Spotlight On: Marguerite MacIntyre

Marguerite MacIntyre’s television career got off to an auspicious start landing a coveted guest star appearance on Seinfeld. Playing Miss Rhode Island, a beauty contestant that Jerry Seinfeld took a special interest in was the perfect way to get noticed in Hollywood. Right after that, Marguerite next worked in the film Radioland Murders which was written by George Lucas and starred Brian Benben and Mary Stuart Masterson. Moving quickly on from that brief film appearance, Marguerite jumped back into the television pool with appearances on Michael Chiklis’ series The Commish, a 3-episode arc on Tom Arnold’s series The Tom Show, the quick appearance in fan-favorite The Pretender, and another 3-episode arc on Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place playing Richard Ruccolo’s love interest.

Marguerite MacIntyre as Nicole Trager on Kyle XY

Marguerite then continued with another long streak of notable guest appearances on such hot television shows as Ally McBeal, Law & Order: SVU, Strong Medicine, The Shield, The Practice, NCIS, Judging Amy, Medical Investigation, Numbers, Bones, Shark, CSI: NY, all the way through to The Mentalist. Apparently, when a role calls for nerves of steel, a heart of gold, and an actress striking enough to turn heads, Marguerite is the first one on every casting agent’s list.

But 2006 was the year that brought Marguerite to the attention of the cult genre fans. She landed a major role in the ABC Family television series Kyle XY, playing Nicole Trager, the juvenile psychologist who took home a lost teenager and invited him to become a part of her family.

Kyle XY was a wonderful platform in which to showcase Marguerite’s innumerable talents as both a comedian and a dramatist. It is also to Marguerite’s credit that she was able to play such a complex role with such ease and dexterity. She made Nicole Trager the mom that every teenager wanted to have. She knew how to be simultaneously the sexy wife, the caring mother, and the intuitive therapist that everyone could share their problems with — and she had all the right answers. Marguerite simply shone as Nicole Trager and it left an indelible imprint on everyone who watched the show.

After Kyle XY ended its three-year run, Marguerite was tapped to play an equally diverse character on the hot new vampire series The Vampire Diaries, in which she currently plays Sheriff Elizabeth Forbes. It was the perfect combination of strength and vulnerability, which is Marguerite’s forte. She is the hard-as-nails sheriff who works with the mysterious town council in eradicating vampires. She is also the mother of the cursed-in-love Caroline — both who have seen their share of heart-break and who refuse to be victimized by it. Marguerite has an intricate character to play and rises to the occasion by delivering a performance that leaves the audience clamoring for more. It is thrilling to watch her and to wonder if she knows more than she is letting on and has been playing everyone all along — for as any fan of the show knows, in Mystic Falls, nothing is what it seems.

The Vampire Diaries airs Thursday nights at 8:00 p.m. on the CW.