Jeanne Tripplehorn portrayed Agent Alex Blake, a linguistics expert for the BAU. Blake joined the team after longtime Unit Chief Emily Prentiss (Paget Brewster) left the FBI for other ventures. Before the BAU, Blake was a forensic linguistics professor at Georgetown, and actually had Dr. Spencer Reid as guest lecturer in one of her classes. Blake grew quite fond of Reid, and views him as her own son. In her last appearance, Blake revealed that her son, Ethan, tragically died of a neurological disease at age 9. With that, she left — leaving her badge, and the BAU, behind.
Thankfully, per TVLine, there was no drama behind Tripplehorn's 2014 departure. Showrunner Erica Messer explained that once Tripplehorn's contract was up, the actor was ready to go – with no fireworks. "Jeanne didn't want it to be a big deal and we felt like that was in line with Blake too. I think it makes sense given the character we've known for two years. She's not a splashy, loud character. She didn't come in with a bang — she was already part of the team when we meet her. She came in nicely and she left nicely." Tripplehorn's been pretty busy since leaving the BAU. She's had recurring roles on "The Gilded Age," a podcast series called "Exeter," and most recently, "The Terminal List" alongside Chris Pratt. According to her IMDb, Tripplehorn also starred as Eleanor Schlafly on "Mrs. America," and Beth Hollingsworth on "Undone."
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