Natalie Zea Feet & Legs
Natalie Zea (born March 17, 1975) is an American actress known for her roles as Gwen Hotchkiss on the NBC daytime soap Passions, socialite Karen Darling on Dirty Sexy Money on ABC and Winona Hawkins on Justified on FX.
Zea was born on St. Patrick’s Day in Harris County, Texas. She attended Monahans High School, graduating in 1993. She then graduated from The American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City, which has graduated stars like Paul Sorvino and Gretchen Mol. We would imagine Career Day gets fairly tedious at this school, but it’s good if you’re looking for autographs.
In an interview with ugo.com. Natalie said that even with that background, it was hard finding work after graduation. While the thin actress landed parts in a pair of independent movie productions, they never saw the light of day.
“I specifically went to a theatrical school because I wanted to do theater, and then got out of theater school and could not – I couldn’t even get auditions, much less jobs in theater,” she said.
Natalie “kind of gave up for awhile,” settling for commercials and voiceovers for years before auditioning for and landing a serious stage role. While daunting, that reflected her earlier years, when she described herself as always frowning because “I wanted people to think I was smart.” So it was a comeuppance of sorts when Zea was hired for the cast of Passions in 2000 as Gwen Hotchkiss, replacing exiting actress Liza Huber.
“Passions was a tough pill to swallow, because I’d talked such a big game for so long,” Natalie told ugo. “At the end of the day, you really just want to pay the rent.”
Natalie explained her career was either feast or famine, “I either have a large contract with all the amenities… or I’m eating hummus” and unemployed.
While she enjoyed having a steady gig on the soap, there was also a price to pay in her acting ambitions. When her contract was up after two years, “it cerratinly was time to go,” Natalie said. Zea left, and this time Huber replaced her.
With her distinctive look, Natalie admitted it was difficult landing more than an occasional guest appearance. But in 2004, Natalie stepped up to a recurring role on the highly regarded cop drama The Shield on FX. This marked the first time a television drama has taken the “Really Hot Woman Loves Fat Guy” conceit seen in almost every sitcom.
In 2005, Zea debuted as Trish Agermeyer, the sexy surveillance technician on the short-lived ABC showEyes. She then appeared to get a big break, being one of the first people cast in Dirty Sexy Money then seeing stars Donald Sutherland and the late, great Jill Clayburgh added. But the show was caught up in the writers strike, airing only 10 episodes in its first season. When the show finally returned, it was cancelled after its second season.
Following the cancellation of Dirty Sexy Money in 2009, Natalie offered more of an eyeful, or a mouthful, during a four-episode run on Showtime’s Hung, showing her little titties in a bathroom sex scene with star Thomas Jane. It is calculated cable sex, with the small-breasted guest star going semi-topless to sex up her image while sparing the regulars from showing much. While Natalie’s exposure is brief, it’s still worth checking out.
In 2010, Natalie was cast in a recurring role as a cool but cold-hearted assistant on D.A. on The Defenders on CBS with Jim Belushi and Jerry O’Connell. But the more interesting choice turned out to be another FX show, Justified, where her character juggles her attraction to two men who cut corners in different ways, plus her desire for stability and the outward appearance of respectability.
The part was difficult for all concerned, because the character of Winona is only mentioned in passing in the Elmore Leonard stories that provide the starting point for Justified. The scripts hardly included Zea in some early episodes, and when FX allowed her to do The Defenders it looked like her character was history.
“About halfway through I actually assumed I would be let go,” Natalie told Alan Sepinwall. “So I approached the producers and said, “Listen, I understand if you’re done, can I go ahead and go now because it’s pilot season?” And they said, “Absolutely not.”
During the show’s hiatus, Natalie talked to Olyphant, who serves as executive producer, to make sure she would feature prominently in season two. Their divorced characters got back in the sack, which practical Natalie noted guaranteed her more screen time.
Zea told the Kansas City Star that she could appreciate the situation. Her chiropractor parents split up when she was only 2, but “had a really interesting relationship after that,” she said. “I always felt that there were some very, very fond feelings there and sometimes were perhaps even acted upon. They took a trip to the Virgin Islands to celebrate their divorce.”
It was widely speculated that Zea and former Passions co-star Travis Schuldt began dating after they had both left the show in 2002 and that they were engaged by early 2007. However, when asked in interviews Zea denied the engagement. They did not marry, but began celebrating the “anniversary” of when they bought a house together. Little Natalie entertained Esquire readers by posing there in her own lingerie as part of the “Me in My Place” series. Of course, Natalie accompanied that by saying she’s not much into lingerie. On the other hand, she described her thin legs as “a big deal.” And her other quotes also played to the readers.
“I’m not a big bra girl at all,” Natalie said, and there’s no reason for her to be. Zea expressed relief that “I’m finally on a show that’s on cable, where I’m allowed to not wear a bra and I’m very happy about that. I’ve always been fighting for braless, so much so to the point where the networks asked the standards and practices to call up producers and be like, “You have got to get that broad to wear a bra, because we’re having to airbrush out her nipples.” Because nipples are awful. I mean, god forbid!”
Nipply Natalie said her house is too cold much of the year, but in the summer she sleeps naked.
Natalie Zea played Gwen Hotchkiss No. 2 on NBC’s popular daytime drama Passions prior to landing the role of Karen Darling on ABC’s Dirty Sexy Money in 2007. She’s also guest starred on shows like CSI and Without a Trace, and had recurring roles onThe Shield and Eyes.
Birthday:
Nickname:
Natalie, Nat
Birthname:
Natalie Zea
Hometown:
Harris County, TX
Assets:
Looks amazing in a corset (see ”Dirty Sexy Money” Episode 2)
Vices:
Her money is sexy, but dirty
Sign:
Height:
Job:
Actress
Hobbies:
Working, Eating Hummus (when not working)
Ethnicity:
Country of Origin:
Celebrity Pictures 
