Catherine Dent is arresting audiences as 'Officer Danny Sofer' in The Shield, playing a single woman in a world that understands brutality more than beauty. Born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and trained at the North Carolina School of the performing Arts, Dent made her film debut in 1994, playing Paul Newman's daughter-in-law in Robert Benton's film Nobody's Fool. Since then she has appeared in a number of features, co-starring opposite Greg Kinnear, in Paul Schrader's recent release Auto Focus, starring opposite 'Jean Claude Van Damme' in Replicant, playing Ashley Judd's sister in Tony Goldwyn's romantic comedy _Someone Like You (2001)_ , and appearing with Jim Carrey in Frank Darabont's The Majestic. Her independent film credits include appearances in A Girl's Guide to Sex, Jaded, A New Game, The Debutant and Dangerous Proposition.

When she was based in New York, Dent appeared frequently on East-Coast based television shows including The Sopranos, Third Watch, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and New York Undercover. Since moving to Los Angeles, she has guest-starred on such series as Fraser, Dharma & Greg, The X-Files, The Pretender, Chicago Hope and The Invisible Man.

In addition to her starring role on the acclaimed drama series The Shield she also stars in the upcoming mini-series Steven Spielberg's _"Steven Spielberg Presents Taken" (2002) (mini)_ on the Sci-Fi Channel. Her theater credits include the title role in Baby Doll, Maggie in Cat On A Hot Tin Roof and roles in Bang The Drum Slowly and The Street of the Sun at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. In New York, she starred Off-Broadway in Amoeba Concerto and understudied for the Sofya and Yelena roles in Uncle Vanya on Broadway.

The recently wed Dent resides with her husband in their first home in Los Angeles.
Daughter of failed Louisiana gubernatorial candidate Fred C. Dent. Her mother is Eleanor Brown of Rhode Island Shares a birthday with Michael Caine, Mercedes McNab, Kylie Tyndall, Keaton Tyndall, Quincy Jones, Chris Klein, & Jamie Bell Her and husband Peter welcomed their first child, a baby boy, born on December 14th 2005 in Los Angeles. No name has been announced.