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Anna Kay Faris (born November 29,
1976) is an American actress and singer known for her comic roles. Faris
has appeared in the Scary Movie series of films, The Hot Chick (2002),
Lost in Translation (2003), and My Super Ex-Girlfriend (2006). In 2008,
she had a starring role in The House Bunny, for which she earned an MTV
Movie Awards nomination.
Her recent and upcoming films include Young Americans, Frequently Asked
Questions About Time Travel, Yogi Bear, and Observe and Report,. She also
provided voice acting in the animated film Cloudy with a Chance of
Meatballs and Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel.
Faris was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the daughter of Karen, an
elementary school teacher, and Jack Faris, a sociologist. She has a
brother, Robert who is also a sociologist and teaches at the University of
California, Davis. Faris grew up in Edmonds, Washington. Her parents
encouraged her to pursue acting when she was young, and she gave her first
professional acting performance at age 9, at the Seattle Repertory
Theater. After attending Edmonds Woodway High School, she studied English
literature at the University of Washington.
Her first significant film role was in the independent production Lovers
Lane (1999). Her breakout role was in the horror film parody Scary Movie
(2000). The 5'5" Faris, a natural blonde, dyed her hair black for the
filming of Scary Movie and Scary Movie 2, so that her character more
closely resembled Neve Campbell, who played the corresponding character in
Scream, one of the films that Scary Movie parodied.
Faris gained further popularity after she received the role of the
recurring character Erica, the surrogate mother for Chandler and Monica
Bing, in the final season of the American sitcom Friends. She also
appeared in the critically acclaimed film Lost in Translation, in which
she plays an actress promoting an action movie.
Faris appeared in the film Waiting..., with Ryan Reynolds and Justin Long.
In 2005, she appeared again with Reynolds in Just Friends, playing a
supporting role as a pop-diva singer named Samantha James. Faris's role as
LaShawn Malone in Brokeback Mountain (2005) brought her to the attention
of a much wider audience. Faris starred with Uma Thurman and Luke Wilson
in the feature film My Super Ex-Girlfriend (2006). In 2008, she appeared
in the comedy Young Americans, playing Topher Grace's twin sister, in
addition to, Mama's Boy, with Jon Heder, Jeff Daniels and Diane Keaton and
in Smiley Face, with Adam Brody and John Cho. In 2007, she produced and
starred in The House Bunny, a film with Happy Madison Productions about a
retired Playboy bunny. In the summer 2007 season of HBO's Entourage, Faris
guest-starred as herself. She also made an appearance as herself in a
video on eatdrinkordie.com with Internet wine guru Gary Vaynerchuk.
Recently, Faris co-starred as Seth Rogen's cosmetic counter girlfriend in
Jody Hill's 2009 comedy, Observe and Report.
Faris won the "Stonette of the Year" award at High Times magazine's Stony
Awards, in Los Angeles, on October 13, 2007, for her role in Smiley Face.
In 2009, she was nominated in MTV's Movie Awards for Best Comedic
Performance for her movie The House Bunny.
In 2004, Faris married actor Ben Indra, whom she met while working on
Lovers Lane and whom she had dated since 1999. She filed for divorce on
April 3, 2007, citing irreconcilable differences. Faris married actor
Chris Pratt, on July 9, 2009, in Bali. |
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"I try to keep my head on
straight and take nothing for granted."
I don't really like to go out to clubs or anything. It's just not my
style. I'd much rather go to a dive bar or a local place. I just
don't love feeling awful, having to tell people, "Hi, yeah, I was in
Scary Movie (2000). Do you mind if we come in?" I mean, it's so
awkward.
"I never imagined being able to make money from acting - and now I
can."
"They've [the Scary Movie series] given me a career but they've also
sort of boxed me in. What really surprised me when I first moved
here is that the industry thought of actors as either comedic or
dramatic. And I'm still confused. I understand that maybe some
people are better at one or the other, but I can't understand why
it's so divided. I've been able to chip away at that a bit; I think
it gets easier as my body of work expands."
"Blythe Danner is somebody whose career I admire. She's a great
actress and does good work, but also has a life of her own. I love
my job but, at the end of the day, I want to come home and watch a
movie and drink a bottle of wine with my husband". |
