Catherine E. Coulson

Catherine E. Coulson was an American actress whose work ranged from behind-the-scenes roles on independent films and studio features to stage and screen performances. She grew up in Southern California after being born in Elmhurst, Illinois, and studied at Scripps College and San Francisco State University. Coulson met David Lynch in 1971 and handled various production tasks during the four-year shoot of his low-budget classic Eraserhead (1977); she also appeared in his short The Amputee (1974) as a woman with no legs. Lynch later created the part of Margaret Lanterman, the Log Lady in Twin Peaks, which she played in twelve episodes and reprised in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me and the 2017 revival. On television she appeared in the Twin Peaks spoof episode Dual Spires of Psych and in Portlandia. Her stage work included the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and she appeared in Gary Lundgren's Calvin Marshall (2009) and Redwood Highway.