Reiko Aylesworth

Reiko Aylesworth made a career out of playing gun-toting, crime-fighting and general butt-kicking tough women, whether it was domestic threats in "24" (FOX 2001-2010) or otherworldly villains in "Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem" (2007). Although most actresses would prefer not to be typecast, this kind of powerful female role isn't a bad rut to find oneself in.

Reiko Aylesworth was born in Evanston, IL, on December 9, 1972. Her name translates to " child of thankfulness," reflecting her Japanese ancestry along with Dutch and Welsh roots. While her father practiced psychiatry and her mother ran a prison, Aylesworth grew up with tough-minded mentors, which would later serve her well in her career.

Aylesworth first became interested in acting at a young age. From 1987 to 1988, she understudied in stage productions at the Springfield Theatre Centre, where she was then cast in the role of Consuelo in "West Side Story." While her family made a move to Seattle, Aylesworth stayed in Springfield for the duration of the play's run before relocating out west.

While Aylesworth went on to study neuroscience at the University of Washington, she never really put acting behind her, squeezing in various plays at local theater companies between classes. It was the stage that ultimately launched her television career. ABC talent scouts took notice of her performance as Wendy in a local production of "Peter Pan," leading to a move to New York in 1993 for her television debut on the soap "One Life to Live" (ABC 1968-2012).

After her character, Rebecca Lewis, was written off the show, Aylesworth put the world of soaps behind her and appeared in the independent film "Childhood's End" (1996) and in the series "Lifestories: Families in Crisis" (HBO 1996), while also doing Off-Broadway shows. Having proved her versatility, she continued to pursue work in all acting mediums.

A rite of passage for any New York-based television actress, Aylesworth guest-starred on an episode of "Law & Order" (NBC 1990-2010), but also made the jump from indie films to big-budget movies with small roles in "Random Hearts" (1998) and "You've Got Mail" (1999). Despite working steadily in television, most of her parts were one-off guest star roles.

After her recurring role on the drama series "American Embassy" (FOX 2002) came to an abrupt end, Aylesworth set her sights on landing a role on one of the most popular shows on air, the action series, "24." Having first auditioned and lost the roles of Nina Myers the first season and Kate Warner the second season, Aylesworth's professional persistence paid off when producers took a shine to her and asked her to join the cast as CTU agent Michelle Dessler.

Her role was later expanded, as audiences connected with Dessler, landing Aylesworth double nominations in 2004 and 2005 for ensemble work on "24" at the Screen Actors Guild Awards. Aylesworth also dated her co-star Keifer Sutherland from 2003 - 2005. Aylesworth scored her biggest leading role yet in the blockbuster film "Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem."

After kicking-butt on the big screen, Aylesworth also in appeared in the Kevin Costner film "Mr. Brooks" (2007), then began a recurring role on the long-running hospital drama "ER" (NBC 1994-2009). She followed that up with recurring roles on "Lost" (ABC 2004-2010) and "Hawaii Five-0" (CBS 2010- ), where she played a love interest for Five-0 member Chin Ho Kelly (Daniel Dae Kim).