Background
Tripplehorn was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the daughter of Suzanne (née Ferguson) and Tom Tripplehorn, who was once a guitarist with Gary Lewis & the Playboys.
Tripplehorn was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the daughter of Suzanne (née Ferguson) and Tom Tripplehorn, who was once a guitarist with Gary Lewis & the Playboys.
She graduated from Edison High School in 1981 and spent one semester studying at the University of Tulsa. Tripplehorn then attended the Juilliard School"s Drama Division as a member of Group 19 (1986-1990), which also included Laura Linney.
Her film career began with the role of a police psychologist in the erotic thriller Basic Instinct (1992). Her other film roles include The Firm (1993), Waterworld (1995) and Sliding Doors (1998). Her parents divorced when she was two years old.
She performed on the local television shows Creature Feature (1982-1983) and Night Shift (1983).
Tripplehorn began her career on stage. She appeared Office-Broadway in John Patrick Shanley"s The Big Funk in 1990, then co-starred with Val Kilmer in a 1993 production of John Ford"s 1630s play "Tis Pity She"s a Whore.
She has also been on Broadway in Anton Chekov"s Three Sisters opposite Amy Irving and Lili Taylor. In 1992, Tripplehorn made her film debut in supporting role of the erotic thriller Basic Instinct. opposite Michael Douglas.
In next year, she starred as Abby McDeere opposite Tom Cruise in The Firm, and in 1995 had another female lead role alongside Kevin Costner in Waterworld.
As lead actress, Tripplehorn starred in 1997 box-office bomb romantic drama, "Til There Was You. The next few years she had supporting roles in small films, including Office Killer, Monument Avenue., and Sliding Doors, and in 1999 starred opposite Hugh Grant in British romantic comedy Mickey Blue Eyes. She also starred opposite Madonna in 2002 flop film Swept Away.
In 2006, Tripplehorn was cast in a leading role as Barbara Henrickson in the Home Box Office drama series Big Love, opposite Bill Paxton.
This is regarded as the most successful role of her career. In 2009, she played the role of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in the Home Box Office movie Grey Gardens.
In 2011, she appeared in Lifetime movie, Five. In July 2012, Tripplehorn joined the cast of Columbia Broadcasting System procedural Criminal Minds in season eight, replacing Paget Brewster"s character Emily Prentiss.
She received a six-figure salary per episode of Criminal Minds.
Tripplehorn left the series after two seasons and Jennifer Love Hewitt replaced her as a new agent. The original Tripplehorn couple in the 2010 movie Date Night chooses their false name because they are big fans of the actress.
Married Leland Orser, October 14, 2000. 1 child August.