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Holly Marie Combs Profile |
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Birth Date: December 3, 1973
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Birth Place: San Diego, California, USA
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Birth Name: Holly Marie Combs
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Height: 5'3"
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Biography |
Holly Marie Combs was born December 3, 1973, in San Diego,
California. At the time of her birth, her 15-year-old mother
and 17-year-old father quit school to marry, only to divorce
two years later. At the age of 8, Holly Marie moved to New
York City with her mother, Lauralei, who had hopes of being
an actress and a singer. Soon Holly Marie was appearing in
print and television ads, so when her new stepfather moved
into their cramped studio apartment when she was 12, he had
two aspiring actresses on his hands.
Holly Marie became increasingly committed to her pursuits,
and gained her Screen Actors Guild card for her minor role
in 1985's Walls of Glass, which also featured her mother.
Small roles gradually came along, most notably 1988's Sweet
Hearts Dance, in which she played the on-screen daughter of
Don Johnson and Susan Sarandon, and a part in Oliver Stone's
Born on the Fourth of July, starring Tom Cruise. Despite
indications of great things to come, Holly Marie would not
go on to find her greatest success on the silver screen.
By all accounts, Combs' big breakthrough was her role as
Kimberly Brock on CBS's Picket Fences, from 1992 to 1996.
The story of her audition illustrates Holly Marie's gutsy
attitude. Star producer David E. Kelley (the man behind
shows like Ally McBeal and The Practice) told her that she
did not have "a big enough heart" to play Kimberly. Having
just come off the subway, Holly Marie replied, "if you're
looking for someone with a big heart, what the hell are you
doing in New York?" Two weeks later, she got the job.
Her Picket Fences character, Kimberly Brock, was admired for
being an earnest teen; the role won Holly Marie a Young
Actors Award for Best Young Actress in a New Television
Series in 1993 and no doubt influenced her being cast in a
string of films and TV movies during her Picket Fences
tenure. Between 1992 and 1996, she appeared in small-budget
films like Simple Men, Dr. Giggles, Chain of Desire, A
Reason to Believe, and, on television, in A Perfect Stranger
and Sins of Silence.
Coinciding with her uncommonly mature career management
skills was a marriage that Holly Marie has since
characterized as somewhat youthfully idealistic and naïve.
In 1993, she met and dated actor Bryan Smith, and the two
eloped in Las Vegas a short while later. The marriage lasted
four years.
Despite the ups and downs of her love life (she was also
engaged to Storm Lyndon, but they broke up before heading to
the altar), her career was on the steady up-and-up. It was
best friend Shannen Doherty who effectively brought Holly
Marie to Charmed, a new series about three young witch
sisters, in 1998. Many scoffed at the premise but the show
has proven itself, now in its fifth very successful season.
(In 2000, Doherty left and was replaced by Rose McGowan.)
The popularity of the WB's Charmed has cemented Combs'
success and reputation. It has also brought her an
impressive cash flow (she reportedly earns $60,000 an
episode) and the inspiration to expand her talents beyond
acting, as she signed on as producer in 2002. She also made
a cameo appearance in 2001's Ocean's Eleven, in the scene
where Brad Pitt's character teaches young celebs to play
poker.
Outside her acting career, Combs has become an active
supporter of Thursday's Child, a charity for teenage
runaways, and a spokesperson for breast cancer awareness.
She lives in the three-bedroom Spanish-style house in the
San Fernando Valley that she used to share with boyfriend
David W. Donoho (a key grip on Charmed; they have since
broken up), only now her roommates are limited to her 17
pets. She is an avid horseback rider and a gardening
enthusiast, and she drives a pickup truck. So yes, she's
pretty much your average gorgeous, animal-hoarding,
heartbreaking, Hollywood-defying witch. |
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Other
Information |
She (along with actresses Tangi Miller and Alyson Hannigan)
is a spokesperson for breast cancer, and will appear in a
new four page brochure (to be featured in Vogue, Glamour,
Self, Mademoiselle, and Women's Sports and Fitness) to raise
awareness about the disease. [May 2000]
Education: Professional Children's School N.Y. Coached by
the great Ernie Martin
Daughter of Lauralei Combs.
Hobbies include gardening and horseback riding.
Pets: 3 horses - Jake, Jezebel and Jesse. 4 fish - all
un-named. 4 birds - only two of which are named, Lollie and
Flower. 5 dogs - Travis, Hugo, Sugar, Thunder, and Lola. 2
Cats - Blue and Selena. 2 rabbits - Thumper and Jack. The
cats and rabbits are the only pets that live indoors.
Was engaged to Storm Lyndon but they split up late in 2000.
Is on the board for 'Thursday's Child,' a charity for
teenage runaways
Was a bridesmaid at the wedding of Alyssa Milano. [1999]
#62 in FHM's 100 sexiest women countdown [2002]
#78 in Stuff magazines 103 sexiest women countdown [2003]
Married "Charmed" (1998) key grip David W. Donoho on
February 14, 2004
Sons, Finley Arthur Donoho, born 26 April 2004 and Riley
Edward Donoho, born on October 26, 2006.
Upon Shannen Doherty's departure from "Charmed" (1998),
Holly Marie Combs' character Piper became the oldest sister,
despite being the youngest of all four actresses who have
played Halliwell sisters in the series.
The scar in her eyebrow was caused by her walking into a
marble table when she was learning to walk.
Her mother had her when she was only 17.
Her favorite books include, 'The Garden of Eden' by Ernest
Hemingway and 'Practical Magic' by Alice Hoffman.
Enjoys Italian food, salami, bacon and cheeseburgers.
She is a huge Remy Zero fan. |
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