Vanessa Ray
| Vanessa Ray | |
|---|---|
| Born |
November 2, 1980 Livermore, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress, singer |
| Years active | 2003–present |
| Partner(s) |
Derek James (m. 2003– Present ) |
Vanessa Ray (born November 2, 1980) is an American television, film and stage actress and singer. She is perhaps best known for her role as Teri Ciccone in the final season of the soap opera As the World Turns, and more recently for her recurring roles as Jenny on the USA Network legal drama Suits,[1] as CeCe Drake on Pretty Little Liars, and as Tessa Marchetti on Damages.
Early life
Ray was born in Livermore, California and raised in Vancouver, WA. Her parents James and Valerie Liptak were both involved in theater while she was growing up. Her father is a musician and often produced music for plays for local theaters in Vancouver, WA.
Acting career
She earned her Actor's Equity card while performing the role of Rusty and singing "Let's Hear It For the Boy" in the musical Footloose. She originated the role of Nemo in Robert and Kristin Lopez's Finding Nemo, the Musical at Orlando's Disney World. Vanessa embodied the character of Olive Ostrovsky in the National Tour of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. She joined the Broadway cast of Hair in its final year as Crissy, and sang the song "Frank Mills".
She made her on-screen debut as Chris in the youth-oriented video short feature, The Sparky Chronicles: The Map (2003).
Grounded in theater since childhood, Ray enjoys acting in any medium. She has experience on both sides of the camera, and as a writer and singer.[2]
Since 2012, Ray has appeared as CeCe Drake, an ex-girlfriend of Jason DiLaurentis and a friend of Alison, in the TV series Pretty Little Liars based on the book series by Sara Shepard. CeCe and Ali spent a summer vacation together in Cape May. It seems that CeCe taught Ali her scheming ways, as both act quite similarly. When CeCe returns to Rosewood in Season 3, the girls immediately notice the similarities between the way she acts and how Ali acted. Cece also learned a lot about the other girls from Alison. She was with Alison and Detective Wilden in Cape May the summer Ali died. On October 4, 2012, ABC Family renewed the show for a fourth season.[3] Filming began on March 14, 2013.[4] Ray's character returned in season 4.[5] In the same season, it is revealed CeCe is "Red Coat" -- the former leader of "The A-Team".
In 2013, Vanessa joined the Season 4 cast of the CBS police procedural drama Blue Bloods as Officer Edit "Eddie" Janko.[6]
Personal life
She now lives and works in New York City and Los Angeles, CA. Since 2003, Ray is married to Derek James.[7]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Sparky Chronicles: The Map, TheThe Sparky Chronicles: The Map | Chris | Video short |
| 2004 | Is He... | Steph | Short film |
| 2008 | Finding Chance | Katrina | |
| 2010 | Nice Guy Johnny | Best Friend | |
| 2011 | Trust Me | Girlfriend | Video short |
| 2012 | Not Waving But Drowning | Adele | |
| 2012 | Last Day of August, TheThe Last Day of August | Phoebe | |
| 2013 | Wisdom Teeth | ||
| 2014 | Devil's Due | Suzie | |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Battery's Down, TheThe Battery's Down | Vanessa | Episodes: "Ro Ro Ro Your Boat", "The Bronx Is Up", "The Party's Over" |
| 2009 | Bored to Death | Claudia | Episode: "The Case of the Missing Screenplay" |
| 2009-2010 | As the World Turns | Teri Ciccone | Recurring role (49 episodes) |
| 2010 | Damages | Tessa Marchetti | Recurring role (7 episodes) |
| 2011 | White Collar | Maggie 'Rocker' Sheldon | Episode: "What Happens in Burma" |
| 2011 | Nurse Jackie | Mrs. Donovan | Episode: "Have You Met Ms. Jones?" |
| 2011-2012 | Suits | Jenny Griffith | Recurring role (9 episodes) |
| 2012 | Girls | Heather Travis | Episode: "The Return" |
| 2012 | Right Not to Know, TheThe Right Not to Know | Earthy Chick | TV miniseries |
| 2012-present | Pretty Little Liars | Cece Drake/
Red Coat |
Recurring role |
| 2012 | Pretty Dirty Secrets | Cece Drake | Web series |
| 2013 | The Mentalist | Cayce Robbins | Episode : "Red Lacquer Nail Polish" |
| 2013 | Blue Bloods | Edit “Eddie” Janko | Recurring role season 4 |
References
- ↑ Vanessa Ray - Suits
- ↑ Vanessa Ray bio at imdb.com
- ↑ Bibel, Sara (October 4, 2012). "'Pretty Little Liars' Renewed for Season Four by ABC Family". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
- ↑ King, Marlene (March 1, 2013). "Twitter / imarleneking: @GrandeLovers2 we start shooting ...". Twitter. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
- ↑ Reiher, Andrea (March 20, 2013). "'Pretty Little Liars' Season 4: Hanna is A's focus, Wren and Cece return and more details". Retrieved March 20, 2013.
- ↑ 'Blue Bloods' Season 4 premiere: 'Unwritten Rules' tested after a cop's murder Bobbin, Jay at zap2it.com, September 27, 2013.
- ↑ http://www.aoltv.com/show/marriage-under-construction-1/7984186