Harmon apart.

After that, the pickin's became rather slim and it was around that time that Harmon had almost decided to throw in the towel on her acting career.

"I was completely convinced that my time had passed," Harmon says, so she recently had a plan to retire and relocate her family - her husband, former NFL player Jason Sehorn, and their three daughters. "Once I finally made the decision of 'OK, I'm clearly not going to be able to achieve my own dreams, but I need to put my children first,' this show just dropped right in my lap," she says. [1]

The success of Rizzoli & Isles cannot be disputed. The chemistry between the two lead actors - Angie Harmon and Sasha Aelxander who portrays Dr. Maura Isles, both onscreen and off - is what truly drives the show. Both women have children: Harmon has three girls, Finley, Avery and Emery while Alexander has a boy and a girl, Lucia and Leonardo. Their children share playtime together and the two co-stars also shop together. [2]

Still, life has its complications. Harmon recently came under fire when she criticized the Obama administration by stating she didn't feel President Obama was doing a very good job. She was accused for being a racist for having made the comment. She appeared on The View to defend her comment.

With the success of Rizzoli & Isles, Harmon is living proof that good things come to those who wait.

Sources:

[1] USA Today

[2] TV Guide Magazine, July 11-17, 2011

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