Background
Birkelund was born in New York City, New York, and began her acting career in theater.
Birkelund was born in New York City, New York, and began her acting career in theater.
Brown University.
In 1991 she made her television debut as Sondra Hill in the American Broadcasting Company daytime soap opera, One Life to Live. In 1995, Birkelund began starring as Arlene Dillon Vaughan Chandler, Hayley"s alcoholic mother, in the American Broadcasting Company soap opera All My Children. She appeared in show to 2002 on recurring basic.
In 2008 she had another soap role, on Columbia Broadcasting System"s Guiding Light.
Birkelund appeared in films Letters from a Killer (1998), The Bone Collector (1999), Uninvited (1999), Far from Heaven (2002), and on made for television movies Night Sins and On the Edge of Innocence (1997). She guest-starred on Law & Order, Homicide: Life on the Street, Star Trek: Voyager, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Third Watch, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and The Good Wife.
In 2014, Birkelund had a recurring role in the American Broadcasting Company drama Black Box.