Biography: Lauren Bowles stars in "Watching Ellie" as Ellie’s (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) younger sister, Susan – not much of a stretch considering Bowles grew up as the real-life younger sister of series title star Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

"The big difference in our characters, however, is that in the show we are playing the opposite of our real selves," says Bowles. Susan is the more mature one, she’s married and very settled and pretty much has her act together, while Ellie is the one who is still searching in her life and really hasn’t figured it all out yet."

A graduate of the New York University Tisch School of the Arts, Bowles fell in love with acting after appearing in a junior-high production of "The Man Who Came to Dinner." She spent most of her summers thereafter in special theater programs – including one for high schoolers at Northwestern University. After receiving a bachelor of fine arts degree from NYU, she spent much of her post-graduate days as a struggling actress in Manhattan’s downtown theater scene, until she came to the West Coast to pursue her dream.

After landing in Los Angeles, Bowles became a member of the Neurotic Young Urbanites theater group with fellow NYU alumns, and she went on to write two plays for the group – one of which she is now adapting into a screenplay, "The Myth of More." In addition to her work on stage, she also landed guest-starring roles on such television shows as "Seinfeld," "The Single Guy," "Ally McBeal" and "Townies." She also had a role in the Disney film "George of the Jungle." Her other film credits include "Ghost World" (with Steve Buscemi) and "Highway Time."

As a native of Washington, D.C., Bowles now makes her home near the beach in Los Angeles, where she is pursuing her second passion -- decorating her apartment. A devotee of all things Martha Stewart, Bowles also has a passion for antiques. Her birthday is March 24.

Television Credits:
Watching Ellie as Susan Riggs-Reyer
Ally McBeal as Callie Horne in episode: "Pyramids on the Nile" (original airdate: 02/15/1999)
Seinfeld as Waitress in episode: "The Bookstore" (original airdate: 04/09/1998)
Seinfeld as Waitress in episode: "The Reverse Peephole" (original airdate: 01/15/1998)
Townies as Trisha in episode: "Pilot" (original airdate: 09/18/1996)