Sarah Goldberg, who grew up in Chicago, was a biology major in college who was considering medical school when she broke into movies as an extra.
She settled into a career as a TV and film actress and, often performing as Sarah Danielle Madison, landed roles in the TV series “7th Heaven,” “Judging Amy” and “90210.” Her movie appearances included “Training Day” and “Jurassic Park III.”
Ms. Goldberg, 40, died Saturday, Sept. 27, in her family’s Wisconsin vacation home, possibly of a previously unknown heart problem, according to her mother, Judy.
Ms. Goldberg had enjoyed performing — and the accompanying applause —as a youngster, playing a bumblebee and other roles as a young dancer in the late Maria Tallchief’s annual productions of “Cinderella.” But she never did any acting in high school or college, where she focused on sports as a volleyball player.
She was back home in Chicago working after college when her mother’s linen company was hired to set up a wedding scene for a movie being shot at the Cuneo Mansion in Vernon Hills. On impulse, Ms. Goldberg decided to go along, her mother said.
“We were doing linens for ‘My Best Friend’s Wedding,’ with Julia Roberts, and Sarah joined the chair-covering crew,” her mother said. “She hung around to watch the filming, and someone connected with the movie asked her if she had a purple formal.
“She said she could get one and they made her an extra in the wedding, and after that the bug really bit her.”
Ms. Goldberg was born in Springfield, where her father was an attorney in the administration of then-Gov. Dan Walker. The family moved back to Chicago, and she attended the Latin School of Chicago, where she played varsity volleyball in high school.
She continued to play volleyball at Amherst College in Massachusetts and earned a bachelor’s degree in biology. She returned to Chicago after college and was considering options, including medical school, before her close-up look at moviemaking.
“She was trying to figure out what to do,” her mother said, but that changed after her stint as an extra.
Ms. Goldberg soon moved to Santa Monica, Calif., to pursue an acting career. Although she had no formal training, she had a presence that eventually led to parts in commercials and TV shows.
Instead of becoming a doctor, her mother noted, she played one on TV.
Away from acting, Ms. Goldberg loved outdoor sports, including sailing, canoeing and water skiing.
“She was a girl who went out to Hollywood and followed her dream,” Judy Goldberg said.
She is also survived by her father, Bill, and a brother, Bradley.
Services were held.
