Erica Lei Leerhsen (born February 14, 1976) is an American actress. She first gained recognition for her leading part in the moderately successful horror sequel Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (2000). Her work led her to take on a recurring role in the first season of The Guardian and star in the horror hit The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003). She has since appeared in numerous films of that genre, including Wrong Turn 2: Dead End (2007), Lonely Joe (2009) and The Butterfly Room (2012). She has also acted in the Woody Allen films Hollywood Ending (2002), Anything Else (2003) and Magic in the Moonlight (2014) as well as in Allen's play A Second-Hand Memory (2004).
Leerhsen was born in New York City, and was raised in Ossining, Westchester County, New York, along with her two younger sisters, Debbie and Nora. Their father, Charles Leerhsen, is a longtime editor of celebrity publication Us Weekly. She attended St. Augustine's School and Ossining High School and attended the Boston University College of Fine Arts. While in college, Leerhsen performed in stage productions of The Call of the Wild and The Tempest. After graduating in 1998, she earned BFA in acting the same year.
Leerhsen made her film debut in the short film Junior Creative (2000), as Sarah, and shortly afterwards, she appeared in the horror sequel Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (2000), though she originally auditioned for the part that eventually went to Kim Director. Upon its premiere, the sequel received extremely negative reviews by critics, but grossed US$26.4 million in North America, and went on to gross US$47.7 million globally. She was nominated for the Fangoria Chainsaw Award for her supporting role in that movie.[citation needed] Leerhsen's profile raised significantly and her work in the film was followed by a number of appearances on television. In 2001, she guest-starred in an episode of the third season of The Sopranos, where she played a lesbian tennis instructor who falls for Drea de Matteo's character, and became a member of the cast of the television series The Guardian, where she played Amanda Bowles, an ambitious but caring associate, who leaves midway through season one. She played a supporting role in Woody Allen's Hollywood Ending. Screened out of competition at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival. the film garnered a mixed critical response while it grossed a lukewarm US$14.5 million at the end of its theatrical run.

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