Erica Leerhsen was born on February 14, 1976, in New York City, New York, where she was raised alongside her two sisters, Nora and Debbie. She is the daughter of Barbara and Charles Leerhsen, a longtime editor of celebrity publication US Magazine, which later became US Weekly in March 2000.
She attended St. Augustine's School and Ossining High School, where she sang in the choir, and graduated from Boston University College of Fine Arts in 1998. During her time at Boston University, she earned a B.F.A. in acting, summa cum laude, in the same year.
After graduation, Erica's first role was in a 1999 short film, Junior Creative, which received several good reviews. She then landed the lead role of a practicing witch in the controversial Horror sequel, Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2, although she originally auditioned for a different part. The film was released in 2000.
Erica's subsequent roles included a lesbian tennis instructor in the third season of The Sopranos in 1999, a character in the well-acclaimed TV show The Guardian in 2001, and a supporting role in Woody Allen's Hollywood Ending in 2002. She was honored with the title "Arrow in the Head's Mistress of the Year" in 2003.
In 2003, Erica appeared in the successful Horror remake, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, in which she had a prominent role as one of the doomed teens. Her screen test for the film was so intense that people on other floors of the building called the police to report that a young woman was being attacked.
Erica continued to appear in films and television shows throughout the 2000s, including Woody Allen's Anything Else, The Warrior Class, Little Athens, Mozart and the Whale, and Wrong Turn 2: Dead End. She also guest-starred on several television shows, including Alias, Ghost Whisperer, and CSI: Miami.
Erica lives in Los Angeles and has continued to work in the film industry, appearing in a range of Horror and Thriller films, including Haunted Traxxs, Slaughter, and Living Hell.
