How they got their start: Roma Maffia

On shows like Profiler, Nip/Tuck, Boston Legal, Chicago Hope and Pretty Little Liars, Roma Maffia brought riveting characters to life, from doctors to cops to judges. She turned so many heads in early TV work in the 1980s on shows like The Equalizer and movies like Married to the Mob, Hollywood couldn't ignore her talent as a character actor, and she soon shot to bigger roles in the 1990s in movies like Kiss the Girls, Double Jeopardy, Eraser and Nick of Time.

But the very beginning of her career found her cast in bit parts in cult films like Stuck on You! and Smithereens, showing up as someone's sister or hired help. On TV, her first role came in 1985 on The Equalizer, where she played a prostitute named Sindee across two episodes. Her next biggest role would come in 1994 when she was cast in The Paper alongside stars like Robert Duvall, Glenn Close, Michael Keaton, Marisa Tomei and Jason Alexander. That same year, she also shared the screen with Michael Douglas and Demi Moore and what is still regarded as one of her highest-profile roles yet, appearing as an attorney in Disclosure. 

Two years later, she'd join the cast of Profiler as Grace Alvarez, a forensic specialist who joined Sam Waters' team in the show's very first episode and remained a popular character through the show's end. Most recently, she appeared in an episode of Bull as the principle guest star in "Witness for the Prosecution," portraying a notorious drug dealer and murderer, which just goes to show, Maffia's not averse to putting down the badge or gavel to flex her dramatic muscles to shine in any role.