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Erika Christensen Profile |
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Birth Date: August 19, 1982
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Birth Place: Seattle, Washington, USA
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Birth Name: Erika Christensen
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Height: 5'5"
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Biography |
Erika Christensen was born in Seattle on August 19, 1982,
and raised in the suburbs of Los Angeles. During her
childhood, she was heavily involved in singing, dancing and
acting while working in theater groups like the Serendipity
Theatre Company and Pasadena Dance Theatre, and by the age
of 12, she decided to become a professional actress.
Her first professional gig was a commercial for McDonald's,
followed by a part in the video for Michael Jackson's song
"Childhood." Despite minor accomplishments in dancing and
singing (she also sang back-up vocals on Neil Diamond's The
Christmas Album II), Christensen stuck to her plan and made
her film debut in the 1997 big-screen version of Leave It to
Beaver.
Her role as Wally Cleaver's girlfriend Karen was attention
grabbing, and many television guest spots soon followed.
Some shows she appeared in between 1996 and 2001 include
Frasier, The Practice, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Touched by an
Angel, and Nothing Sacred, for which she was nominated for a
Young Star Award in 1998. She capped off this period with a
made-for-TV feature, the Disney vehicle Can of Worms.
A young, rising star, Christensen would soon have a rare
opportunity to display her talents among other very
well-established stars. Apparently, one reading was all it
took to convince Traffic director Steven Soderbergh that she
was perfect for the part of a drug-addicted teen.
Convincing Erika's parents was another story, as the role
made tough demands involving drugs and sex. After meeting
with the director and realizing the professionalism he would
bring, as well as the importance of the story in a social
and political sense, Mr. and Mrs. Christensen approved.
Erika's role in Traffic was, for many, the cornerstone of
the entire film, which won four Academy Awards. Though the
film is a detailed look at the drug trade, she is the only
drug addict actually depicted in it. Her convincing downward
spiral as a private schoolgirl-turned-junkie was performed
with authority, and it won Christensen awards such as Best
Breakthrough Female Performance at the MTV Movie Awards,
Female Standout Performance at the Young Hollywood Awards,
and a part in the Outstanding Performance by a Cast trophy
at the Screen Actors Guild Awards.
After the gritty drama of Traffic, Erika was happy to relax
and contribute to The Geena Davis Show's 2001 season. Of
course, she wasn't given that much of a break, as she was
soon called upon for the starring role in 2002's Swimfan
(a.k.a. Swimf@n)
Something of a teenage Fatal Attraction, Swimfan had
Christensen playing a young, obsessed, quasi-psychotic high
school girl. She followed it up with a fine performance in
lighter fare like The Banger Sisters, with Susan Sarandon
and Goldie Hawn, and returned to drama with Home Room, in
which she played the survivor of a high school shooting
spree. For the latter, she met with actual shooting victims,
in the same way that she had visited rehabilitation centers
to research her role in Traffic.
Erika's next film, The Perfect Score, about a group of
students who go to illegal lengths to get the answers to the
SATs, is due out September 2003. She still lives in Los
Angeles and is a dedicated member of the Church of
Scientology. She is single, and claims to not have time for
boyfriends. |
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Other
Information |
Named one of People Magazine's 'Breakthrough Stars of 2001'.
She is a talented singer.
She has had to research several movie roles in which her
characters experience various aspects of school life; this
is because Erika never went to public school, but was
tutored at home by her parents. Also, unlike her Swimfan
(2002) villain "Madison Bell," she is a superb real-life
swimmer.
Elder sister of Dane Christensen and his twin brother
Brando.
She attended Delphi Academy, a private primary and secondary
school in Los Angeles that is run according to the
philosophies of L. Ron Hubbard and the religion he created,
Scientology. To research her role in _Traffic_ , Christensen
also consulted Narconon, a chain of drug rehab centers run
by the Church of Scientology. |
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