Television actress Taylor Cole

Taylor Cole is an ubiquitous presence on television, especially basic cable.

Her biggest TV roles have been as Erika Spalding, a surfing instructor who has a relationship with a surf shop owner, in "Summerland," which ran for one season on the old WB network,  and NBC's short-lived "The Event," as an assassin for for a covert organization.

But she's also played a hero as well as a villain - specifically, in NBC's "Heroes," as Rachel Mills, an embittered Marine who discovers that she has the power of teleportation.

Ms. Cole has had too many guest roles on TV hos to count, but recently her forte has been Hallmark TV movies, especially Christmas-themed films. She has recently played a newly created detective character, Ruby Herring, in what looks to be the first of several "Ruby Herring Mysteries" movies - Silent Witness, also on the Hallmark Channel.