Kristin Kreuk

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Kristin Kreuk
Date of birth
December 30, 1982 (age 23)
Place of birth
Vancouver, BC, Canada
Height
5' 4" (1.63 m)
Occupation
Actress, spokesmodel
Career milestones
Edgemont (2000-2003)
Smallville (2001 - present)
Legend of Earthsea (miniseries, 2004)

Kristin Laura Kreuk (born December 30, 1982 in Vancouver, BC) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her roles on the Canadian television series teen soap Edgemont and on the American television series Smallville in which she stars as Clark Kent's star-crossed love Lana Lang.[1]

Contents

[edit] Biography

Kreuk (Dutch pronunciation: IPA: [k[r]øːk], but more commonly pronounced "krook" to rhyme with the English, "spook" [1]) was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. Her father, Peter Kreuk, is of Dutch ancestry and her mother, Deanna Che, is of Chinese descent but born in Indonesia. Both parents are landscape architects. Kristin has a sister who is about five years younger. Kristin trained in gymnastics at the national level until high school but quit in grade 11 due to scoliosis. She attended Eric Hamber Secondary School in Vancouver.

She had plans to study either psychology, environmental science, or forensic science at Simon Fraser University when a casting director for the CBC TV series Edgemont contacted her secondary school, looking for an exotic-looking girl to play the part of a Chinese Canadian, Laurel Yeung on the Vancouver-shot show. Kreuk's drama teacher convinced Kreuk, who had no previous acting experience other than in musicals at her high school, to audition for the role. To her surprise, she won the part.

[edit] Television

After shooting the first season of Edgemont (a teen soap opera set at a Vancouver-area high school) and getting herself an agent, Kreuk landed the lead role of Snow White in a TV movie entitled Snow White: The Fairest of Them All. The film, shot in Vancouver, also starred Miranda Richardson and was directed by Caroline Thompson. It aired on ABC on March 17, 2002.

After Snow White, Kreuk's agent sent an audition tape to screenwriters Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, who at the time were putting together the cast of a show they had created for the WB Network entitled Smallville. The series (which was slated to be shot in Vancouver) revolves around the life of teenager Clark Kent before he becomes Superman. Gough and Millar called Kreuk to WB's studios in Burbank, California to audition for the role of Clark Kent's love, Lana Lang. Originally, Kreuk was unsure about auditioning for Lana's role, as the character was to be a popular, gorgeous cheerleader, so she assumed that the part would be that of a shallow idiot. However, upon reading the graveyard scene from the pilot, she was so impressed that when she was offered the role, she immediately accepted.

In 2003, Kreuk wrapped up her role on Edgemont.

In the summer of 2004, Kreuk took the role of Tenar for the Sci Fi Channel two-part miniseries Legend of Earthsea. The miniseries was filmed in Vancouver, directed by Rob Lieberman and broadcast on December 13, 2004.

[edit] Modeling

The executives at Neutrogena made her the spokesmodel for their new worldwide ad campaign; in this regard Kreuk followed in the footsteps of fellow teen stars such as Jennifer Love Hewitt, Mandy Moore, and Mischa Barton. In 2005, she renewed her contract with Neutrogena for another two years, making her the company's longest-serving model spokesperson.[2]

[edit] Films

In 2003, she made her first feature film, a cameo appearance in the film Eurotrip, starring Scott Mechlowicz and Michelle Trachtenberg. The film, shot in Prague, Czech Republic, also featured cameos by Matt Damon and Lucy Lawless. It debuted in theatres on February 20, 2004.

In early 2005, Kreuk signed on to the independent feature film Partition. She plays Naseem, a vulnerable seventeen-year-old whose world is shattered by the trauma of the Partition of India in 1947, but falls in love with ex-British Indian Army officer Gian Singh (played by Jimi Mistry). Neve Campbell also stars. The film is directed by Vic Sarin and is a co-production between Canada, South Africa and the United Kingdom. The Canadian release date for the film is scheduled for February 2, 2007.

In late 2005, Steve Carell (of The 40-Year-Old Virgin) revealed that he had approached Kreuk to play the lead female role of Agent 99 in the forthcoming Warner Bros. feature film Get Smart. However, in November 2006, it was officially confirmed that Anne Hathaway had been cast in the role of 99. [3]

[edit] Filmography

Kristin Kreuk is most widely recognised for portraying Lana Lang in "Smallville."
Enlarge
Kristin Kreuk is most widely recognised for portraying Lana Lang in "Smallville."
Year Project Role Other notes
2006 Partition Naseem Khan Post-production
2004 Legend of Earthsea Tenar Miniseries
2004 Eurotrip Fiona Cameo appearance
2001 Snow White Snow White Television movie
2001 Smallville Lana Lang Television Series
2000 Edgemont Laurel Yeung Television Series

[edit] Trivia

  • Is dating her Legend of Earthsea co-star, Mark Hildreth [citation needed]
  • Hair color: Dark
  • Ethnicity: Dutch, Chinese
  • Nationality: Canadian
  • Eyes: Hazel
  • Capricorn
  • Born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
  • Spokesmodel for Neutrogena
  • Attended Eric Hamber Secondary School
  • Ranked #10 on FHM's 100 Sexiest Women of 2002 poll
  • Ranked #71 on FHM-US's 100 Sexiest Women of 2002 poll
  • Ranked #17 on FHM's 100 Sexiest Women of 2003 poll
  • Ranked #24 on FHM-US's 100 Sexiest Women of 2003 poll
  • Ranked #16 on FHM's 100 Sexiest Women of 2004 poll
  • Ranked #23 on FHM-US's 100 Sexiest Women of 2004 poll
  • Ranked #43 on FHM's 100 Sexiest Women of 2005 poll
  • Ranked #28 on FHM-US's 100 Sexiest Women of 2005 poll
  • Ranked #67 on Maxim's Hot 100 list of 2005 poll
  • Ranked #3 in Slovenia's national "Sexy? Who's Sexy?" poll 2003

[edit] References

  1. ^ Kristin Kreuk cast bio on The CW; URL accessed November, 2006.

[edit] External links

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