Nicki Aycox

Blessed with looks that made her a favorite for genre material and the acting chops that allowed her to hold her own opposite film and television's most accomplished performers, actress Nicki Aycox remained a consistent presence on both large and small screens. Barely 20 years old, the aspiring actress landed her first professional roles with minor guest turns on such television series as Weird Science" (USA Network, 1994-97) and "3rd Rock from the Sun" (NBC, 1996-2001). Before long, Aycox began picking up recurring roles on more serious-minded fare like the family drama "Providence" (NBC, 1999-2002) and the popular police procedural "Cold Case" (CBS, 2003-2010). Headway into the world of feature film first came with lead roles in genre films like the horror sequel "Jeepers Creepers 2" (2003) and briefer appearances in mainstream movies like the Halle Berry-Bruce Willis thriller "Perfect Stranger" (2007). Aycox earned strong marks for her regular cast role as a young undercover cop on the short-lived police drama "Dark Blue" (TNT, 2008-2010) and went on to win the title role in the period drama "Christina" (2011). Still looking for that signature role, Aycox's blend of talent and beauty was sure to earn her the notoriety she had been steadily working toward.

Aycox was born on May 26, 1975 in Enid, OK, but was raised in nearby Hennessey, where she lived until returning to Enid to graduate high school. At Enid High, Aycox fed her passion for acting with appearances in a slew of school plays before graduating in 1992. Aycox spent two years at the University of Oklahoma before deciding to give an acting career in Los Angeles a try. In 1995, she headed west to pursue her dreams. Shortly after her arrival, she was on her way after being hired to appear in the music video for a local band. In 1996, Aycox started her television career with an appearance on the short-lived syndicated comedy "Weird Science" (1994-97). A year later, she had more than quadrupled that number in appearances, juggling guest spots on family-friendly fare such as "3rd Rock from the Sun" (NBC, 1996-2001) and "Boy Meets World" (ABC, 1993-2000). Meanwhile she broke into features, appearing in several independent dramas, including "Defying Gravity" (1997) and "Double Tap" (1997). With "Significant Others" (Fox, 1997-98), a short-lived drama about struggling twenty-somethings in Los Angeles, Aycox officially became a recurring presence on primetime programming. Though her role as catalogue model Brittany ended with the show's cancellation, she was soon seen on television again in "Providence" as the troubled live-in houseguest Lily Gallagher. She had the difficult task of playing a teen rape victim dealing with the aftermath of her assaulter's release on "Cruel Justice" (NBC, 1999).

Aycox soon made sci-fi fans take notice with guest spots on "The X Files" (Fox, 1993-2002) and "Dark Angel" (Fox, 2000-02), appearing as fan favorite Syl on the latter. In between, she took a trip to another bizarre universe - the suburbs - playing Cecil in "Crime and Punishment in Suburbia" (2000). She capped off 2001 with an appearance as Ellie, the murder suspect daughter of Captain Jim Brass on the hit procedural "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (CBS, 2000-15). Aycox then returned to recurring role status with the introduction of Stella Vessey, the carefree, but turbulent sister of Julie Bowen's character Carol on "Ed" (NBC, 2000-04). Her career was bumped up to the next level with a turn in "Jeepers Creepers 2," the sequel to Victor Salva's horror sleeper from 2001. Aycox played a cheerleader who, along with her co-cheerleaders and basketball teammate companions, is terrorized by a winged creature on a bus ride home.

By 2004, Aycox was pulling double duty on a pair of shows, appearing on both NBC's airport drama "LAX" (2004-05) and as the wild-child sister Christina Rush on "Cold Case" (CBS, 2003-2010). When Christina bolted "Cold Case" in the midst of credit card fraud and "LAX" left the air, Aycox enlisted as a regular on the Iraq war drama "Over There" (FX, 2005-06), giving a layered performance as Private Brenda Mitchell, a.k.a. "Mrs. B.," a feisty unit member whose hardness masks a life of suffered abuse. "Over There" was a mixed bag for viewers and critics alike, especially while the real war was still in full swing. The show was off the air mere months after its summer 2005 debut. At the start of 2006, Aycox was back to the world of demonic forces, intermittently reappearing as the murderous demon Meg Masters on "Supernatural" (WB, 2005- ). She then went back to the big screen with a small role in "Perfect Stranger," playing Grace, the childhood friend of an investigative reporter (Halle Berry) who becomes the story's catalyzing victim of murder.

Other feature film work included a small role in the critically and commercially disappointing sequel "The X-Files: I Want to Believe" (2008), in addition to a larger role for Aycox in the direct-to-DVD horror sequel "Joy Ride 2: Dead Ahead" (2008). More promising was a regular cast role opposite Dylan McDermott on the gritty cop drama "Dark Blue" (TNT, 2008-2010), where Aycox played Jaimie Allen, a rookie patrolwoman pulled into an elite undercover unit due her skill as a liar and a shadowy past. Although "Dark Blue" lasted a mere two seasons, Aycox was next seen playing the wife of an army reservist called to Afghanistan whose young son finds solace and strength in music in the inspirational drama "Lifted" (2010). The following year, the actress appeared alongside Emily VanCamp in the based-on-fact education drama "Beyond the Blackboard" (CBS, 2011) and took the lead for the feature film "Christina" (2011), an intimate drama starring Aycox as a German woman attempting to leave her sordid past behind her and begin a new life with an American G.I. in the days following World War II. Nicki Aycox died on November 16, 2022 at the age of 47.