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Portia de Rossi (born January 31,
1973) is an Australian actress known for her roles as lawyer Nelle Porter
on the television series Ally McBeal and as Lindsay Bluth Fünke on the
television series Arrested Development.
de Rossi was born Amanda Lee Rogers in Melbourne, Victoria, the daughter
of Margaret, a medical receptionist, and Barry Rogers. She was raised in
Grovedale, a suburb of Geelong. As a child, she modeled for print and TV
commercials. She took the name Portia de Rossi at a young age. An
extremely gifted student, she left the lecture theaters of the University
of Melbourne Law school to pursue an acting career. She supports Locks of
Love, a group that buys wigs for children with medical hair loss.
Her first significant role was playing a young and impressionable model in
the Australian 1994 film Sirens. Soon afterwards she moved to Los Angeles
and had guest roles on TV shows before landing a role in the film Scream
2. She attracted international attention when she joined the main cast of
the Ally McBeal TV series in 1998 playing lawyer Nelle Porter. She
remained with the show until its end in 2002.
In 2001, she starred in Who is Cletis Tout? with Christian Slater. From
2003 to 2006, de Rossi starred as Lindsay Bluth Fünke on Fox Television's
critically acclaimed, Emmy-winning series Arrested Development.
In Nip/Tuck's 5th season, which is to start in October 2007, de Rossi will
join the L.A. scene as an acupuncturist. She also portrayed John F.
Kennedy, Jr.'s wife, Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, in a made for TV movie.
(TBS)
de Rossi, who was married for two years to documentary filmmaker Mel
Metcalfe (to get a green card), is now openly gay. From 2000 to 2004, de
Rossi dated singer Francesca Gregorini, daughter of actress Barbara Bach
and stepchild of Ringo Starr. Portia dodged media questions about her
sexual orientation and the relationship during this period. Portia was
rarely pictured with Gregorini in public.
In a September 2005 magazine interview with The Advocate, de Rossi said
that most of her family and Ally McBeal cast mates learned she was gay
because of tabloid pictures of de Rossi and Gregorini in 2001. The couple
broke up in late 2004 as de Rossi began dating comedian Ellen DeGeneres.
In 2005, de Rossi officially came out and opened up about being gay in
interviews with Details and The Advocate.
de Rossi was named number 64 in Stuff's 100 Sexiest Women, 31 in Femme
Fatales' Sexiest Women of 2003 list, 24 in Maxim's 100 Sexiest Women List
in 2004, and in late 2006, the magazine Blender listed her as one of the
hottest women of film and TV.
de Rossi is also a recovering anorexic whose low weight was 82lbs for her
five foot seven height. Photos from her in this time are often seen on
pro-ana websites. |
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On how she found her artist
name:“When I was 15, I changed it legally. In retrospect, I think it
was largely due to my struggle about being gay. Everything just
didn’t fit, and I was trying to find things I could identify myself
with, and it started with my name. I picked Portia because I was a
Shakespeare fan (Portia is the character in The Merchant of Venice).
De Rossi because I was Australian and I thought that an exotic
Italian name would somehow suit me more than Amanda Rogers. When you
live in Australia, Europe is so far away and so fascinating, so
stylish and cultured and sophisticated.” |
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"Nip/Tuck" .... Olivia Lord (1
episode, 2007)
- Joyce and Sharon Monroe (2007) TV Episode .... Olivia Lord
"Arrested Development" .... Lindsay Bluth Fünke (53 episodes,
2003-2006)
- Development Arrested (2006) TV Episode .... Lindsay Bluth Fünke
- Exit Strategy (2006) TV Episode .... Lindsay Bluth Fünke
- Fakin' It (2006) TV Episode .... Lindsay Bluth Fünke
- Family Ties (2006) TV Episode .... Lindsay Bluth Fünke
- S.O.B.s (2006) TV Episode .... Lindsay Bluth Fünke
(48 more)
Cursed (2005) .... Zela
... aka Verflucht (Germany)
... aka Wes Craven's Cursed (USA: complete title)
Dead & Breakfast (2004) .... Kelly
The Night We Called It a Day (2003) .... Hilary Hunter
... aka All the Way (USA: DVD title)
... aka All the Way: The Kidnapping of a Music Legend (USA: DVD
title)
I Witness (2003) (as Portia De Rossi) .... Emily Thompson
... aka Nur tote Zeugen schweigen - I Witness (Germany: DVD title)
"Mister Sterling" .... Lauren Barnes (2 episodes, 2003)
- Final Passage (2003) TV Episode .... Lauren Barnes
- Wish List (2003) TV Episode .... Lauren Barnes
America's Prince: The John F. Kennedy Jr. Story (2003) (TV) ....
Carolyn Bessette Kennedy
Two Girls from Lemoore (2003)
"The Twilight Zone" .... Laurel Janus (1 episode, 2002)
- Dead Man's Eyes (2002) TV Episode .... Laurel Janus
The Glow (2002) (TV) .... Jackie Lawrence
"Ally McBeal" .... Nell Porter (52 episodes, 1998-2002)
- Bygones (2002) TV Episode .... Nell Porter
- All of Me (2002) TV Episode .... Nell Porter
- What I'll Never Do for Love Again (2002) TV Episode .... Nell
Porter
- Another One Bites the Dust (2002) TV Episode .... Nell Porter
- Tom Dooley (2002) TV Episode .... Nell Porter
(47 more)
Who Is Cletis Tout? (2001) .... Tess Donnelly
Women in Film (2001) .... Gina
"Ally" (1999) TV Series .... Nelle Porter (unknown episodes)
Stigmata (1999) .... Jennifer Kelliho
American Intellectuals (1999) .... Sarah
The Invisibles (1999) .... Joy
Perfect Assassins (1998) (TV) .... Lana Collins
... aka A Breed Apart (UK)
Girl (1998) (as Portia Di Rossi) .... Carla Sparrow
Astoria (1998) (TV)
Scream 2 (1997) .... Sorority Sister Murphy
"Veronica's Closet" .... Carolyn (1 episode, 1997)
- Veronica's First Date (1997) TV Episode .... Carolyn
"Too Something" (1995) TV Series .... Maria Hunter (unknown
episodes)
... aka New York Daze
The Woman in the Moon (1995)
Sirens (1994) (as Portia De Rossi) .... Giddy |
