Julianna Margulies Is Glad She Never Dated ER Love Interest George Clooney In Real Life

Long before Amal and George Clooney became one of Hollywood's most glamorous couples, George was known as the eternal bachelor and the hottest catch in Tinseltown. But one co-star who piqued his curiosity when she played his love interest onscreen managed to turn their mutual admiration into a decades-long friendship instead. Julianna Margulies played trauma nurse Carol Hathaway on NBC's mega-hit, "ER," from 1994 to 2000, while George played the dashing Dr. Doug Ross, her love interest. Margulies has never been shy about revealing she had a crush on her co-star and that the reason they had such great onscreen chemistry was because they had great chemistry offscreen, as well. However, she seems to have drawn the line at why they were never supposed to be a real-life couple. "He and I always joke that thank god nothing ever happened, because now we can remain friends for the rest of our lives," Margulies told the "Armchair Expert" podcast in 2021 (via People).

Margulies may have enjoyed her crush on George, but ultimately, she chose not to act on anything — and that ultimately worked in their favor. "You just want to have the crush keep going and going. And that's what worked," she added. "And also, he's just a super awesome human being, and I love him." Given that their friendship has endured for so long, she likely made the right choice. Margulies ended up leaving the show in 2000 to pursue a theater commitment, although she did return for the season finale in 2009.

Julianna Margulies addressed her feelings for George Clooney and their steamy onscreen chemistry in her 2021 memoir, "Sunshine Girl: An Unexpected Life." "That can't happen if you don't have a crush on each other, and with George and me, it was so organic. I was just supposed to be a guest star, number 39 on the call sheet. But he treated everyone the same." Margulies added that Clooney was incredibly sweet, kind to everyone on set, and a great mentor to her during her time on "ER." With Clooney, she felt "safe."

Eventually she found the right person for her when she met lawyer Keith Lieberthal in 2006. It was a whirlwind romance and six months in Margulies said she knew he was the "one" when she invited him to the premiere of "Snakes on a Plane." They married in November of 2007 and have one child, Kieran Lindsay Lieberthal.

In April 2026 Margulies attended the Chaplin Award Gala in New York City to help honor her one-time crush and co-star, Clooney. In her awards speech at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Margulies spoke about her love and admiration for Clooney ever since their first meeting on the set of "ER" and concluded by saying, "For the last thirty-two years, George and I have always had our correspondence begin and end the same way, "so Doug congratulations, you are so deserving of this honor and I am the lucky one to get to call you my friend, love, Carol."