The Lehigh Valley may not be known for producing A-list actors, but Bones star and Allentown native Michaela Conlin has always felt destined to perform. “My parents would have preferred for me to do something more stable,” laughs the 31-year-old. “But they say, ‘This is the only thing you’ve ever been interested in, so who are we to stand in your way?’” Conlin honed her acting chops at the esteemed American Academy of Dramatic Arts and the Atlantic Theater Company, and while earning her MFA at NYU, she landed her first TV job on Law & Order. (“I had to sneak out of class to shoot,” she recalls.) After graduating she moved to LA, quickly landing roles on MDs, The DA and JAG. Her stint on shows with acronym titles came to a halt when she landed the part of Angela Montenegro on Bones, Fox’s crime drama that recently celebrated its 100th episode. “Some days I think I’m just like [Angela], and other days I couldn’t be more unlike her,” Conlin says of her free-spirited character. “She has had many [partners], but she sees herself settling down with one person and knitting their socks. I think I have that element in me, too."
