# Diane Farr
**Diane Farr** (born 1969) is an American actress, writer, producer, and director known for television roles including FBI agent Megan Reeves in *Numb3rs*, firefighter Laura Miles in *Rescue Me*, and Cal Fire division chief Sharon Leone in *Fire Country*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0268007/bio/) She was also a host for 200 episodes of MTV's advice program *Loveline* and has published two books.[2](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-entertainment/talent/?view=diane-farr-2)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1969, Manhattan, New York City[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0268007/bio/) |
| Signature roles | Amy DeLuca in *Roswell* (1999), Jan Fendrich in *The Job* (2001), Laura Miles in *Rescue Me* (2004), Megan Reeves in *Numb3rs* (2005), Sharon Leone in *Fire Country* (2022)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0268007/bio/) |
| Hosting | 200 episodes as a late-night talk show host on MTV's *Loveline*[2](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-entertainment/talent/?view=diane-farr-2) |
| Books | *The Girl Code* (2001), translated into seven languages; *Kissing Outside the Lines* (2011), a memoir of her interracial marriage[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0268007/bio/) |
| Education | Joint B.A. in theater from Stony Brook University and Loughborough University, England[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0268007/bio/) |
| Pageant title | Crowned Miss New York at age 19, the youngest woman to hold the title at that time[3](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/diane-farr/bio/3030173362/) |
| Current series role | Sharon Leone in CBS's *Fire Country* since 2022, 77 episodes through season 5, with two directing credits on the show[4](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/14390/diane-farr) • [2](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-entertainment/talent/?view=diane-farr-2) |
## Early life and education
Farr was born in Manhattan to a family of Irish and Italian descent.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0268007/bio/) She modeled as an adolescent, starting at age 12, and while a freshman at [Stony Brook University](https://www.edgepedia.org/stony-brook-university) she was crowned Miss New York at 19, the youngest woman to hold the title at that time.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/diane_farr) • [3](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/diane-farr/bio/3030173362/) She studied theater arts at Stony Brook, then won a scholarship to the drama program at [Loughborough University](https://www.edgepedia.org/loughborough-university) in [Leicestershire](https://www.edgepedia.org/leicestershire), England, where she studied classical theater, and graduated with a joint bachelor of arts from the two universities.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0268007/bio/)
Her birth year is reported inconsistently: most current databases, including IMDb, TV Guide, and Rotten Tomatoes, give 1969,[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0268007/bio/) • [3](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/diane-farr/bio/3030173362/) • [5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/diane_farr) while an Encyclopedia.com profile compiled earlier in her career gives 1973.[6](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/farr-diane-1973)
## Television career
Farr began acting in the early 1990s with small parts on shows such as *Silk Stalkings* and *Fired Up*, but did not receive a major role until 1999.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/diane_farr) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0268007/bio/) That year she took two recurring parts: Lola Simenon on *Law & Order: Special Victims Unit* and Amy DeLuca, mother of [Majandra Delfino](https://www.edgepedia.org/majandra-delfino)'s character Maria, on The WB's science-fiction series *Roswell*.[4](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/14390/diane-farr) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0268007/bio/)
**Series regular roles.** Farr played police detective Jan Fendrich on the ABC comedy *The Job*, co-created by and starring [Denis Leary](https://www.edgepedia.org/denis-leary), and Maddie Hudson on The WB sitcom *Like Family* (2003).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0268007/bio/) When *The Job* ended, she followed Leary to his FX comedy-drama *Rescue Me*, playing firefighter Laura Miles for two seasons.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0268007/bio/) She then left *Rescue Me* to star as FBI agent Megan Reeves on the CBS crime drama *Numb3rs*, appearing in 60 episodes.[4](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/14390/diane-farr) In a 2008 [TV Guide](https://www.edgepedia.org/tv-guide) interview she discussed the exit alongside her pregnancy with twins, which would give her three children under two years old.[7](https://www.tvguide.com/news/diane-farr-dishes-7767/)
**Guest and recurring work.** Through the 2010s she appeared in a long run of one-off and recurring parts: Jill Robinson on *Californication* (2009), Barbara Orlofsky on *Desperate Housewives* (2010), Gina De Stefano on *White Collar*, a [Huntington's disease](https://www.edgepedia.org/huntingtons-disease) patient on *Grey's Anatomy*, and Miranda, a terminal cancer patient, in the final season of *[Private Practice](https://www.edgepedia.org/private-practice-tv-series)*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0268007/bio/) • [8](https://www.metacritic.com/person/diane-farr/) Later credits include Christina in the Hulu thriller *Chance* (2016), Maya in the ABC sitcom *Splitting Up Together* (2018), and Francesca Jameson in *Charmed* (2021 episodes).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0268007/bio/) Metacritic counts 41 television appearances for her, with an average career score of 63 and a high of 87 for *Modern Family*.[8](https://www.metacritic.com/person/diane-farr/)
**Fire Country.** Since 2022 Farr has starred as Sharon Leone, Cal Fire division chief and mother of lead character Bode Donovan, in [Jerry Bruckheimer](https://www.edgepedia.org/jerry-bruckheimer)'s CBS drama *Fire Country*, and she has directed two episodes of the series.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0268007/bio/) • [2](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-entertainment/talent/?view=diane-farr-2) She has played the role for five seasons and 77 episodes through the 2026 season.[4](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/14390/diane-farr) She has described directing as a shift in perspective, saying that as an actor she worries about character, as a writer about the arc, and as a director about making the story visually interesting; she has also said she lost her voice from anxiety during her first directing stint.[9](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/diane-farr-reveals-she-lost-020000173.html) Her character anchors the 2025 spinoff *Sheriff Country*, in which [Morena Baccarin](https://www.edgepedia.org/morena-baccarin) plays Mickey Fox, Sharon Leone's estranged stepsister and Edgewater's interim sheriff.[10](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/sheriff-country-is-about-to-be-your-new-cbs-obsession/)
## Writing and other work
Farr was a supporting host on MTV's *Loveline*, the frank sex-advice talk show, for 200 episodes.[2](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-entertainment/talent/?view=diane-farr-2) • [5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/diane_farr) Her first book, *The Girl Code: The Secret Language of Single Women*, was released on [Valentine's Day](https://www.edgepedia.org/valentines-day) 2001 and has been translated into seven languages.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0268007/bio/) • [2](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-entertainment/talent/?view=diane-farr-2) Her second, *Kissing Outside the Lines* (2011), is a memoir of her path to an interracial marriage with Korean-American marketing executive Seung Yong Chung, whom she married on June 24, 2006; the couple later divorced and have three children.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0268007/bio/) Publishers Weekly described the book as her account of discovering that an allegedly post-racial society was not what she expected when her now-husband's parents opposed the marriage.[11](https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/authorpage/diane-farr.html)
She has written for magazines including *Glamour*, *Esquire*, *Maxim*, and *Cosmopolitan*, has an internationally syndicated newspaper column in the *International Herald Tribune*, and took over [Dave Barry](https://www.edgepedia.org/dave-barry)'s Pulitzer Prize-winning column, writing a monthly piece on pop culture and politics in 300 English-language newspapers for 12 years.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0268007/bio/) • [2](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-entertainment/talent/?view=diane-farr-2) She co-founded and operates a greeting card company, founded otherannouncements.com, and has sold seven TV series to cable and network television, some based on her books.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0268007/bio/) • [6](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/farr-diane-1973) • [2](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-entertainment/talent/?view=diane-farr-2) She also produced the HBO documentary *Children of God: Lost and Found*, about children who escaped an apocalyptic cult.[2](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-entertainment/talent/?view=diane-farr-2)
## Film
Farr's film work has been mostly in independent features. Rotten Tomatoes lists her highest-rated film as *Wildlike* (2014) at 93 percent and her lowest as *Cherry* (2012) at 14 percent; other credits include *Road Hard* (2015), *12 Feet Deep* (2016), and *Palm Swings* (2017).[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/diane_farr) • [2](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-entertainment/talent/?view=diane-farr-2)
## References
1. [Diane Farr Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0268007/bio/)
2. [Diane Farr bio, Paramount Press Express, CBS Entertainment](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-entertainment/talent/?view=diane-farr-2)
3. [Diane Farr Biography, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/diane-farr/bio/3030173362/)
4. [Diane Farr, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/14390/diane-farr)
5. [Diane Farr, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/diane_farr)
6. [Farr, Diane, Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/farr-diane-1973)
7. [Diane Farr Dishes on Her Numbers Exit, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/news/diane-farr-dishes-7767/)
8. [Diane Farr, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/person/diane-farr/)
9. [Diane Farr Reveals She Lost Her Voice Due to Anxiety While Directing 'Fire Country', Yahoo Entertainment](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/diane-farr-reveals-she-lost-020000173.html)
10. ['Sheriff Country' Is About to Be Your New CBS Obsession, The Daily Beast](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/sheriff-country-is-about-to-be-your-new-cbs-obsession/)
11. [Books by Diane Farr and Complete Book Reviews, Publishers Weekly](https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/authorpage/diane-farr.html)
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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 F*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license