KERI RUSSELL

'Keri Lynn Russell' (born March 23, 1976) is a Golden Globe-winning American actress and dancer. After appearing in a number of made-for-television films and series during the mid-1990s, she came to fame for portraying the title role of Felicity Porter on the series ''Felicity'', which ran from 1998 to 2002. Russell has since appeared in several films, including ''We Were Soldiers'', ''The Upside of Anger'', '' and ''Waitress''.

Contents

Biography

Early life

Career

Personal life

Filmography

References

External links

Biography

Early life

Russell was born in Fountain Valley, California to David Russell, a Nissan Motors executive, and Stephanie (Stephens). She has an older brother, Todd, and a younger sister, Julie. Russell grew up in Dallas, Texas; Mesa, Arizona; and Denver, Colorado, moving frequently because of her father's job.

Career

Russell first appeared on television as a cast member of the ''New Mickey Mouse Club'' variety show on the Disney Channel. She was on the show from 1991 to 1993 and co-starred with future pop stars Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, JC Chasez, and Justin Timberlake. In 1992 she appeared in ''Honey, I Blew Up the Kid'' alongside Rick Moranis. Russell subsequently appeared in several film and television roles, including the 1996 made-for-television film ''The Babysitter's Seduction''. She also had a role on the short-lived soap opera series ''Malibu Shores'' the same year. In 1994, she appeared in Jon Bon Jovi's music video "Always" with Jack Noseworthy and on ''Married with Children''. Russell has also appeared in the sitcom ''Boy Meets World'' as Mr. Feeny's niece.
From 1998 to 2002, Russell starred as the title character on the successful WB Network series ''Felicity''; she won a Golden Globe for the role in 1999. Russell's long and curly hair was one of her character's defining characteristics, and a drastic hairstyle change at the beginning of the show's second season was considered to be the cause of a significant drop in the show's ratings. As a result, new policies were enacted at the network requiring hairstyle changes by cast to be approved by the network's executives. ''Felicity'' 's ratings drop also coincided with the show's move to a Sunday night time slot, so it is unclear exactly how much effect the hairstyle change actually had. During the show's run, Russell appeared in the films ''Eight Days a Week'', ''The Curve'' and ''Mad About Mambo'', all of which received only limited releases in North America. Her next role was in the Mel Gibson-starring film ''We Were Soldiers'', playing the wife of an American serviceman. The film was released in March 2002, two months before the end of ''Felicity'' 's run.

When ''Felicity'' ended, Russell took a break from acting and even considered quitting the profession. She moved to New York City and took two years off to avoid the business of Hollywood, spending time with friends. Russell subsequently made her off-Broadway stage debut in 2004, appearing opposite Jeremy Piven, Andrew McCarthy, and Ashlie Atkinson in Neil LaBute's ''Fat Pig''.^[1] In 2005, she returned to television and film, beginning with an appearance in the Hallmark Hall of Fame television movie ''The Magic of Ordinary Days'', theatrical film ''The Upside of Anger'' (alongside Kevin Costner, Joan Allen and Evan Rachel Wood), and the television miniseries ''Into the West''.
Although a number of her ''Felicity'' co-stars went on to appear in producer J. J. Abrams' series, ''Alias'', Russell declined invitations to be part of the show. In a seminar at the Museum of Television and Radio, Abrams said, "I've asked Keri if she would ever do it, and I usually get this, sort of like, giggle—and then she hangs up". In 2005, Abrams asked Russell to join the cast of '', a film he directed, and she accepted. The film was released on May 5, 2006. In the summer of 2006, Russell was chosen to be a celebrity spokeswoman for CoverGirl Cosmetics. Before she was in ''Mission Impossible: III'' she was screen tested for the role of "Lois Lane" in Superman Returns but lost the role to Kate Bosworth with whom she is co-starring in ''The Girl In The Park''.
Russell has taped two episodes as a guest character on the NBC show ''Scrubs'' in 2007. She played Melody, a sorority sister and good friend of Elliot (Sarah Chalke). The first episode aired on April 26, and the second on May 3. Her most recent film role was in ''Waitress'', a well-reviewed independent film in which she plays Jenna, a pregnant waitress in the American South; it was the fourth film in a row in which Russell had played a pregnant woman.^[2] The film opened on May 4, 2007 and Russell's performance was positively received by critics,^[3] with Michael Sragow of The Baltimore Sun writing that Russell's performance had "aesthetic character" and "welds tenderness and fierceness with quiet heat".^[4] Beginning June 2007, Russell appeared in ''The Keri Kronicles'', a reality show/sitcom sponsored by CoverGirl and airing on MySpace; the show was filmed at Russell's home in Manhattan and spotlighted her life.
Russell has also appeared in three films that have yet to be released in the United States: ''August Rush'', a drama, and '' (titled ''Rohtenburg'' for its German release), in which she plays Katie Armstrong, a graduate student who writes a thesis paper on an infamous cannibal murder case, and the thriller ''The Girl In The Park'', opposite Sigourney Weaver, Kate Bosworth and Alessandro Nivola.

Personal life

In 2005, several reports claimed that Russell was set to adopt Scientology, after working with actor Tom Cruise, who is a Scientologist, on ''. Russell's representative subsequently threatened to sue the reporter who first made the claim.^[5] Stories about the incident had noted that Russell is of Jewish heritage and religion;⁵ older reports, which had originally suggested her conversion to Scientology, had mentioned that she was once a member of the Mormon church.^[6]
As of 2007, Russell resides in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn.^[7] Russell and Shane Deary, a carpenter she met through mutual friends, became engaged in 2006 and were married on February 14, 2007 in New York.^[8] Russell gave birth to a boy, named River Russell Deary, on June 9, 2007.^[9] Russell had a midwife-assisted hospital birth;^[10] she has described her pregnancy experience as "real great and easy".^[11]
She also dated Felicity co-star Scott Speedman throughout the show's run.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1992	''Honey, I Blew Up the Kid''	Mandy Park
1996	''The Babysitter's Seduction''	Michelle Winston
1999	''The Curve''	Emma	direct-to-video
	''Eight Days a Week''	Erica	limited release
2000	''Mad About Mambo''	Lucy McLoughlin
2002	''We Were Soldiers''	Barbara Geoghegan
2005	''The Upside of Anger''	Emily Wolfmeyer
2006	''	Lindsey Farris
2007	''Waitress ''	Jenna
	''The Girl In The Park''
	''	Katie Armstrong
	''August Rush''	Lyla Novacek

References

1. Life follows fiction for Keri Russell Susan King
2. Waitress Serves Up Keri Russell Winnie Bonnelli
3. COVERGIRL KERI RUSSELL SHOOTS WEB Jennifer Gould Keil
4. Keri Russell is a delight in scrumptious 'Waitress' Michael Sragow
5. Tom Cruise gets serious about Mother’s Day - Notes from all over Jeannette Walls
6. Cruise's co-star Russell looking to convert?
7. Interview: Keri Russell Ian Spelling
8. Keri Russell Marries in New York Julie Jordan
9. Keri Russell Gives Birth!
10. Keri Russell discusses her 'look' and plan for birth Sarah
11. Bittersweet role: Keri Russell won’t let tragedy overtake love of ‘Waitress’ Stephen Schaefer

External links

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