A native New Yorker, Heather was born to European parents in the vibrant, multi-racial community of Flatbush, Brooklyn, where her family lived just down the street from Alice Walker and Lawrence Fishburne. Officially "discovered" by director P.J. Pesce in the auditorium of New York's Stuyvesant High School, Heather Juergensen was cast to co-star opposite Frank Vincent (The Sopranos, Goodfellas) in the award-winning independent film The Afterlife of Grandpa, but turned down subsequent acting opportunities to study Psychology at McGill University in Montreal and earn her BA. After graduating, she went on to pursue a career in advertising, and during her first week as a secretary at the J. Walter Thompson agency, Heather's boss -- unaware of her brief acting career -- told her to get out of advertising and be an actress. She did.

Now an actress, screenwriter and producer, Heather created the role of Helen Cooper in Kissing Jessica Stein which she also co-wrote and co-produced. The film won numerous audience awards as well as a Special Jury Award for Writing and Acting at the 2001 Los Angeles Film Festival, and was eventually distributed by Fox Searchlight to strong critical acclaim and enthusiastic audiences.

An accomplished writer, Heather has written screenplays or teleplays for Miramax, Warner Bros., ABC, VH-1 and CBS among others. Juergensen's first foray into writing for herself as an actress was her 1996 one-woman show Letters to Ben Stein, a imaginary tale of an epistolary romance with the celebrated actor/economist. Most recently she added "essayist" to her list of writing credits with her contribution to the Tarcher/Penguin book "The May Queen," a collection of essays exploring issues and experiences relevant to women in their thirties, available in bookstores Spring 2006. Heather's film work has been honored at the Chicago International Film Festival, the Miami International Film Festival, and the Indie Spirit Awards. Her acting credits range from the dark Irish character drama Red Roses and Petrol starring Malcolm McDowell to the family comedy Haunted Mansion starring Eddie Murphy. Heather also recently tried her hand at directing with The Suzy Prophecy, a short film she also wrote and stars in. A dark comedy about corporate isolation and ennui, it will soon be appearing at film festivals

Heather's next feature film is The Hammer, a boxing comedy starring Heather alongside Adam Carolla. The film (which she also produced) is having its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 26, 2007.