Amanda Seyfried

Amanda Seyfried

Seyfried at the Chloe premiere in 2009
Born Amanda Michelle Seyfried
December 3, 1985
Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States
Occupation Actress, singer, model
Years active 1996–2002 (model)
1999–present (actress)

Amanda Michelle Seyfried (/ˈsfrɛd/ SY-fred;[1] born December 3, 1985) is an American actress and singer. She began her career as a model when she was 11, then at 15 began an acting career, starting off with uncredited roles and moving on to recurring roles on the soap operas As the World Turns and All My Children.

In 2004, Seyfried made her film debut in the teen comedy Mean Girls. Her subsequent supporting roles were in independent films, such as the drama Nine Lives (2005) and the crime drama Alpha Dog (2006), she also had a recurring role in the UPN TV drama show Veronica Mars (2004–2006). Between 2006 and 2011, she starred on the HBO drama series Big Love and appeared in the 2008 musical feature film Mamma Mia!.

Her other appearances include leading roles in the black comedy horror film Jennifer's Body (2009), as a call girl in the erotic thriller Chloe (2009), the romantic drama-war film Dear John (2010), the romantic drama Letters to Juliet (2010), the dark fantasy historical romance Red Riding Hood (2011), the dystopian sci-fi thriller In Time (2011), the thriller Gone (2012), the epic romantic musical historical drama film Les Misérables (2012), as a porn actress in the biographical drama Lovelace (2013), the western comedy A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014) and the comedy Ted 2 (2015).

Early life

Seyfried was born in Allentown, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, on December 3, 1985.[2] Her mother, Ann (née Sander), is an occupational therapist, and her father, Jack Seyfried, is a pharmacist.[2][3] She is of mostly German descent, and also has some Scots-Irish and English ancestry.[4][5][6] Seyfried graduated in 2003 from Allentown's William Allen High School.[7] She has an older sister, Jennifer Seyfried, a musician in the Philadelphia organ-driven rock band, Love City.[2][8]

Career

Early work (1996–2006)

I was naturally skinny and had braces, so I wasn't a cute model. I never felt pretty but it was fun and I got a cool pay check to buy sweets with.

-Seyfried on her modeling career[8]

During Seyfried's time modeling, she appeared in print ads for clothing companies including Limited Too with Leighton Meester.[2] She stopped modeling when she was seventeen,[2] and worked as a waitress in a retirement community.[9] Seyfried took voice lessons, studied opera, and trained with a Broadway coach while still a teen. She began acting as an uncredited extra in the daytime drama television series Guiding Light.[10] From 2000 to 2001, she portrayed the recurring character Lucy Montgomery on the CBS soap opera As the World Turns.[10] and Joni Stafford on the ABC soap, All My Children, from 2002 to 2003.[11]

In 2003, Seyfried auditioned to play the role of Regina George in Mean Girls; the role eventually went to Rachel McAdams. While she was initially considered to play the lead role of Cady Heron, played by Lindsay Lohan, the producers of the film decided that Seyfried should play Karen Smith, Regina's dim-witted "Plastic" friend and sidekick.[10][12] The film was a box-office success, earning over US$129 million in its theatrical run.[13] Seyfried's performance in the film earned her, along with Lohan, Lacey Chabert, and McAdams, an MTV Movie Award in the category of "Best On-Screen Team".[14] Seyfried auditioned to play the title character on UPN's television series Veronica Mars.[10] The role eventually went to Kristen Bell, and Seyfried portrayed the title character's murdered best friend, Lilly Kane.[10] Her character was only shown in flashbacks.[10] The show's creator, Rob Thomas, felt that Seyfried's portrayal as Lilly Kane was so outstanding that he used her more times in the show than he initially planned in the first season.[15] Seyfried appeared in ten episodes from 2004–2005.[11]

In 2005, Seyfried played the lead character, Samantha, a role written by director Rodrigo García specifically for her, in one of the nine parts in the film Nine Lives, composed of nine short films with different themes and an ensemble cast.[16] For her performance in the film, Seyfried, along with the film's other female leads, won an award from the Locarno International Film Festival, for Best Actress.[17] The same year she played supporting character, Mouse, in the independent film, American Gun.[11] In 2006, Seyfried appeared in five episodes of Wildfire as Rebecca and had lead role as Chrissy in the short film titled Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves, by writer-director Andrea Janakas. Seyfried also contributed a minor role as Julie Beckley in Alpha Dog. From 2004 to 2006 Seyfried made multiple guest appearances on television series, including House, M.D., Justice, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, American Dad! and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.[10]

Breakthrough (2006–2011)

Seyfried's profile gained prominence due to her role in the highly acclaimed HBO drama television series, Big Love. The series centers on a fictional fundamentalist Mormon family, in which Seyfried plays Sarah Henrickson, Bill and Barb's first daughter, who struggles with her family's polygamous faith.[18] Big Love premiered in the United States on March 12, 2006. In December 2009, HBO confirmed that Seyfried would return for the show's fourth season, but that it would be her last, as Seyfried wished to concentrate on her film career and upcoming projects.[19]

Following Big Love Seyfried had a supporting role, as Zoe, in the 2008 horror drama film, Solstice, and she co-starred alongside Meryl Streep in Mamma Mia!, a romantic comedy film adaptation of the 1999 musical of the same name.[8] Mamma Mia! was Seyfried's first leading role. The film was the fifth highest grossing film of 2008,[20] and as of January 2013 is the 73rd highest grossing film of all time.[21] Her musical performance in Mamma Mia! was released on the film's soundtrack, for which she recorded five songs.[22] As part of promotion for both the film and its soundtrack, Seyfried recorded a music video of the song, entitled "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)".

In March 2008 Seyfried was cast in the comedy horror film, Jennifer's Body.[23] In the film Seyfried was cast as Anita "Needy" Lesnicki, the title character's best friend.[23] The film, which premiered at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival and was released to theaters on September 18, 2009,[24] received mixed reviews from critics.[25] The same year she was cast in the comedy-drama independent film Boogie Woogie. She played Paige Oppenheimer, one of the lead roles in the ensemble movie. The movie was originally shown on June 26, 2009, at Edinburgh International Film Festival, and was officially shown in US theaters April 25, 2010.[26] On February 22, 2009, Seyfried presented an award and performed at the 2009 Annual 81st Academy Awards ceremony.[27] In early March 2009 director Zack Snyder had tapped Seyfried to portray the lead role, Baby Doll, in Sucker Punch,[28] but Seyfried had to drop out of the film due to scheduling conflicts with Big Love.[2][29]

Seyfried starred alongside Channing Tatum in Dear John, the film adaptation of the novel of the same name, that was written by Nicholas Sparks.[30][31] The film was released on February 5, 2010, and received generally negative reviews,[30][31] Seyfried wrote and recorded "Little House", a song which appears on one of the official soundtracks of Dear John.[32] Despite the reviews, Dear John became the first film to break up Avatar's box office reign at number one at the United States box office and grossed US$80 million in the US theatrically and US$115 million worldwide.[33][34]

Seyfried appeared as the title character in the erotic thriller Chloe, theatrically released by Sony Pictures Classics on March 26, 2010.[35] Chloe originally premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in September 2009.[36] In the film, Seyfried's character is an escort/prostitute who is hired to test a husband, because his wife feels that she cannot trust his fidelity.[36] Chloe enjoyed commercial success and became director Atom Egoyan's biggest moneymaker ever.[37] Seyfried's performance in the film also received favorable reviews from critics; it also helped her to gain more industry acclaim and receive more opportunities to play more interesting roles.[38]

Later in 2010, Seyfried starred in the romantic-comedy film Letters to Juliet, based on the book by Lise and Ceil Friedman, which was released to mixed reviews and was a box office success, generated US$80 million worldwide. She was named,and received an award as, the "Showest Breakthrough Female Star of The Year".[39] She also won the "Scared-As-S**T" category for her performance in Jennifer's Body and was nominated for Best Female Performance for her movie Dear John, at the 2010 MTV Movie Awards.[40][41] Also in 2010, she was included in Forbes '​s "The 17 Stars To Watch" list,[42][43] received 3 nominations in the Teen Choice Awards for Choice Movie Actress Drama and Choice Movie Chemistry with her co-star Channing Tatum for their film Dear John. Seyfried was also nominated for Choice Movie Actress Romantic Comedy for Letters to Juliet.[44]

In late January 2009, she became attached to appear in Myriad Pictures' adaptation of Oscar Wilde's comedy A Woman of No Importance.[45] The film was set to be released in 2011.[45][46] In 2010, however, reports indicated that the film might not happen due to lack of financing.[47] Although it was confirmed in 2009 that she would appear in the movie, Albert Nobbs, she ultimately dropped out due to scheduling conflicts and was replaced by Mia Wasikowska.[48] Seyfried played the starring role of Valerie in Catherine Hardwicke's Red Riding Hood; it was released on March 11, 2011, to mostly negative reviews, but was a moderate box office success, earning US$90 million worldwide on a US$42 million budget. She also played the lead role of Sylvia Weis in Andrew Niccol's In Time, released in October 2011 to mixed reviews but with excellent box office receipts, grossing more than US$172 million worldwide.

Recent roles (2012–present)

Seyfried starred in the thriller Gone, released in early 2012. Later that year, She played Cosette in the film adaptation of the musical, Les Misérables. The film and her performances received positive acclaim from critics, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture and earned a total of US$440 million worldwide.[49][50][51]

In 2013, Seyfried appeared in the comedy The Big Wedding, had a voice role in the successful animated movie Epic and played Linda Lovelace in the biopic Lovelace (directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman). Her performance in the latter film earned Seyfried critical acclaim by film critics.[52] She will star in the drama The End of Love, the dramedy titled Pete and Goat, Rlay the title role in The Girl Who Conned the Ivy League. She was also signed to play the role of Ann Burden in the dramatization of the Robert O'Brien post-apocalyptic novel Z for Zachariah,[53] but was replaced by Margot Robbie,[54] she will also replace Emma Stone in He's F**king Perfect, an upcoming romantic comedy[55] and will be appearing as Mary in the Peter Pan film Pan.[56]

Personal life

Seyfried has stated that she suffers from anxiety and panic attacks. She also suffers from stage fright and had subsequently avoided performing in theater productions until April 2015, when she starred in an off-broadway production of The Way We Get By at Second Stage Theater.[57]

Seyfried has a taxidermy collection. Some of her collections contain a baby horse, a fox, an owl, a moose, a goat, a hybrid taxidermy deer and butterflies. Conan O'Brien gave her a taxidermy raccoon attached to a jet pack as a gift for her collection during an appearance on Conan.[58][59] Since October 2013, she has been dating actor Justin Long.[60]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2004 Mean Girls Karen Smith
2005 Nine Lives Samantha
2005 American Gun Mouse
2006 Alpha Dog Julie Beckley
2006 Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves Chrissy Short film
2008 Solstice Zoe
2008 Mamma Mia! Sophie Sheridan
2008 Official Selection Emily Short film
2009 Boogie Woogie Paige Oppenheimer
2009 Jennifer's Body Anita "Needy" Lesnicki
2009 Chloe Chloe Sweeney
2010 Dear John Savannah Lynn Curtis
2010 Letters to Juliet Sophie Hall
2011 Red Riding Hood Valerie
2011 Bag of Hammers, AA Bag of Hammers Amanda
2011 In Time Sylvia Weis
2012 Gone Jill Conway
2012 Les Misérables Cosette
2013 End of Love, TheThe End of Love Herself Cameo
2013 Big Wedding, TheThe Big Wedding Missy O'Connor
2013 Epic Mary Katherine (voice)
2013 Lovelace Linda Lovelace
2014 A Million Ways to Die in the West Louise
2014 While We're Young Darby
2015 Unity[61] Narrator Documentary
2015 Fathers and Daughters Katie Post-production
2015 Ted 2 Samantha Leslie Jackson Post-production
2015 Pan Mary Darling Post-production
2015 Hearing ISA Agent Mary Davison Filming
2015 Let It Snow Filming

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1999–2001 As the World Turns Lucinda "Lucy" Montgomery Series regular
2003 All My Children Joni Stafford 3 episodes
2004 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Tandi McCain Episode: "Outcry"
2004–2006 Veronica Mars Lilly Kane 11 episodes
2005 House Pam Episode: "Detox"
2006 Wildfire Rebecca 5 episodes
2006 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Lacey Finn Episode: "Rashomama"
2006 Justice Ann Diggs Episode: "Pretty Woman"
2006–2011 Big Love Sarah Henrickson 44 episodes
2008 American Dad! Amy (voice) Episode: "Escape from Pearl Bailey"
2014 Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey Marie Tharp (voice) Episode "The Lost Worlds of Planet Earth"

Discography

Discography
Year Title Album
2008 "Honey, Honey" Mamma Mia! The Movie Soundtrack
"Our Last Summer"
"Lay All Your Love on Me"
"Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)"
"The Name of the Game"
"Slipping Through My Fingers"
"I Have a Dream"
"Thank You for the Music"
2010 "Amanda's Love Song" PostTheLove
"Little House" Dear John
2011 "L'il Red Riding Hood" Red Riding Hood
2012 "In My Life" Les Misérables: Highlights from the Motion Picture Soundtrack
"A Heart Full of Love"
"One Day More"
"A Heart Full of Love – Reprise"
"Suddenly – Reprise"
"Epilogue"

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Work Result
2005 Gotham Awards Best Ensemble Cast Nine Lives Nominated
2005 Locarno International Film Festival Bronze Leopard Nine Lives Won
2005 MTV Movie Awards Best On-Scream Team Mean Girls Won
2009 People's Choice Awards Favorite Cast Mamma Mia! Nominated
2009 MTV Movie Awards Breakthrough Performance Female Mamma Mia! Nominated
2010 ShoWest Breakthrough Female Star of the Year Won
2010 Teen Choice Awards Choice Movie Actress: Romantic Comedy Letters to Juliet Nominated
2010 Teen Choice Awards Choice Movie Actress: Drama Dear John Nominated
2010 Teen Choice Awards Choice Movie: Chemistry Dear John Nominated
2010 MTV Movie Awards Best Female Performance Dear John Nominated
2010 MTV Movie Awards Best Scared-As-S**t Performance Jennifer's Body Won
2012 National Board of Review of Motion Pictures Best Acting by an Ensemble Les Misérables Won
2012 Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards Best Ensemble Acting Les Misérables Nominated
2012 San Diego Film Critics Society Awards Best Ensemble Performance Les Misérables Nominated
2012 Satellite Awards Best Ensemble, Motion Picture Les Misérables Won
2013 Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Les Misérables Nominated
2013 Teen Choice Awards Choice Movie Actress: Romance Les Misérables Nominated

References

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  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Judy Backrach. Wide Eyed Girl. September 2009. Allure magazine
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  4. Stated on Live with Regis and Kelly, May 14, 2010; can be viewed at Amanda Seyfried wears her BODYAMR Interview On Live With Regis and Kelly
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External links

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