Sarah Rafferty

American actress

Sarah Rafferty

Rafferty in 2018

Born|

Sarah Gray Rafferty

(1972-12-06) December 6, 1972 (age 51)

New Canaan, Connecticut, U.S.

Education| Hamilton College, New York (BA)
Yale University (MFA)
Occupation| Actress
Years active| 1990s–present
Spouse|

Aleksanteri Olli-Pekka Seppälä

(m. 2001)​

Children| 2

Sarah Gray Rafferty (born December 6, 1972)[1] is an American actress, best known for her role as Donna Roberta Paulsen on the USA Network legal drama Suits.

## Early life and education[edit]

Rafferty grew up as the youngest of four daughters in the Riverside neighborhood of Greenwich, Connecticut. She credits her mother, Mary Lee Rafferty, the Chairwoman of the English Department at Convent of the Sacred Heart school, and her father, Michael Griffin Rafferty Jr., who enjoys careers in finance and oil painting, for cultivating her passion for the arts.[2] Her sisters are Maura, Ann, and Constance.

Rafferty studied at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, and graduated in 1989. She majored in English and Theatre at Hamilton College, studied theatre abroad in the United Kingdom at the University of Oxford during her junior year, and, after graduating magna cum laude from Hamilton in 1993,[3] went on to study at the Yale School of Drama, receiving a Master of Fine Arts.[2]

## Personal life[edit]

Rafferty's husband is Aleksanteri Olli-Pekka Seppälä, an American of Finnish descent, who is the Vice President of Strategy and Business Development at the Angeleno Group. They married on June 23, 2001, at the Roman Catholic church of St. Mary in Greenwich, Connecticut,[3] and have two daughters, Oona Gray and Iris Friday.[2][4]

## Filmography[edit]

### Film[edit]

Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes

|
|
|

2000  | Mambo Café | Amy  |
2002  | Speakeasy | Nurse  |
2004  | Soccer Dog: European Cup | Cora Stone  |
2006  | Falling for Grace | Sydney  |
2006  | The Devil Wears Prada | Liz  | Deleted scene[citation needed]
2009  | Four Single Fathers | Julia  |
2011  | Small, Beautifully Moving Parts | Emily  |

### Television[edit]

Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes

|
|
|

1998  | Trinity | Sarah  | Television film
1999  | Law & Order | Jennifer Shaliga  | Episode: "Ambitious"
2001  | Walker, Texas Ranger | Laura Pope  | Episode: "Desperate Measures"
2002  | Third Watch | Kelly  | Episode: "Crash and Burn"
CSI: Miami | Melissa Starr  | Episode: "Breathless"
The District | Sally  | Episode: "Small Packages"
2003  | Without a Trace | Dr. Patty Morrison  | Episode: "The Friendly Skies"
Six Feet Under | Rachel Mortimer  | Episode: "The Eye Inside"
The Practice | Judy Wilson  | Episode: "Heroes and Villains"
Tremors | Dr. Casey Matthews  | Episodes: "Flora or Fauna", "Graboid Rights", "Water Hazard"
Good Morning, Miami | Lila  | Episode: "The Ex Games"
2004  | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Terry Minden  | Episode: "Eleven Angry Jurors"
Charmed | Carol  | Episode: "The Legend of Sleepy Halliwell"
Second Time Around | Daphne Fitzgerald  | Episodes: "Pilot", "Secrets"
8 Simple Rules | Danielle  | Episode: "A Very C.J. Christmas"
2006  | Pepper Dennis | Callie  | Episode: "Heiress Bridenapped: Film at Eleven"
2007  | Football Wives | Kelly Cooper  | Television film
What If God Were the Sun? | Rachel  | Television film
2008  | Samantha Who? | Kayla Kaminski  | Episode: "So I Think I Can Dance"
2009  | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Sandra Dunbar / Sandra O'Bannon  | Episode: "Passion"
Numb3rs | Margo  | Episode: "7 Men Out"
Bones | Katie Selnick  | Episode: "The Foot in the Foreclosure"
2010  | Brothers & Sisters | Gloria Pierson-Davenport  | Episode: "A Righteous Kiss"
2011–2019  | Suits | Donna Paulsen  | Main role, 132 episodes
2016  | All Things Valentine | Avery Parker  | Television film
2020  | Grey's Anatomy | Suzanne  | Recurring role
2021–2022  | Chicago Med | Dr. Pamela Blake  | Recurring role
2023  | My Life with the Walter Boys | Dr. Katherine Walter  | Main role

## References[edit]

1. ^ "December 6, birthdays for Andrew Cuomo, Johnny Manziel, Giannis Antetokounmpo". December 6, 2016.
2. ^ a b c Chris Hodenfield. "Perfectly suited". Greenwich Magazine. Archived from the original on December 12, 2015. Retrieved February 19, 2013.
3. ^ a b "Weddings; Sarah Rafferty, Santtu Seppala". New York Times. June 24, 2001. Retrieved February 19, 2013.
4. ^ Gina Roberts-Grey (January 21, 2013). "Sarah Rafferty: fitness 'suits' her". Yahoo! Health. Retrieved February 19, 2013.

## External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sarah Rafferty.

* Sarah Rafferty on Twitter
* Sarah Rafferty at IMDb

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* France
* BnF data
* Germany
* United States

*[m.]: married