Amy Carlson

Amy Carlson is an American actress whose career spans more than three decades, beginning with a background role in the 1986 film Lucas and evolving into prominent television work such as Another World, Third Watch, and Blue Bloods. Born on July 7, 1968 in Elmhurst, Illinois, she grew up in the nearby suburb of Glen Ellyn as the daughter of schoolteacher Barbara Jane Hultman and Robert Eugene Carlson, and she proudly traces her heritage to Swedish ancestors from Småland. After following her older sister to Knox College, Carlson graduated cum laude with a degree in East Asian Studies while heavily participating in the campus theater scene, directing Aunt Dan and Lemon and performing in classics like The School for Scandal. Post‑college, she honed her craft in Chicago, studying improv at the Harold ImprovOlympic and taking acting classes at The Actor’s Center, before moving to New York to take on the role of Josie Watts on the soap Another World in 1993. Her humanitarian spirit emerged during that period when she traveled with World Vision to post‑war Rwanda, an experience that informed her later advocacy. The late 1990s saw Carlson relocating to Los Angeles, where she guest‑starred on NYPD Blue, Law & Order and appeared in the TV movie If These Walls Could Talk Part 2. From 2000 to 2003 she portrayed Alex Taylor on the gritty series Third Watch, leading to her most recognized part as Deputy Commissioner Linda Reagan on Blue Bloods from 2010 until the character’s dramatic exit in 2017. Since then she has returned to indie filmmaking, co‑writing, directing, and starring in shorts such as The Letter, while also exploring music with her husband Syd Butler’s band Office Romance. Her recent television work includes recurring roles on The Society, The Village, and FBI: Most Wanted, confirming her continued relevance in the industry.