Julianne Nicholson  Julianne Nicholson (born July 1, 1971) is an American actress. She is best known for her main and supporting roles in multiple indie or drama films and TV series. She played NYPD Detective Megan Wheeler on "", and also appeared in the HBO series "Boardwalk Empire" and Showtime's "Masters of Sex", as well as Ivy in the film adaptation of "". In 2016, she starred in the short-lived USA series "Eyewitness". Nicholson was born and raised in Medford, Massachusetts (outside Boston), the daughter of Kate (née Gilday) and James O. Nicholson, Jr. She is the eldest of four children. After graduating from Arlington Catholic High School, she modeled in New York for six months, quit for a year, then resumed her modeling career in Paris for another six months. After returning to New York, she attended Hunter College as a general studies major for two years. While in New York, Nicholson supported herself by waitressing and eventually left school to study acting and begin her professional career. In her first feature film role, Nicholson starred opposite Michael Caine and James Spader in the Peter Yates film "Curtain Call". Later she won what proved to be both her breakthrough and favorite role as a headstrong young feminist in Peter Chan's "The Love Letter". She has worked with other international directors in films such Alain Berliner's "Passion of Mind", and Nick Hurran's "Little Black Book". Nicholson's domestic drama credits include "William Vincent" (Jay Anania), "Staten Island" (James DeMonaco), "Brief Interviews with Hideous Men" (John Krasinski), "Tully" (Hilary Birmingham), "Kinsey" (Bill Condon), and "" (John Wells), for which the ensemble cast was nominated for several awards. Her domestic comedy credits include "Seeing Other People" (Wally Wolodarsky) and "Puccini For Beginners" (Maria Maggenti). Among Nicholson's television credits are a supporting role in the television miniseries "Storm of the Century" and guest-starring roles in "ER" and "Law & Order". She began to work with some of television's top producers. She was tapped by Steven Spielberg for the lead role in the paranormal drama "The Others". In late 2001, Nicholson became one of the main cast members of the hit show produced by David E. Kelley, "Ally McBeal", portraying the character "Jenny Shaw" for 13 episodes.