Kelly Rutherford, born November 6, 1968 in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, was raised by her mom Ann Edwards, who was a former model. Kelly and her brother Anthony grew up in various neighborhoods in New York, Florida and Arizona, before finally settling in Newport Beach. After high school, Kelly Rutherford left home to pursue an acting career in New York. There, she modeled for several commercial ads, most notably with actor Matt LeBlanc. In 1987, Kelly made her TV debut with a small role in the ABC soap “Loving.” That same year, she had a minor role in the film “Shakedown.”

In 1989, Kelly Rutherford moved to Los Angeles and studied acting at the Beverly Hills Playhouse. She then bagged a job in the NBC soap “Generations,” followed by the primetime drama “Homefront.” Throughout the 1990s, Kelly Rutherford appeared in several made-for-TV movies such as “Breaking the Silence,” “Amberwaves,” “No Greater Love,” “Buried Secrets,” and “The Perfect Getaway.” She also appeared in a few feature films, including “Amberwaves,” “Tis a Gift to be Simple,” “I Love Trouble,” “Cyclops, Baby,” “Dilemma,” “Six Months of Darkness, Six Months of Light” and “The Disturbance at Dinner.”

Also during the 90s, Kelly Rutherford was mostly seen on primetime TV, appearing in “Davis Rules,” “Bodies of Evidence,” “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventures,” and “Nash Bridges.” Kelly Rutherford also had recurring roles on “The Adventures of Brisco County Jr,” “Courthouse,” “Kindred: The Embraced,” “Get Real,” and most notably on “Melrose Place.” Her most notable TV gig recently is a recurring role on the CW hit series “Gossip Girl,” wherein she played the socialite mom of Blake Lively’s character.

Kelly Rutherford married Carlos Tarajano in June 2001, but divorced several months later. In 2006, Kelly Rutherford married businessman Daniel Giersh, with whom she has a son named Hermes Gustaf Daniel Giersh. Rutherford filed for divorce on December 2008.