Tina Holmes grew up in New York City and Connecticut. An Ivy League girl, she attended Yale University for two years followed by a move to Paris, France studying French literature at the Sorbonne. After returning to the U.S., Holmes entered Brown University where she earned her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Comparative Literature. After graduating from Brown, Holmes returned to Paris to serve as a research assistant on a documentary on famed novelist, poet, and playwright Jean Genet. She also spent time at the Federal University of Pernambuco in Brazil.
Holmes began her film acting career with Edge of Seventeen (1998) in 1998 playing the starring role of Maggie. She followed that with 30 Days (1999) in 1999 and Prince of Central Park (2000) in 2000. She has been featured in several present day television series such as 24 (2001), Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999), Invasion (2005), CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000), Third Watch (1999) and in a recurring role as Maggie Sibley on the HBO original series, Six Feet Under (2001) during the fifth and final season.