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Shawnee Smith Profile |
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Birth Date: July 3, 1970
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Birth Place: Orangeburg, South Carolina, USA
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Birth Name: Shawnee Smith
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Height: 5'3"
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Biography |
Shawnee Smith was born on July 3, 1970, in Orangeburg, South
Carolina. Shawnee’s family moved to California when she was
just a baby, and her parents divorced shortly after. Raised
by her mother, Shawnee spent her summers in South Carolina,
where she would participate in Fourth of July productions
put on by various local kids. Shawnee’s mom recognized her
daughter’s flair for performance early on, and began
accompanying the budding actress on a series of auditions
for commercials and print advertisements.
Shawnee made her professional debut in a McDonald’s ad, and
has essentially been working steadily ever since. In 1982,
Shawnee landed her first film role as a dancer in the
cinematic adaptation of Annie and immediately fell in love
with the frenetic atmosphere that one generally associates
with a movie shoot. Shawnee spent the next several years
balancing her schoolwork with appearances in movies and
television shows, popping up in such contemporary cult films
as 1986’s Iron Eagle and 1987’s Summer School (in which she
starred opposite fellow up-and-comers such as Courtney
Thorne-Smith and Kirstie Alley).
Shawnee landed her first starring role in the 1988 horror
remake of The Blob, alongside Entourage sensation Kevin
Dillon. The film became a minor cult classic and certainly
paved the way for Shawnee’s reputation as a horror chick.
Shawnee next appeared opposite the late John Candy in 1989’s
Who’s Harry Crumb?, and followed that up with a role in the
1990 remake of Desperate Hours (which starred Anthony
Hopkins and Mickey Rourke). Frustrated with the lack of
parts available to her, Shawnee briefly considered quitting
the industry, though it wasn’t long before she successfully
auditioned for two high-profile gigs.
In 1994, Shawnee found herself acting opposite folks like
Gary Sinise, Molly Ringwald and Rob Lowe in a six-hour
adaptation of Stephen King’s The Stand -- a role she won
after original star Diane Lane was forced to drop out due to
her pregnancy. The movie went on to become a huge success
when it aired on ABC and consequently raised Shawnee’s
profile exponentially. And although she took on a small but
memorable role in the 1995 Nicolas Cage flick Leaving Las
Vegas, Shawnee’s next several efforts were mostly of the
obscure and unknown variety (like 1996’s Face of Evil,
opposite former Growing Pains star Tracey Gold).
Fortunately for Shawnee, it wasn’t long before opportunity
came knocking once again -- this time in the form of a new
Ted Danson sitcom called Becker. The show, which premiered
in 1998 to instant success, cast Shawnee as a ditzy
character named Linda and eventually wound up running for
six seasons. It was also around that time that Shawnee met
her first husband, a photographer named Jason Reposar; the
two married that year and had a daughter shortly after.
Although the union didn’t last, Shawnee remarried and had a
second child.
Shawnee spent much of the early part of the new century
focused on her family and day-to-day sitcom work, though she
did take some time out to film a cameo appearance in 2004’s
Saw. She had less than five minutes worth of screen time,
but Shawnee’s sequence in Saw quickly became a favorite
among fans and it wasn’t long before she was asked to
reprise her role for the 2005 sequel. With the revelation
that her character had actually joined forces with Tobin
Bell’s villainous Jigsaw, Shawnee returned for the third
time for 2006’s Saw III. |
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Other
Information |
She still gets recognized by fans as "Meg Penny" from The
Blob (1988), and loves it.
Daughter, Verve (born 1999).
Gave birth to her second child. Son, Jakson Makana Smith
Mattoon was born on (12 December 2005) at 5:41.
Husband, Kai Mattoon, is lead singer for California based
metal band "Ka Mana".
She appeared in Armageddon (1998) and The Island (2005), in
both of which she acts in only one scene alongside Steve
Buscemi. |
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