Lauren German stars as Leslie Shay, the skilled, dedicated paramedic who, along with her partner, faces harrowing situations, in NBC's drama "Chicago Fire."
Born and raised in Orange County, California, German grew up with a passion for theater and acting. German attended The School of Theater at the Orange County High School of the Arts and went on to study the craft at the University of Southern California. In her first work on stage, German played the lead roles in the GLACT productions of both "Peter Pan" and "Oliver."
German's breakout role was in the 2002 hit "A Walk to Remember," directed by Adam Shankman, where she starred alongside Mandy Moore and Shane West. She followed this up with Gale Kate Jr.'s "A Midsummer Night's Rave," which was an adaptation of William Shakespeare's play. Her other big screen credits include the post-apocalyptic thriller "The Divide," "The Dark Country" alongside the film's director and co-star, Thomas Jane, Eli Roth's "Hostel II," where she played the female lead and also performed her own stunts, the remake of the famous horror film "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre," Daryl Goldberg's independent comedy "Made for Each Other," Rodger Grossman's biopic "What We Do Is Secret," chronicling punk legend Darby Crash, where she worked opposite Shane West and Bijou Phillips, and "Spin," a romantic comedy written and directed by Henry Pincus.
Her television credits include series regular roles on "Hawaii Five-O" and "Happy Town." She has also guest starred in "Memphis Beat," "Human Target," "7th Heaven" and "Sex, Love and Secrets."
German currently resides in Los Angeles.
The no-nonsense veteran paramedic of Station 51, Shay is a loyal, invested friend - and an unwavering crutch, dispensing advice as easily as she does medical assistance.
Like her male counterpart, Severide, Shay also prefers to keep her romantic relationships on a more casual tip, but her philosophy on dating hardly disguises the emotional scars left behind by her ex-girlfriend.
However sticky life outside work becomes for Shay, she's able to check it at the door, ensuring her position as a skilled and dependable member of the team.
