Alicia Silverstone

Alicia Silverstone

Birth Place: San Francisco, California, USA
Date of Birth: October 4, 1976
Heritage: American
Famous for: Her role in 'The Crush' (1994)

Clueless

Background:

American actress Alicia Silverstone initially drew the attention of the public after playing the role of a troubled teenager obsessed with an older man, Darian Forrester, in The Crush (1993), in which she won MTV Movie Awards for Best Villain and Best Breakthrough Performance in 1994. The green-eyed beauty gained even more attention and phrase for her portrayal of naive, meddlesome, but ultimately engaging Cher Horowitz in Amy Heckerling's hit comedy Clueless (1995), a film based on the adaptation of Jane Austin's classic novel Emma. Due to Alicia's spectacular performance, she was awarded with National Board of Review, American Comedy, Blockbuster Entertainment and MTV Movie Awards. In 1997, however, Alicia received a Razzie Award for her portrayal of Batgirl in Joel Schumacher's Batman & Robin (1997).

On the small screen, Alicia, whose favorite album is 'Purple Rain' by Prince, gained notice when she both produced and provided her voice to the animated television series Braceface (2001), where she received a daytime Emmy nomination. Additionally, she also captured the public's attention when she starred as Kate Fox in the NBC series Miss Match (2003). Because of her outstanding performance in the short-running show, Alicia earned a nomination at the Golden Globes.

Off screen, Alicia was listed as one of the sexiest female vegetarians by PETA in 2004. The owner of a dog-named Sampson, Alicia is enthusiastically involved with several animal rights groups such as PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, The Ark Trust and Last Chance for Animals. As for her private life, voted as one of Cosmopolitan Magazine's Fun and Fearless Females (2002), Alicia was previously romantically linked to superstar Leonardo DiCaprio, director Kenneth Branagh , Bryan Mashard (dated in 1997), actor Adam Sandler (born on September 9, 1966; dated in 1996), hairdresser Mozie Chabbouth (born in 1967) before marrying her long-time boy friend Christopher Jarecki on June 11, 2005.

Queen Slice

Childhood and Family:

Daughter to English Jewish parents, Alicia Silverstone was born on October 4, 1976, in San Francisco, California. Her father is Monty Silverstone, a real-estate investor and financial consultant, and her mother is Didi Silverstone, a former flight attendant. Alicia has two older siblings, half brother David Silverstone (prop man) and half sister Kezi Silverstone (musician).

Alicia, whose nickname was Queen Slice, showed an interest in acting and artistry as a young child. At age three, she saw her first play in London with her father on their summer vocation. During her childhood, Alicia attended ballet lessons. When she was six, Alicia entered the spotlight after her father submitted photographs of her in a bathing suit to agencies. She then became a child model for such companies as Marshalls and Levi's Dockers. By the time she was eight, Alicia had appeared in several television commercials including her debut in a commercial for Domino's Pizza.

While modeling, Alicia attended William H. Crocker Middle School in Hillsborough, California before attending San Mateo High School in San Mateo, California, where she was a school cheerleader. In 1990, Alicia decided to leave high school to attend her first acting workshop with Judi O'Neil in San Francisco. Alicia eventually made her professional acting debut as a gust star in an episode of The Wonder Years. In 1995, she enrolled at the Shakespeare & Company in Massachusetts, in which she studied Text, Voice and Movement.

As for her private life, 5' 5" inches tall Alicia married her long-time boyfriend Christopher Jarecki (vocalist for the band S.T.U.N) on June 11, 2005, at Lake Tahoe.

The Crush

Career:

Starting out as a print model, Alicia Silverstone later appeared in television commercials. After attending an acting workshop, fifteen-year-old Alicia made her acting debut as a dream girl in the sitcom The Wonder Years.

In 1993, Alicia Sliverstone landed her first starring role in the feature film The Crush (1993), portraying a troubled teenager obsessed with an older man named Darian Forrester. Though her acting did not receive rave reviews from critics, the film became a hit and was hailed as the Fatal Attraction for teenagers. As a result, Alicia was honored with MTV Movie Awards for Best Villain and Best Breakthrough Performance in 1994. Alicia's performance in the film also attracted the attention of Aerosmith. She was hired to appear in three of their videos: "Cryin'," "Amazing" and "Crazy," the former of which was listed as the number one video of all time on MTV.

That same year, Alicia was seen in two television films, Judith Krantz's Torch Song (1993) and Scattered Dreams (1993). Alicia also appeared on stage as a desperate lesbian coke addict in L.A.'s stage production of "Carol's Eve." In 1994, she was seen in the made-for-TV movie Cool and the Crazy (1994).

"And I saw the Aerosmith video where Alicia was bungee-cord jumping and she was just so engaging. She's so beautiful and you just watch it and you go, 'what's this little girl going to do next?' I just loved her." Writer/director Amy Heckerling

In 1995, after playing the role of Regina Harrison in Hideaway (1995) and Trudy Wadd in Nouveau monde, Le (1995), Alicia finally received a real breakthrough when Amy Heckerling cast her as the naive, meddlesome, but ultimately engaging Cher Horowitz, in the blockbuster hit comedy Clueless (1995), a film based on the adaptation of Jane Austin's classic novel Emma. Unlike The Crush, in Clueless Alicia captured the attention of both the audience and critics. Due to her spectacular performance, she took home many awards including a National Board of Review for Outstanding Newcomer, an American Comedy for Funniest Female Performer in Film, a Blockbuster Entertainment award for Favorite Female Newcomer as well as MTV Movie Awards for Best Female Performance and Most Desirable Female. She was next seen in The Babysitter (1995) before appearing as Mary Giordano in True Crime (1996).

Following the huge success of Clueless, Alicia was signed with Columbia for a $10 million three-picture deal and was also given the opportunity to produce the films. In 1997, however, Alicia's career seemed set back when she was seen as Batgirl in Joel Schumacher's Batman & Robin (1997, also starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, George Clooney, Chris O'Donnell, and Uma Thurman). Though the film went on to become a box office hit, Alicia's performance received mixed reviews and she was even awarded a Razzie for Worst Actress. Additionally, 1997's Excess Baggage (with Benicio Del Toro), in which she both starred and produced with her production company First Kiss Productions, did not do well at the box office.

Disappearing from the scene for a couple of years, Alicia returned to reclaim her celebrity status when she was cast as cynical valley girl Eve Rustikoff (opposite Brendan Fraser) in the romantic comedy Blast from the Past (1999). The success of the film cemented her position as a star.

"We have Alicia Silverstone playing the Princess of France and she's going to surprise a lot of people with a terrific performance." Director Kenneth Branagh

Entering the new millennium, Alicia starred as The Princess of France in Kenneth Branagh's much-anticipated musical Love's Labour's Lost (2000, based on work by William Shakespeare). Unfortunately, it was released in only a limited number of theaters and was not promoted by the studio.

In 2001, Alicia lent her voice to the animated television series Braceface (2001, as Sharon Spitz), in which she also served as an executive producer. Because of her good work in the show, Alicia received a daytime Emmy nomination. She next landed a leading role in Global Heresy (2002), portraying an American rocker in England named Natalie Bevin. In the crime comedy Scorched (2003), Alicia starred opposite Woody Harrelson, Rachael Leigh Cook and John Cleese. Adding to her popularity, Alicia also won a series' regular spot as Kate Fox in NBC's Miss Match (2003). Though the series was quickly axed, Alicia received a Golden Globe nomination for her bravura performance.

In 2002, Alicia debuted on Broadway as Elaine Robinson, opposite Kathleen Turner and Jason Biggs, in the stage adaptation of "The Graduate." While touring in North America, the play broke box office records in each city during its three-city pre-Broadway run and also claimed the highest ticket pre-sale of any Broadway non-musical.

In 2004, Alicia was seen starring with Freddie Prinze Jr. and Sarah Michelle Gellar in Raja Gosnell's family film Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed. 2005 brought the starring roles of Lynn in Bille Woodruff's spin-off Beauty Shop and Violet in Stephanie Sinclaire's drama story of two sisters in Silence Becomes You. In 2006, fans can catch Alicia in Geoffrey Sax's action adventure Stormbreaker.

Awards:

* Razzie: Worst Supporting Actress, Batman & Robin, 1998
* Blockbuster Entertainment: Favorite Female Newcomer, Clueless, 1996
* MTV: Most Desirable Female, 1996
* MTV: Best Female Performance, Clueless, 1996
* American Comedy: Funniest Female Performer in Film, Clueless, 1996
* National Board of Review: Outstanding Newcomer, Clueless, 1995
* MTV Movie: Best Villain, The Crush, 1994
* MTV Movie Award: Best Breakthrough Performance, The Crush, 1994

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