'CSI' Star's Mom Helps Keep Her Grounded

May 11, 2003 — -- Imagine what it's like to be the star of the moment — the red-hot redhead dubbed the "bombshell with brains" on television's No. 1 program.

Marg Helgenberger is living that dream, playing a sexy scientist on the hit show CSI. She has millions of fans. She's been named one of People magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People" and she graces the pages of no less than four glossy magazines just this month.

Now imagine being Marg's mother, Kay, maybe the proudest woman in Nebraska. "Oh, the whole family, the whole town, the whole community is very, very proud of her," she said.

Kay is loving every minute of her daughter's current success, though she takes no credit for it. But when you get to know Kay, you'll get a better idea of how Marg has managed to become so successful while still keeping her feet planted on the ground.

Marg, who grew up in the small, rural town of North Bend, Neb., recalls a simple, somewhat idyllic childhood. "It was a great place to grow up. Kids just kind of took off on their bikes and we returned when it was time to have dinner."

She was the second of three children born to Kay and Hugh Helgenberger. She has an older sister Ann, and a younger brother, Curt. Hugh worked in the local meatpacking plant and provided a solid middle-class life for his family. Kay was the school nurse, and the neighborhood's "mother hen." In fact, that was her nickname.

Marg remembers the Helgenberger home was always full. "It was a home [where] every friend of ours wanted to hang. It was the cool place to be, especially before, you know, Homecoming dances and prom night."

But Marg's mom was no pushover. As the school nurse, she never fell for her kids wanting to play sick and stay home from school. "I do recall coming to the nurse's office a couple of times with an upset stomach," Marg said, "and my mother uh, said, 'Eat some Saltine crackers and lie on the bed for 20 minutes!' " Then, it was back to class.

Marg grew into one of the prettiest girls in town and was heading for a career as a nurse, like her mother. But in her senior year of high school, she caught the acting bug, and that was it.