# Anna Belknap
**Anna Belknap** (born 1972) is an American television and stage actress from Damariscotta, Maine, best known for playing Detective Lindsay Monroe on the CBS crime drama *CSI: NY* from 2005 to 2013[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1140817/). She began her career in theater and built an early television resume as a guest performer before holding series-regular roles on *The Handler*, *Medical Investigation*, and *CSI: NY*[2](https://www.ontvtonight.com/guide/cast/6764932/anna-belknap/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1972, Damariscotta, Maine, United States[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1140817/) |
| Signature role | Detective Lindsay Monroe on *CSI: NY*, seasons 2 through 9, 172 episodes (2005–2013)[3](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/18940/anna-belknap) |
| Other regular roles | Lily on *The Handler* (2003–04); Eva Rossi on *Medical Investigation* (2004–05)[4](https://www.nndb.com/people/914/000163425/) |
| Education | BA, Middlebury College; MFA in Acting, American Conservatory Theater[4](https://www.nndb.com/people/914/000163425/) |
| Stage honors | 2002 San Diego Theatre Critics Circle Craig Noel Award for Outstanding Performance as Marina in *Pericles*[5](https://www.philstar.com/entertainment/2008/06/29/70215/csi-ny-anna-belknap-gets-down-dirty/amp/) |
| Family | Married to writer and actor Eric Siegel; two children[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1140817/) |
## Training and early work
Belknap grew up in Damariscotta, a coastal town in Lincoln County, Maine, where she attended Lincoln Academy before studying theater at [Middlebury College](https://www.edgepedia.org/middlebury-college) and completing an MFA in Acting at the [American Conservatory Theater](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-conservatory-theater) in San Francisco[4](https://www.nndb.com/people/914/000163425/). Her first television appearance was a brief bit part on *Homicide: Life on the Street* in 1996; her mother described the role as lasting about 20 seconds[6](https://lcnme.com/currentnews/csiny-star-relaxes-at-home-for-the-holidays/). Stage work remained a foundation of her career: in 2002 she received the San Diego Theatre Critics Circle Craig Noel Award for Outstanding Performance for playing Marina in Shakespeare's *Pericles*, and she also appeared in *Metamorphoses*, citing rehearsal and live audiences as what she most missed when working in television[5](https://www.philstar.com/entertainment/2008/06/29/70215/csi-ny-anna-belknap-gets-down-dirty/amp/). In 1999 she played Jennifer Yaeger in a regional revival of the Rodgers and Sondheim musical *Do I Hear a Waltz?*[7](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Anna-Belknap/).
## Television career
Through the late 1990s and early 2000s Belknap worked steadily as a guest performer on popular series, including *Homicide: Life on the Street*, *Law & Order*, *Law & Order: Special Victims Unit*, and *Third Watch*, before her first series-regular jobs on two short-lived, one-season shows, *The Handler* (as Lily) and *Medical Investigation* (as Eva Rossi)[2](https://www.ontvtonight.com/guide/cast/6764932/anna-belknap/).
**Casting on CSI: NY.** After the first season of *CSI: NY*, producer [Vanessa Ferlito](https://www.edgepedia.org/vanessa-ferlito) (Aiden Burn) chose to leave the show. Showrunner Pam Veasey said the writers did not want a direct replacement but sought another woman on the team with a different point of view, which produced the Montana-born character Lindsay Monroe, played by Belknap[8](https://www.csifiles.com/content/2013/06/interview-csi-ny-showrunner-pam-veasey-dissects-9-season-run/). [Hill Harper](https://www.edgepedia.org/hill-harper), who played Sheldon Hawkes, had worked with Belknap on *The Handler*, where both played undercover officers, and put in a recommendation for her before her casting was announced[9](https://www.csifiles.com/interviews/hill_harper.shtml).
Belknap played Lindsay Monroe for the remainder of the series, appearing in 172 episodes from 2005 through the final season in 2013[3](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/18940/anna-belknap). The character, a Midwestern transplant carrying emotional scars from a mass murder she survived, was described in press material as giving Belknap's scenes a tense undercurrent alongside the character's vulnerability[2](https://www.ontvtonight.com/guide/cast/6764932/anna-belknap/). In the story, the character married her colleague Danny Messer, played by [Carmine Giovinazzo](https://www.edgepedia.org/carmine-giovinazzo)[10](https://www.paramountplus.com/br/shows/csi-ny/).
**Guest roles after CSI: NY.** After the series ended, Belknap accumulated guest appearances across network dramas, including *Hawaii Five-0* (2015, as Amy Lange), *NCIS: Los Angeles* (2019, as a fake NCIS Special Agent Robin Ip), *Chicago Med* (2020, as Dr. Linda Strauss), *The Good Doctor* (2018, as Cora Denoble), and *Transparent* (2016, as Goldie Lipkind)[3](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/18940/anna-belknap). She has played three characters across the *Law & Order* franchise: Jessica Buehl in season 9 of the flagship series (1999), Sarah Kimmel in season 2 of *Special Victims Unit* (2001), and Ginny McCann in season 24 of *Special Victims Unit* in 2022, in an episode involving the adoptive parents of [Olivia Benson](https://www.edgepedia.org/olivia-benson)'s son Noah's half-brother[11](https://www.looper.com/1137469/which-characters-has-anna-belknap-played-on-law-order/).
## Film and other work
Her film credits are few. In 2005, the same year she joined *CSI: NY*, she played Marissa in *Alchemy*, a romantic comedy directed by Evan Oppenheimer; the picture received a favorable *Variety* review but had extremely limited theatrical distribution and went almost straight to video[2](https://www.ontvtonight.com/guide/cast/6764932/anna-belknap/). She later appeared in the 2015 film *No Way Jose* as Kate[3](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/18940/anna-belknap).
## Personal life
Belknap is married to Eric Siegel, a writer and actor; IMDb records the marriage date as 31 August 2003, and the couple have two children, Olive and George[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1140817/). During the *CSI: NY* years she periodically returned to Damariscotta, telling her hometown newspaper that the show's move to Friday nights was not ideal for ratings but was more convenient for viewers in Maine[6](https://lcnme.com/currentnews/csiny-star-relaxes-at-home-for-the-holidays/).
## References
1. [Anna Belknap, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1140817/)
2. [Anna Belknap biography and credits, On TV Tonight](https://www.ontvtonight.com/guide/cast/6764932/anna-belknap/)
3. [Anna Belknap, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/18940/anna-belknap)
4. [Anna Belknap, NNDB](https://www.nndb.com/people/914/000163425/)
5. [CSI: NY Anna Belknap gets down dirty, The Philippine Star (2008)](https://www.philstar.com/entertainment/2008/06/29/70215/csi-ny-anna-belknap-gets-down-dirty/amp/)
6. [CSI:NY Star Relaxes At Home For The Holidays, The Lincoln County News (2011)](https://lcnme.com/currentnews/csiny-star-relaxes-at-home-for-the-holidays/)
7. [Anna Belknap stage credits, BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Anna-Belknap/)
8. [Interview: 'CSI: NY' Showrunner Pam Veasey Dissects 9-Season Run, CSI Files (2013)](https://www.csifiles.com/content/2013/06/interview-csi-ny-showrunner-pam-veasey-dissects-9-season-run/)
9. [Interview with Hill Harper, CSI Files (2005)](https://www.csifiles.com/interviews/hill_harper.shtml)
10. [CSI: NY, Paramount+](https://www.paramountplus.com/br/shows/csi-ny/)
11. [Which Characters Has Anna Belknap Played On Law & Order?, Looper (2022)](https://www.looper.com/1137469/which-characters-has-anna-belknap-played-on-law-order/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 2000s onward › Surnames Be to Bl*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 19, 2026; Sep 20, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 20, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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