Keri Russell Biography

Keri Russell
Biography

Birth Name
Keri Lynn Russell
Date of birth (location)
23 March 1976
Fountain Valley, California, USA

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Actress and dancer Keri Russell rose to fame as the winsome title character in the WB Network’s teen drama, “Felicity” (1998-2002). Since its demise, the young actress was an infrequent screen performer until 2006, when she returned in a flurry of new film projects – most notably, the summer blockbuster “Mission: Impossible III.”

Born in Fountain Valley, CA on March 23, 1976, Russell’s father David was an automotive executive, which inevitably led to several family relocations, including moves to Mesa, AZ and Dallas, TX. A studied dancer, Russell graduated from high school in Denver, CO. A chance discovery by a talent scout led to various television appearances, culminating with a three year gig as a regular performer on “The Mickey Mouse Club” (The Disney Channel, 1989-94) from 1991 through 1994. Russell’s co-stars during her tenure include fellow future stars Justin Timberlake, JC Chasez of ’N SYNC, Ryan Gosling, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. While on “MMC,” Russell also co-starred in Randall Kleiser’s “Honey, I Blew Up the Kid” (1992), the sequel to the successful 1989 family comedy, as well as a serialized soap opera of sorts, “Emerald Cove” (1993), which ran on The Disney Channel and featured most of her “MMC” castmates.

Following the end of “MMC,” Russell tried her hand at various primetime series and TV movies, including the Dudley Moore-toplined “Daddy’s Girls” (1993-94) and a never-aired episodic version of Kevin Smith’s “Clerks” (1995), as well as the made-for-TV features, “The Babysitter’s Seduction” (1996) and “The Lottery” (1996), which was loosely based on the Shirley Jackson short story. The lead role in executive producer Aaron Spelling’s high school soap series “Malibu Shores” (NBC, 1996) followed, and though the series lasted just nine episodes, fans were pleased to see Russell reunited with her former “MMC” costar Tony Lucca, with whom she had been dating for several years following the demise of the Disney series. Music fans also watched her frolic through the Bon Jovi video, “Always.”

Appearances in a light-hearted teen sex comedy, “Eight Days a Week” (1997), and a TV movie about teen pregnancy titled “When Innocence Was Lost” came next for Russell, as well as a guest appearance on the WB’s “7th Heaven” (1996-2006). She made another attempt at landing a steady network series with the offbeat “Roar” (Fox, 1997), a medieval action-drama for teens that featured a pre-fame Heath Ledger. There would be one more little-seen feature, a thriller titled “Dead Man’s Curve” (1998) before the WB Network and producer/creator J.J. Abrams tapped Russell for a career-making role on “Felicity.”

Initially a well-liked and received drama for the network, thanks to Russell’s Golden Globe-winning performance and an unbeatable love triangle between Felicity, the high school crush (Scott Speedman) and her resident advisor (Scott Foley), the show ran into trouble ratings-wise in its sophomore season (1999-2000). Network executives made the curious move of attributing the series’ problems to an “unauthorized” haircut Russell got between seasons, which trimmed away her substantial, and yes, famous curly locks. Such was the hoopla over the haircut that a WB executive was quoted as saying that no series talent would cut their hair again without permission. A more likely reason for the ratings decline was the show’s move to Sunday nights, but the hair controversy made for better press.

During “Felicity’s” summer hiatus in 2000, Russell traveled to Ireland to make a light-hearted comedy-romance entitled “Mad About Mambo,” which allowed her to show off both her dancing skills and test out an accent (in this case, Irish). “Felicity” lasted just one more season, and Russell followed its cancellation by taking a role in Mel Gibson’s Vietnam War drama, “We Were Soldiers” (2002). After that, she took some much-needed time off, citing a desire to decompress and re-evaluate the direction of her career.

The downtime didn’t last long, because in 2003, “Felicity” creator J.J. Abrams asked her to audition for the role of Lois Lane in a big-screen version of “Superman” that he was undertaking (though he would later leave the project, as would most directors attached). Though she lost the part to Kate Bosworth, her interest in performing was reinvigorated, and she signed on to several appealing projects, including the underappreciated drama “The Upside of Anger” (2005), which again showcased her dance talent; the TV-movie “The Magic of Ordinary Days” (2005); and Steven Spielberg’s massive mini-series “Into the West” for TNT. She also filmed a drama-thriller in Germany titled “Rohtenburg” (2006), which received considerable press attention since the criminal on whom the film is based had sued the production. Russell invested herself whole-heartedly into acting again, after Abrams again tapped her for a part opposite Tom Cruise – possibly her biggest role since “Felicity” – in his feature film debut, “Mission: Impossible III” (2006).