On "ER" (1994) episode #2.21, "ER: Take These Broken Wings (#2.21)" (1996), Karen Hines, the character she played, wears a Northwestern University pullover.

Middle of 3 children. Her older sister is Ann Helgenberger (jazz musician) and her younger brother is Curt Helgenberger (a meat inspector).

Daughter of Hugh Helgenberger, who was a meat inspector, and Kay Helgenberger, who was a nurse. Marj originally wanted to be a nurse like her mother.

Her hometown of North Bend, Nebraska named a local street after her called Helgenberger Avenue.

Meet husband Alan in 1984 and they started dating in 1986.

Her mother, Kay, is an Irish American and her father, Hugh, was a German American.

Sister-in-law of Mark Rosenberg and Paula Weinstein.

Had a plane scare while attempting to fly from Dallas, Texas to Omaha, Nebraska. The pilot aborted take-off after the plane blew two tires. Marg eventually made it to Omaha. [October 20, 2005]

Six years before the premiere of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (2000), she and Gary Dourdan starred together in an unsuccessful TV series pilot called Keys (1994) (TV).

Her Hollywood home once belonged to silent movie star William S. Hart

Got her start as a local news weather girl in her native Nebraska. The news producer felt her name was too long and made her change it to Margi McCarty. This was her night job. Her day job was as a meat boner at the meat packing plant where her father was a meat inspector.

Has a son: Hugh Howard Rosenberg; born Oct 21, 1990 and named after Marg`s father, who died in 1986 of complications from Multiple Sclerosis.

Earned a B.S. degree from the School of Speech (now the School of Communications) at Northwestern University (Evanston, Illinois).