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A child star who enjoyed that rare successful transition to
onscreen adulthood, Christina Ricci’s continuing film presence
was aided in no small part by the fact that her early roles did
not depend on dimpled cuteness, but on an unnerving maturity
that suggested her characters were smarter than their adult
counterparts. Ricci spent her teens as a gloomy, precocious lead
in Goth-tinged big budget comedies and heavier independent
dramas – all of which best showcased her flair for
unconventional teen females burdened by fear and identity
issues. As the actress d, she enjoyed increasing respect
from the art house crowd, but had difficulty translating her
persona as an intelligent, tough-talking, yet vulnerable
outsider into the limited confines of Hollywood female
characters.
Christina Ricci was born on Feb. 12, 1980, in Santa Monica, CA
but raised mainly in the liberal upper middle class town of
Montclair, NJ. Her mother was a former Ford model-turned-real
estate agent, while her father was a psychiatrist. He
specialized in experimental “scream therapy,” which could cause
one to wonder if the regular shrieks of terror emanating from
his in-home practice might have had something to do with the
young girl’s unusually guarded, despondent demeanour. Whatever
the source of her unsettlingly vibe, it was obviously
apparent to a local theatre artist critic who approached her
after a performance in a school play (he had come to watch his
son) and suggested some avenues for the eight-year-old to get
into the professional arena. Right out of the gate, she landed
several commercials, before quickly advancing to a supporting
role in the critically acclaimed “Mermaids” (1990), playing the
long-suffering daughter of town floozy Cher and sister of the
obsessively religious teen, Winona Ryder – to whom she loosely
resembled.
Ricci made such a strong first impression – including winning a
Young Artist Award – that the following year, she was cast in
the career-defining role of Wednesday Addams in the wildly
popular big screen version of “The Addams Family” (1991). This
second role established Ricci as the go-to actress for
unconventional young girls cursed with the lethal combination of
intelligence and world-weary cynicism. Following the release of
the popular sequel “Addams Family Values” (1993), her life was
upended by the acrimonious divorce of her parents. Ricci went to
live with her mother and began attending the Professional
Children’s School in New York, a private school catering to the
needs of teens with careers in entertainment. In 1995, she
returned to the screen in the audience favorite (but critical
flop) “Casper,” lending her macabre tendencies to the adaptation
of the beloved “friendly ghost” cartoon. More in keeping with
the drama that first earned her reputation, she was nominated
for a Young Artist Award as part of the ensemble cast of “Now &
Then” (1995), a beloved chronicle of four female friendships
spanning several decades. Ricci next landed a supporting role in
Showtime’s Emmy-winning adaptation of Dorothy Allison’s
heartbreaking “Bastard Out of Carolina,” as well as appearing in
more light hearted family titles like “Golddiggers: The Secret
of Bear Mountain” (1995) and “That Darn Cat” (1997).
In 1997, however, Ricci began to shift away from the more benign
films and make a name for herself in more challenging and
independent fare. The film adaptation of Rick Moody’s “The Ice
Storm” (1997), directed by Ang Lee, only received limited
theatrical release but was one of year’s critical picks and
enjoyed increased popularity as a DVD release. Ricci received
multiple award nominations for her outstanding portrayal of a
promiscuous teen in a dysfunctional suburban 1970s family. She
enjoyed even greater success with “The Opposite of ” (1997),
earning a Golden Globe nomination and overwhelming critical
kudos for anchoring the dark comedy about a cynical teen whose
pregnancy upends her untraditional family.
The following year, Ricci truly came into her own with half a
dozen well-respected, largely independent dramas. She was
complicated, vulnerable, and eye-poppingly gaudy in
actor-director Vincent Gallo’s oddly engaging “Buffalo 66,”
playing a kidnap victim forced to pose as her abductor’s wife in
order to impress his parents. She followed up with more outsider
roles, including that of a Barbra Streisand-obsessed artist in
"Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" and a laundromat owner who
finds instant fame in John Waters' gently subversive comedy,
"Pecker.”
In 1999, Ricci returned to the realm of wide releases when she
appeared opposite Johnny Depp in Tim Burton's haunting rendition
of "Sleepy Hollow." Her blond hair in the film was the first
step Ricci took towards a new look, and an indication that the
independent young adult was caving to the pressures of
Hollywood. Even when she reverted back to her black hair, the
once pleasantly voluptuous actress slimmed down to a waif-like
body, later admitting that she had struggled with anorexia in
addition to earlier battles with self-injury and depression.
Ricci’s personal background certainly made her a qualified
candidate for the screen adaptation of Elizabeth Wurtzel’s
“Prozac Nation,” which was linseed in 2001. With her
newly-formed production company, Ricci took on producing duties
of the project, in addition to starring as a troubled young
woman trying to deal with her depression and chemical
addictions. The film would have provided a much-needed
declaration of Ricci’s adulthood, however it was shelved for
several years reportedly due to the distributor’s uneasiness
over the controversial subject matter and the film never hit
theatre actress, only premiered on the Starz! Network in 2005
and a year later, released on video in the U.S.
In 2002, Ricci again produced and starred in a pet project; this
time, the film "Pumpkin," a controversial dark comedy about a
sorority girl who falls for a disabled man. After detouring
through a slate of questionable thrillers ("Miranda" and "The
Gathering"), Ricci took a highly publicized stint on the final
season of TV's "Ally McBeal" (Fox, 1997-2002) as the provocative
young attorney, Liza Bump. She returned to the big screen as a
neurotic actress who intentionally or unintentionally tortures
smitten writer Jason Biggs in Woody Allen's weak "Anything Else"
(2003). After a turn in "I Love Your Work" (2003), the
directorial debut of her then-beau, actor Adam Goldberg, Ricci
seemed back on her game, earning praise for her turn in the
harrowing "Monster" (2003). Based on the life of drifter and
female serial killer Aileen Wournos (Charlize Theron), the film
resonated with moviegoers, and Ricci as Selby, the young lover
who may or may not have turned a blind eye to Wournos' string of
murders (a slightly fictionalized version of Wournos' real-life
companion, who ultimately testified against her in court), had
one of her most effective dramatic roles to date.
From "Monster" to a genuine monster movie, Ricci teamed with
director Wes Craven and screenwriter Kevin Williamson for the
werewolf thriller, "Cursed" (2005), but received more notice for
her Emmy-nominated guest spot on the television medical drama
"Grey's Anatomy" (ABC, 2005- ), then at the peak of its
popularity. In a post-Super Bowl episode which was widely
watched by even more viewers, Ricci played an inexperienced
paramedic whose hand must remain inside a patient's chest to
prevent an unexploded artillery shell from detonating. After a
brief, almost inconsequential appearance in “Home of the Brave”
(2006), a heart-wrenching tale about a National Guard unit in
Iraq sent on a humanitarian mission, Ricci gave a strong
performance in “Black Snake Moan” (2007), a bold, if
controversial, film about a promiscuous woman trying to be
rehabilitated by a God-fearing blues singer (Samuel L. Jackson).
Ricci’s first 2008 release, the Reese Witherspoon-produced
“Penelope” was a disappointing attempt at fantastical comedy
that missed the mark of masters of the genre like Tim Burton.
Forced to wear a pig snout through the majority of the film, it
did little for Ricci’s image, as it marked yet another outcast
teen role for the nearly 30-year-old actress. Later in the year,
Ricci would go wide with a co-starring role in the
highly-anticipated “Speed Racer,” a high-tech adaptation of the
Japanese cartoon cult favourite from the 1960s, co-starring
Emile Hirsch and Matthew Fox.
Born: February 12, 1980 in Santa Monica, California, USA Job
Titles: Actor, Producer, Director Family
Brother: Dante Ricci. Born c. 1974
Brother: Rafael Ricci. Born c. 1971
Father: Ralph Ricci. Divorced Ricci s mother in 1995
Mother: Sarah Ricci. Divorced from Ricci s father in 1995
Sister: Pia Ricci. Born c. 1976
Significant Others
Companion: Kick Gurry. Met in 2007 on the set of Speed Racer
(2008)
Companion: Owen Benjamin. Met while filming All s Faire in Love
(2009); announced their engagement in March 2009; ended
engagement in June 2009
Companion: Adam Goldberg. dating as of January 2003
Companion: James Oliver. together in 2001
Companion: Matthew Frauman. born c. 1972; no longer together
Companion: Orlando Bloom. born in 1977; dating in 2002
Education
Edgemont Elementary School, Montclair, NJ
Glenfield Middle School, Montclair, NJ
Montclair High School, Montclair, NJ
Professional Children s School, New York, NY
Milestones
1990 Feature acting debut as Cher s youngest daughter in
Mermaids
1991 Breakthrough screen role as Wednesday in The Addams Family
1993 Reprised role of Wednesday in Addams Family Values
1995 Starred as a relatively normal kid in Casper
1996 Made cameo appearance in Anjelica Huston s Bastard Out of
Carolina (aired on Showtime)
1997 Played a troubled suburban teenager in The Ice Storm
1998 Earned rave reviews as a pregnant teenager who wreaks
havoc, in the comedy-drama The Opposite of
1998 Had supporting role as the laundy-obsessed girlfriend of a
photographer in John Waters Pecker
1998 Played a kidnap victim who pretends to be her abductor s
wife in Vincent Gallo s Buffalo 66
1999 Co-starred opposite Johnny Depp in Sleepy Hollow
2000 Had pivotal role in the thriller Bless the Child
2000 Reteamed with Deep for The Man Who Cried ; premiered at the
Venice Film Festival (released in US in 2001)
2001 Co-produced and starred in the film adaptation of Prozac
Nation
2002 Cast in the HBO feature ensemble, The Laramie Project ;
adapted from Moises Kaufman s stage drama about the aftermath of
the murder of Matthew Shepard
2002 Featured (also produced) in Pumpkin ; screened at the
Sundance Film Festival
2002 Had title role in the Sundance-screened Miranda
2003 Had lead in Woody Allen s Anything Else
2003 Played the lesbian lover of Charlize Theron s character in
Monster
2005 Guest-starred on Joey (NBC), playing Joey s (Matt LeBlanc)
sister Mary Teresa
2005 Starred in the Wes Craven werewolf movie Cursed
2006 Cast in Irwin Winkler s Home of the Brave, about the lives
of four American soldiers in Iraq and their return back to the
US
2006 Earned an Emmy nomination for Best Guest Actress in a Drama
Series for Grey s Anatomy
2007 Portrayed a young woman addicted to who is kidnapped by
Samuel L. Jackson in Black Snake Moan
2008 Cast as Trixie, the female lead in the Wachowski brothers
live action film adaptation of the 1960s Japanese series Speed
Racer
2008 Starred in Penelope as a cursed woman; produced by and
co-starred Reese Witherspoon (linseed 2006)
Did voice-overs and appeared in TV commercials
Feature directorial debut Speed Queen (linseed 2002); also
starred
Formed production company, Blaspheme Films
Raised in Montclair, New Jersey
Source: Source: Yahoo Movies
http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800018567/bio |
