Lauren Cohan

For the newsreader, see Lauren Cohn.
Lauren Cohan

Born January 7, 1982
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
United States[1]
Citizenship American / British
Alma mater University of Winchester
Occupation Actress and Model
Years active 2005–present
Website
www.laurencohan.com

Lauren Cohan (born January 7, 1982) is an American-born English actress,[2][3] best known for her role as Maggie Greene in The Walking Dead and her recurring roles on The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural, and Chuck.

Early life

Cohan was born on January 7, 1982 to an American father[4] and a Scottish mother. Sources have listed Cohan's birthplace as Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,[2] but Cohan has stated in interviews that she was born in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.[5][6][7][8][9]

Cohan lived in Cherry Hill, New Jersey—and, for one year, Georgia[10]—during her childhood before moving to the United Kingdom when she was 13.[11] The family settled in Surrey. When Cohan's mother remarried, she adopted her new husband's surname, Cohan, and converted to Judaism. Cohan was also raised in her stepfather's religion, Judaism, from age 5 and had a Bat Mitzvah.[12] She has five younger siblings,[13] including a younger stepsister.[14] Cohan graduated from the University of Winchester, where she studied Drama and English Literature, before touring with a theatre company she co-founded at the university. Cohan then split her time and work between London and Los Angeles, California,[15] working on several films as well as some non-commercial projects.

Cohan is the subject of novelist Jacob M. Appel's essay, "She Loves Me Not", in his essay collection Phoning Home.[16][17][18]

Career

Film

Cohan's major movie debut was the 2005 film Casanova as Sister Beatrice. In 2006, she starred in the sequel to National Lampoon's Van Wilder, National Lampoon's Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj playing the role of Charlotte Higginson. Her next role was in the 2007 film Float. In February 2010 she was cast in Death Race 2, along with co-stars Sean Bean and Danny Trejo.[19]

Television

Cohan was cast in season three of Supernatural as Bela Talbot, a thief who procures valuable supernatural objects and sells them to very rich, very powerful people in the supernatural world. The character appeared in six episodes of the series, and was killed off in the penultimate episode of season three.

Cohan played the recurring character Rose, a 560-year-old vampire, in The Vampire Diaries. In 2011, she joined the television series Chuck in a recurring role playing Vivian Volkoff, a "charming, sophisticated socialite" from the United Kingdom, and the daughter of primary villain, Alexei Volkoff.

Cohan at the True Blood party in 2013

She has also guest starred on shows such as Modern Family, CSI: NY, Cold Case, Life, Archer, and The Bold and the Beautiful.

Cohan starred in a pilot for The CW called Heavenly in which she played the lead character, an attorney who teams up with an angel; however, it was not picked up as a series.

In 2011, Cohan was cast as Maggie Greene in the second season of The Walking Dead, an AMC horror drama series based on the comic book series of the same name. At first the character was recurring but became starring at the start of the third season. Greene has proven to be Cohan's most successful role to date. Greene, her family and friends fight to survive in a post-apocalyptic world populated with zombies and the few surviving humans, some of whom are even dangerous than the zombies. The drama is the highest rated in cable television history and has smashed all previous ratings records.[20]

Personal life

Cohan studied kickboxing.[21] She has dual citizenship between America and Britain.[22]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role
2005 The Quiet Assassin Alessia
Casanova Sister Beatrice
2006 National Lampoon's Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj Charlotte Higginson
2008 Float Emily Fulton
2010 Young Alexander the Great Leto
Practical Lauren
Disturbed Claire
2011 Death Race 2 September Jones
2014 Reach Me Kate
2016 The Boy

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2007 The Bold and the Beautiful Forrester Creations Employee 1 episode
2007–2008 Supernatural Bela Talbot Recurring, 6 episodes
2008 Valentine Joanna Clay Episode: "Pilot"
2009 Life Jackie Rolder Episode: "Initiative 38"
2010 Modern Family Receptionist Episode: "Unplugged"
Cold Case Rachel Malone '86 Episode: "One Fall"
CSI: NY Meredith Muir Episode: "Flag on the Play"
2010–2012 The Vampire Diaries Rose Recurring, 6 episodes
2011 Heavenly Lily Pilot
Chuck Vivian McArthur Volkoff Recurring, 5 episodes
2011–present The Walking Dead Maggie Greene Season 2 (Recurring; 12 episodes)
Season 3-present (credits list as main character in 48 episodes, but appeared in 35)
Satellite Award for Best Cast – Television Series (2012)
2012 Childrens Hospital Lulu Pratt Episode: "British Hospital"
2013 Law and Order: Special Victims Unit Avery Jordan Episode: "Legitimate Rape"
2014 Archer Juliana Calderon (voice) Recurring, 4 episodes
2014 Tim & Eric's Bedtime Stories Stephanie Episode: "The Bathroom Boys"

Video games

Year Title Role Notes
2014 Destiny Exo Stranger [23]

References

  1. ↑ Sources have stated that she was born in Philadelphia, but Cohan has said she was born in New Jersey. See here.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Lauren Cohan". The New York Times. Retrieved April 13, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Lauren Cohan of Walking Dead: What's In My Bag?". Us Weekly. February 10, 2014. Retrieved April 13, 2015.
  4. ↑ Gray, Ellen (October 20, 2011). "Jersey Girl at heart?". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
  5. ↑ Cohan, Lauren (March 27, 2014). "The Walking Dead's" Lauren Cohan Tries Out Accents With Pete. Interview with Pete Holmes. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
  6. ↑ Cohan, Lauren (October 11, 2013). Lauren Cohan @ "The Covino & Rich Show" (Sirius XM Radio) pt. I - October 11th, 2013. Interview with The Covino & Rich Show. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
  7. ↑ Cohan, Lauren (October 12, 2012). Lauren Cohan on NERDIST - Her accent & relationship advice. (Podcast by Chris Hardwick) - Part 1. Interview with Chris Hardwick. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
  8. ↑ Hiltbrand, David (November 24, 2013). "Lauren Cohan of 'Walking Dead' sticks it to zombies". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
  9. ↑ Cohan, Lauren (March 30, 2014). Sam Roberts & Lauren Cohan- Walking Dead, Governor, Last Episodes, & more. Interview with Sam Roberts. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
  10. ↑ Byrne, Mark (October 2014). "Meet The Walking Dead's (Sorta-) Southern Belle, Lauren Cohan". GQ (Condé Nast). Retrieved April 13, 2015.
  11. ↑ Gomez, Luis (March 11, 2014). "Interview: 'Walking Dead' has it all for Lauren Cohan". The Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
  12. ↑ Miller, Gerri (September 4, 2007). "Fall TV Preview: Lauren Cohan". American Jewish Life (Genco Media). Retrieved April 13, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Interview: Lauren Cohan talks The Walking Dead". DStv.com. February 24, 2014. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
  14. ↑ Q&A - Lauren Cohan (Maggie Greene) - The Walking Dead - AMC
  15. ↑ "Lauren Cohan". tvsa.co.za. TVSA. Retrieved 2015-04-17.
  16. ↑ Nonfiction Journal, August 2014, Page 15
  17. ↑ Appel, Jacob M. (2014). "She Loves Me Not". Phoning Home. University of South Carolina Press. ISBN 978-1-61117-371-0.
  18. ↑ Scarsdale News, October 17, 2014, Pp. 3-4
  19. ↑ Barton, Steve (March 2, 2010). "Supernatural's Lauren Cohan Joins 'Death Race: Frankenstein Lives'". Dread Central. Retrieved April 13, 2015.
  20. ↑ Bibel, Sara (March 30, 2015). "'The Walking Dead' Season 5 Finale is Highest Rated Finale in Series History, Garnering 15.8 Million Viewers". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
  21. ↑ "Lauren Cohan". tvguide.com. TV Guide. Retrieved 2015-04-17.
  22. ↑ "Lauren Cohan". hollywoodlife.com/. hollywooodlife.com. Retrieved 2015-04-17.
  23. ↑ Destiny - End Credits - IGN Video. IGN Video. 2014-09-11. 4:30 (Voice and Motion Performers). Retrieved 2014-12-04.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lauren Cohan.