Shiri Appleby Biography

SHIRI APPLEBY

Date of Birth: December 7, 1978

Born in Los Angeles, California, Shiri Appleby started acting in commercials at the young age of four. She worked almost non-stop as a child, eventually appearing in more than 50 commercials. Her first recurring role was on the soap opera Santa Barbara and her first guest role followed shortly after, on the hit show, thirtysomething. Appleby made her motion picture debut in the 1987 flick The Killing Time.

The following year she made three guest appearances on various television shows, and in 1989 she landed a regular role in a television series called Knight and Daye. Although the show lasted less than one season, Appleby quickly bounced back with a role in a major motion picture starring Kevin Kline, River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves, called I Love You to Death. A regular role in Sunday Dinner, another television series, followed, but the series was again short lived. In 1992, Appleby landed a able role as the oldest daughter in a television movie called A Perfect Family, starring alongside Bruce Boxleitner. Another movie role followed, this time on the big screen, in a film called Family Prayers.

Appleby made several more guest appearances on series such as Doogie Howser M.D. and on E.R. in 1994, but the teen decided at that point that she wanted to withdraw from acting for a while and concentrate on high school. The tiny, lively girl became a cheerleader as well as the yearbook editor, and discovered a love of photography.

After graduation, Appleby found herself more in demand than ever. In quick succession, she made guest appearances on Baywatch, 7th Heaven, City Guys, Xena: Warrior Princess and Beverley Hills, 90210. At the same time, she was enrolled in a full time program at the University of Southern California, majoring in English. In her sophomore year, Appleby auditioned for a new series called Roswell. The casting director didn't think Appleby was right for any of the roles, even though she auditioned for all three female leads. After several more auditions, the casting director finally changed her mind, and Appleby landed the plum role of Liz Parker, a teenager living in Roswell, New Mexico, who falls in love with an alien. The show won a huge fan base and ran for three seasons.

Her biggest feature role to date came in 2002 with the teenage thriller Swimfan, in which she played the girlfriend of a championship swimmer who becomes the object of unwanted attention from a new girl in town. The film made her a hot commodity in Hollywood, and she soon landed starring roles in several more films.

In her spare time, Appleby likes to hang out at the beach with her friends. Her hobbies include knitting, crocheting, reading, and playing guitar, and she claims to be obsessed with the board game, backgammon.

Filmography:

The Killing Floor (2006)
What Love Is (2006)
I'm Reed Fish (2006)
When Do We Eat? (2006)
Havoc (2005)
Undertow (2004)
The Skin Horse (2003)
The Battle of Shaker Heights (2003)
Swimfan (2002)
A Time for Dancing (2000)
Deal of a Lifetime (1999)
The Thirteenth Floor (1999)
The Other Sister (1999)
Family Prayers (1993)
I Love You to Death (1990)
Curse II: The Bite (1988)
The Killing Time (1987)