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Shannyn Sossamon Profile |
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Birth Date: October 3, 1978
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Birth Place: Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
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Birth Name: Shannon Marie Kahoolani Sossamon
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Height: 5'8"
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Biography |
The daughter of an Anglo-German father and a
Filipino-Hawaiian mother, Shannon Marie Kahoolani Sossamon
was born October 3, 1978, in Honolulu, Hawaii. At age three,
Shannon moved with her family to Reno, Nevada. In the
mid-1980s, Shannon's mother Sherry split up with her father,
Todd Lindberg, and remarried.
While in Reno, Shannon attended Galena High School, and
during those years spent much time dancing, often
competitively, while getting her first job as a receptionist
for her stepfather's car dealership.
In 1995, Shannon changed her name to "Shannyn," then moved
to Los Angeles to study dance the following year. She
attended Dance Unlimited, and during this time began to work
as a DJ in small local clubs. But the pay was hardly
spectacular. Sossamon made ends meet by working in
coffeehouses and a cigar-espresso store; she also worked
briefly as a telemarketer for a carpet cleaning service.
Living in LA, it was only a matter of time before Shannyn
the dancer became Shannyn the actress. She first appeared in
a Daft Punk music video as an extra, and would later move on
to videos for Goo Goo Dolls, Korn and Mick Jagger. Sossamon
made appearances in commercials for everything from
Oldsmobile and Kmart to Kodak and The Gap. But Sossamon's
big break came in 1999, when as a favor to a friend, she
helped out as a DJ (for about 30 minutes) at Gwyneth
Paltrow's birthday party. Francine Maisler, a casting
director whose credits include The Usual Suspects, spotted
Shannyn, but didn't approach her right away; Maisler got the
striking beauty's number from someone else at the party.
In a matter of months, Shannyn was cast as Jocelyn, opposite
Heath Ledger, in 2001's A Knight's Tale. Her parents, who
were worried about the lack of direction in her life so far,
were skeptical at first, but when they visited Shannyn on
set in Prague, they were impressed. Sossamon next appeared
alongside Josh Hartnett in 2002's romantic comedy, 40 Days
and 40 Nights. Bored with Hollywood and feeling somewhat
dejected, she considered giving up acting and worked for a
few months at a used record store.
Not long after, Sossamon was offered a part in The Rules of
Attraction, a satirical film about college life. Not having
to audition for the role of Lauren, a virgin who catches the
fancy of Dawson's Creek star James Van Der Beek, made "a
huge psychological difference," she says. Rules renewed her
interest in acting, and she is slated to appear with Heath
Ledger again in the upcoming horror movie, The Order (which
was called The Sin Eater before its release was delayed,
apparently in order to fix the special effects). She is also
slated to star in The Other Side of Simple with Vince Vaughn
and Don Cheadle, which is still in pre-production.
In the meantime, Shannyn continues to enjoy herself,
whatever her film career may hold. She still spends her time
dancing and DJing, as well as writing and taking pictures.
For the last few years, she's been seeing LA artist and DJ
Tex Salem, though Shannyn admits to being attracted to her
The Rules of Attraction co-star Eric Stoltz. |
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Other
Information |
Born in Hawaii but grew up in Nevada.
Was with her friend, who deejayed for Gwyneth Paltrow and
Jack Paltrow's joint birthday party in Hollywood, when
discovered by director of A Knight's Tale (2001). Was in
three commercials before being in the movies.
Stars in Mick Jagger's solo video "God Gave Me Everything"
(11/2001)
[May 29, 2003] Gave birth to her first son, Audio Science
Clayton
Ranked #55 in Stuff magazine's "102 Sexiest Women In The
World" (2002). |
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