Natasha Henstridge Biography

Natasha Henstridge
Biography

Birth Name
Natasha Henstridge
Date of birth (location)
15 August 1974
Springdale, Newfoundland, Canada

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Model-turned-actress Natasha Henstridge first earned fame -- to say nothing of notoriety -- as Sil, the human-alien clone with a deadly need to mate and reproduce in "Species" (1995). Due to the strenuous demands of her character, the blonde, willowy Henstridge was required to spend much of the film naked, something that inspired plenty of testosterone-laced men's magazine profiles but little chance for critical respect. However, the actress persevered, gradually finding work in films that focused on her verbal skills rather than her ability to shed her clothing.

Originally hailing from Springdale, Newfoundland, Henstridge grew up in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada. Leaving home at 14 to pursue a modeling career, she moved to Paris, eventually becoming successful enough to grace the cover of French Cosmopolitan when she was only 15. Henstridge also appeared in ads for Oil of Olay and Lady Stetson, but she soon realized that she was meant for a more creatively stimulating calling. Whether her starring role in Species could be deemed creatively stimulating is arguable, but it did provide Henstridge with her breakthrough.

She had two releases in 1996, though neither created as big an impression as had her debut. In the actioner "Maximum Risk", Henstridge was the girlfriend of Jean-Claude Van Damme's dead twin. Later that year, in "Adrenaline: Fear the Rush", she co-starred with Christopher Lambert, as futuristic cops tracking a serial killer. Henstridge went on to co-star with Robert Sean Leonard in "StandOff" (1998), a drama inspired by recent FBI/militia stand-offs and played a clone of the alien in the inevitable sequel "Species II" (also 1998).

Henstridge broke into new territory with the romantic comedy "Dog Park" (1998), co-starring alongside Janeane Garofalo and Luke Wilson. She continued to flex her comedic muscles in 2000 with "The Whole Nine Yards", sharing the screen with a cast that included Matthew Perry, Bruce Willis, and Michael Clarke Duncan.

Although several of her features ended up running on cable in lieu of theatrically, Henstridge did enjoy a pivotal supporting role in "Bounce" (2000) as an attractive woman who cause Ben Affleck to switch plane tickets with another man who is then killed when the flight crashes. The actress then undertook perhaps her most challenging role to date replacing an injured Courtney Love just before shooting began on the sci-fi thriller "Ghosts of Mars" (2001). Appearing in virtually every scene of the film, she gave a heroic turn as a futuristic police officer who must join forces with hardened criminals to battle the titular spirits.

In 2002, Henstridge portrayed the character Cassie in the NBC action series "She Spies", which also co-starred Kristen Miller and Natasha Williams.