Nicole Picard's impressive career spans decades, with her earliest roles dating back to her childhood. At the tender age of six, she began performing in ballets such as 'Coppelia' and 'Les Sylphides' with a ballet troupe in Rhode Island. She went on to win a talent show in high school with a dance piece she choreographed.
After completing her time as a ballerina, Nicole attended Sarah Lawrence College, where she was a featured actress in a Charlie Lowenthal film. She also spent her junior year abroad in Paris, France, where she starred in numerous Eram shoe commercials and spoke French on France National Television.
Nicole's film debut came in 1986 with the cult horror movie 'Deadtime Stories', in which she played the role of Rachel, aka Little Red Riding Hood. She went on to appear in numerous commercials, including Zest Soap, Chic Jeans, HBO, Whitney's Yogurt, RC Cola, Bacardi Rum for Puerto Rico TV, Jordache Jeans, Serruchi Jeans, and Suntory Brandy, Japan.
In 1986, Nicole's dream came true when she was hired to star in a Broadway show, 'Starlight Express', where she worked alongside Sir Andrew Lloyd Weber, Trevor Nunn, Arlene Philips, and an impressive team of actor/singer/dancer/roller-skaters. She spent a year in the show before deciding it was time to move to Hollywood.
Nicole co-starred in the TV pilot 'Spies' opposite George Hamilton, the TV movie 'Revenge of the Nerds III' opposite Ted McGinley, 'Burke's Law' opposite Gavin McLeod, and was featured on the Fox show Malibu Dance Party. The national tour of 'Starlight Express' took her on the road, where she performed throughout the US and Canada, even performing at the Kennedy Center with President Bush Sr. in attendance.
In 1993, Nicole performed in the Mogul Theater production 'At Home' opposite her then-husband, John Zarchen, during which time she also appeared in the local production of 'The Glass Menagerie' as Laura to rave reviews. From 2000-2008, she taught theater in the Santa Monica and South Bay schools and was PTA president as well as the legislation chair at her children's school.
In 2004, Nicole gave a deeply emotional performance as Ruth in the Santa Monica Playhouse production of 'Backstreet'. She was also in a Lifetime Channel show, Operation Style, and recorded music with VoodooGroove. In 2010-11, Nicole played a crazed mom in the film 'The Parent Project', in which the episode she starred in was the highest-rated show at the Channel 101 screening.
Now, in 2021, Nicole has completed two film projects. 'Lineage Tribe' is a musical short film that she plans to turn into a streaming limited series, and 'SURPRISE!' is a TV pilot for a dark comedy series. She is also prepping a comic character sketch piece for late-night talk show bits.
Throughout her career, Nicole has been married to Patrick Murray and has two grown children, Nicky and Matt, who are living on both coasts, giving her a good reason to be bi-coastal.
