name	Danneel Ackles
birth name	Elta Danneel Graul
birth date	March 18, 1979
birth place	Lafayette, Louisiana, U.S.
occupation	Actress
other names	Danneel Harris
years active	2003–present
spouse	Jensen Ackles (m. 2010–present) }}

Danneel Ackles (born Elta Danneel Graul; March 18, 1979), better known by her stage name Danneel Harris, is an American actress and model. She is best known for her roles as Shannon McBain on ''One Life to Live'' and Rachel Gatina on ''One Tree Hill''.

Early life

Elta Danneel Graul was born in Lafayette, Louisiana, and was raised in the small town of Eunice in St. Landry Parish. She was named after her great-grandmother. Her first name is Elta, but she goes by her middle name, Danneel, professionally. The name "Danneel" was inspired by Danneel Street in New Orleans. Her cousin is actress Mary Lou. She moved to Los Angeles and continued her acting training with John Homa, Calmeson and Calmeson, and Craig Wargo.

Career

Modeling and television

Before she landed her first acting role, Danneel worked as a model with such companies as Big Sexy Hair and Juicy Jeans. She first appeared in a television commercial. The independent film ''The Plight of Clownana'' marks her first major acting role. Her other credits include The WB's ''What I Like About You'', guest appearance on ''Mad TV'', and a supporting role in the yet-to-be released indie ''Rule Number One'' starring Ed Harris.

Danneel is skilled in gymnastics and her musical talents include playing the piano and singing. She relocated to New York in 2004 for her role on ''One Life to Live''.

In 2005, Danneel successfully auditioned for the role of Rachel Gatina on The CW's Teen Drama ''One Tree Hill''. She went on to become an integral part of the series and was upgraded to a series regular in the fourth season. However in season five, Danneel only reprised the role of Rachel in two episodes due to the seasons format change. Danneel announced at The CW Upfront she had been contacted about returning in the series seventh season. Danneel announced she had signed on to for seven episodes in the series seventh season. Danneel went on to appear in another five episodes. It has been reported ''One Tree Hill'' was interested in having Danneel reprise the role of Rachel in the series eighth and possible last season; this would problematic because of Danneel's schedule with ''Friends with Benefits''. However, the show was never picked up despite the 13 episodes that had been filmed. Harris appeared alongside Co-Stars Sophia Bush and Hilarie Burton in the November 2006 Edition of ''Maxim''. ''One Tree Hill'' is Danneel's best known role to date.

Danneel appeared in the episode "Shelter Island" as Nora Zinman in CBS's ''How I Met Your Mother''. The episode premiered on October 20, 2008 and Harris replaced Sara Paxton who dropped out.

Danneel was cast as a series regular on the sitcom ''Friends with Benefits'', which will air on NBC as a "Summer Burn-Off". The sitcom was originally scheduled to air as a 2010–2011 mid-season add-on.

Film career

Danneel Ackles has appeared in independent short films such as ''The Plight of Clownana'' and ''Rule Number One''. She has also had small roles in films such as Straight to DVD films ''Extreme Movie'' and ''Still Waiting...''.

In 2007, she starred alongside One Tree Hill star Elisabeth Harnois in ''Ten Inch Hero'' which followed the relationships of a group of staff working at a sandwich shop. The film premiered in the festival circuit during 2007 and was released straight-to-DVD exclusively with Blockbuster. The film was well received by critics.

She made her theatrical debut as Vanessa Fanning in the sequel to 2004's ''Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle'' 2008's ''Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay''. The film was released to mixed to positive reviews and had success at the box office earning $67,366,013 worldwide. Danneel has been confirmed to reprise her role of Vanessa ''A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas'' in 2011.

In 2009, she appeared in the Screen Gems Teen Comedy film ''Fired Up'' starring alongside Sarah Roemer and Molly Sims. The film which was released February 20, 2009 was released to negative reviews and had little success at the box office earning a worldwide total of $18,001,045.

In 2008, Danneel signed up for another Screen Gems film ''Mardi Gras'' alongside Carmen Electra and Arielle Kebbel. The film has been pushed back numerous times. As of May 27, 2009, the film was announced in post-production. The film received confirmed for a February 19, 2010 debut but was pushed back yet again. Its release date is currently unknown.

She appeared as Olivia in CBS Films ''The Back-Up Plan''. The film was released April 23, 2010, and starred Jennifer Lopez. Despite negative reviews, the film debuted at #2 at the weekend box office with an estimated gross of $12,250,000.

In May 2009, it was announced she had signed on for the role of Irene in Screen Gems' ''The Roommate''. Starring alongside Minka Kelly and Leighton Meester, filming took place in 2009. The film originally was scheduled for an October 2010 release, but was pushed forward to September 17, 2010. However, it was later announced Screen Gems was pushing it back once again to February 4, 2011.

Personal life

After dating for three years, Danneel became engaged to actor Jensen Ackles (mostly known for his role as Dean Winchester in the TV series ''Supernatural''). The two starred together in ''Ten Inch Hero''. They married in Dallas, Texas on May 15, 2010.

Filmography

Film
! Year	! Film	! Role	! Notes
2004	''The Plight of Clownana''	DildoMan's Fan	Short film
2005	''Rule Number One''	April	Short film
2007	''Ten Inch Hero''	Tish
	''Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay''	Vanessa Fanning
''Extreme Movie''	Melissa
	''Still Waiting...''	Sherry	Straight-to-DVD
''Fired Up!''	Bianca
	''Mardi Gras''	Erica
''The Back-up Plan''	Olivia
2011	''The Roommate''	Irene
2012	''A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas''	Vanessa Fanning	''Post-production''
Television
! Year	! Title	! Role	! Notes
2003–2004	''One Life to Live''	Shannon McBain	68 episodes Role held: March 2, 2004 – December 2, 2004
2004		Kate	Episode 2.14: "Your Cheatin' Heart" Episode 2.16: "Lunar Eclipse of the Heart" Episode 2.19: "The Big Picture" Episode 2.21: "Anti-Prom"
2004–2005		London / Katie Harper	Episode 1.10: "Joey and the Big Audition" Episode 1.12: "Joey and the Plot Twist" Episode 1.13: "Joey and the Taste Test"
		Cammie Cresswell	Episode 10.16: "List of JAG episodes#Season 10: 2004–2005
''[[Charmed''
2005–2009		Rachel Gatina	52 episodes Recurring cast (Seasons 3, 5–7; 2005–2006, 2008–2009; 31 episodes) Series regular (Season 4; 2006–2007; 21 episodes)
2007	''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation''	Shasta McCloud
	''Free Radio''	Danneel Harris	Episode 1.07: "Lance Gets a Bodyguard"
''How I Met Your Mother''	Nora Zinman
		Jessica Shore
	Jessica	Episode 1.02: "All Hell the Victors"
''CSI: Miami''	Abby Dawson
2011		Sara Maxwell	Main cast (Season 1–present; credited as Danneel Ackles)

References

External links

Category:1979 births Category:Actors from Louisiana Category:American film actors Category:American television actors Category:Living people Category:People from Eunice, Louisiana

da:Danneel Harris de:Danneel Ackles es:Danneel Harris fr:Danneel Harris it:Danneel Harris nl:Danneel Harris ja:ダニール・ハリス no:Danneel Harris pl:Danneel Harris pt:Danneel Ackles ru:Харрис, Дэннил sr:Данил Харис sv:Danneel Harris tr:Danneel Harris

birth date	April 09, 1986
birth place	Forth Worth, Texas, U.S.
birthname	Leighton Marissa Meester
occupation	Actress, singer, model
yearsactive	1999–present
website	leightonmeestermusic.com }}

Leighton Marissa Meester (born April 9, 1986) is an American actress and singer. Meester first garnered attention for playing Blair Waldorf in the CW television series ''Gossip Girl''. She most recently appeared in the 2010 country drama film ''Country Strong'', the 2011 thriller ''The Roommate'', and the 2011 romantic-comedy ''Monte Carlo''.

Early life and personal life

Meester was born in Fort Worth, Texas, to Constance (née Haas) and Douglas Meester and lived most of her life in New York City and Los Angeles. Meester's last name means "master" or "teacher" in Dutch.

At the time, her mother was serving time in a federal prison for her involvement in a drug ring that smuggled marijuana from Jamaica to the United States. She was able to give birth to Leighton in a hospital and nurse her for three months in a halfway house, before returning to prison to complete her sentence, after which Leighton's grandmother cared for her.

Meester has maintained that her parents gave her a normal upbringing and, despite their criminal past, are good people with experience that has only made Meester more open-minded and non-judgmental, "It made me realize that you can't judge anyone — especially your parents — for what they've done in their past, because people change." Meester has joked, "Look, I could've turned out a lot worse." She has cited her mother as her style icon.

Meester grew up in Marco Island, Florida, where she participated in productions at a local playhouse. When she was 11 years old, Meester and her mother moved to New York City. Meester attended the Professional Children's School and also began working as a model with Wilhelmina, booking a Ralph Lauren campaign shot by Bruce Weber and working with then photographer (now film maker) Sofia Coppola as well as many commercials including Tamagotchi toys and Clearasil. Meester made her television acting debut as a murder victim's friend on an episode of ''Law & Order''. At 14, Meester moved to Los Angeles, California, wanting more stable work, and attended Hollywood High School and Beverly Hills High School. She then transferred to a small private school and graduated a year early.

In July 2011, she and her mother filed lawsuits against each other regarding Meester's financial support of her younger brother, who has multiple health problems. Meester's suit claims the money she sent was misused by her mother; her mother's suit makes a cross-claim alleging breach of contract and physical abuse.

Career

Acting

After her television debut in 1999 playing Alyssa Turner in ''Law & Order'', Meester appeared as a guest in two more series before landing her big role in the movie ''Hangman's Curse'', based on the best-selling book by Frank Peretti. She appeared in ''Tarzan'', which ran for only eight episodes. Meester then started to land guest roles in other series such as ''Crossing Jordan'', ''8 Simple Rules'', ''7th Heaven'', ''Veronica Mars'', ''24'', and ''Entourage''.

In 2005, Meester began a regular role in the series ''Surface'' as Savannah Bennet. Meester appeared in two more 2006 movies, ''Flourish'' and ''Inside''. She also guest appeared in ''Numb3rs'' and in three episodes of ''House M.D.'' as Ali, a young girl who has a crush on House. She had guest roles on ''CSI: Miami'' and ''Shark'', and played the female lead in the horror film ''Drive-Thru''.

In 2007, Meester was cast in the CW's teen drama series ''Gossip Girl'' as Blair Waldorf. The show is based on the book series by Cecily von Ziegesar about the lives of New York's privileged Upper East Side young adults. Her performance is the most critically acclaimed of the show, with Blair being cited as the series' breakout character, and also garnering much media recognition due to her wardrobe.

Meester appeared on the television film ''The Haunting of Sorority Row'', and played a part in the ensemble comedy/drama ''Remember the Daze''. She also appeared in the horror/thriller film ''Killer Movie'' in 2008.

Meester had small roles in the 2010 comedies ''Date Night'' and ''Going The Distance''. She starred in Screen Gems' 2010 country drama ''Country Strong'' and the 2011 thriller ''The Roommate''. In 2011 she starred alongside Selena Gomez and Katie Cassidy in the young femme comedy ''Monte Carlo'', loosely based on Jules Bass's young-adult book ''Headhunters''. She is set to star in ''The Uncatchable Cowgirl Bandits of Nottingham, Texas'' alongside Amber Heard; in the indie dramatic comedy ''The Oranges'' opposite Hugh Laurie; and she also joined the cast of the comedy ''I Hate You, Dad'', alongside Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, and Milo Ventimiglia.

Music

In April 2009, Meester signed a recording contract with Universal Republic. Meester's first official single, "Somebody To Love", featuring R&B; singer Robin Thicke, was released for airplay on October 13, 2009 and became available for digital download on October 14, 2009. Her second single, "Your Love's a Drug", was digitally released on March 30, 2010.

Meester is featured on Cobra Starship's song "Good Girls Go Bad", which reached the Top 10 on Billboard Hot 100 peaking at #7, and on Stephen Jerzak's song "She Said". She recorded a cover of the song "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" for the compilation album ''A Very Special Christmas 7''. For her 2010 country drama film ''Country Strong'', she recorded a cover of the song "Words I Couldn't Say" by Rascal Flatts as well as "A Little Bit Stronger" by Sara Evans featured on the film's soundtrack; a promotional single titled "Summer Girl"; and a duet with Garrett Hedlund titled "Give In To Me".

Endorsements

Meester has fronted many charity as well as advertising campaigns. In 2008, she was a spokesperson for Sunsilk's "Life Can't Wait" campaign to motivate women to pursue their dreams and collaborated with Safe Horizon to raise awareness about and prevent domestic violence. Early in 2009, Meester partnered with Reebok to model their new Top Down sneakers. Outside of ''Gossip Girl'', Meester has worked with co-star Ed Westwick in a Nikon Coolpix series camera advertisement and both were faces for a Korean clothing line called ASK Enquired. Most recently, in 2010, Meester has signed on to be the current spokesperson for Herbal Essences hair products. In the same year, Meester took part in Bulgari's humanitarian efforts for the Save the Children organization with Isabella Rossellini and Maribel Verdútaken. Vera Wang has also chosen Meester to be the face of her newest scent ''Lovestruck'', breaking in summer of 2011, stating that the actress's "beauty, talent and spirit will inspire all the young women that I hope will enjoy this passionate, new young fragrance." In 2011, Italian fashion house Missoni revealed they have tapped Meester to be part of their Spring/Summer 2011 campaign. She fronts another South Korean brand, this time a beauty campaign, called eSpoir. Leighton is additionally the new face of Vera Wang's scent "Lovestruck" which was first sold in Harrods on the 9th June with many adoring fans queueing to get the world famous designer's and actress's signature.

Filmography

+ List of film credits
! Year	! Film	! Role	Notes
2003	''The Big Wide World of Carl Laemke''	Tanni
2003	''The Jackalope''	Lorraine
2003		Elisha Springfield
2004	''Hollywood Division''	Michelle	TV film
2006		Lucille "Lucy" Covner
2006	''Inside''	Josie
2007		Mackenzie Carpenter
2007	''Remember the Daze''	Tori
2007	''The Haunting of Sorority Row''	Samantha Willows	TV film
2008	''Killer Movie''	Jaynie Hansen
2010	''Date Night''	Katy
2010		Amy
2010	''Country Strong''	Chiles Stanton
2011	''The Roommate''	Rebecca
2011		Meg
2011		Nina Ostroff	''Post-production''
2012	''I Hate You, Dad''	TBA	''Filming''

+ List of television credits
! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
1999	''Law & Order''	Alyssa Turner
2001	''Boston Public''	Sarah Breen
2002	''Once And Again''	Amanda	Episode "Gardenia"
2002	''Family Affair''	Irene	Episode "No Small Parts"
2003		Nicki Porter	5 episodes
2004	''Crossing Jordan''	Marie Strand
2004	''7th Heaven''	Kendall	2 episodes
2004		Veronica Farrell	Episode "Pilot"
2004–2008		Justine Chapin	3 episodes
2005		Debbie Pendleton	4 episodes
2005	''8 Simple Rules''	Nikki Alcott
2005	''Veronica Mars''	Carrie Bishop	2 episodes
2005–2006		Savannah Barnett	12 episodes (Recurring role)
2006		Poppy
2006	''Secrets of a Small Town''	Kayla Rhodes	Episode "Pilot"
2006	''Numb3rs''	Karen Camden
2006	''House M.D.''	Ali	2 episodes
2007	''CSI: Miami''	Heather Crowley
2007		Megan	3 episodes
2007–present	''Gossip Girl''	Blair Waldorf	Main role

Discography

Singles

Year	Single	Chart positions			Album
		! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	iTunes Chart
2009	style="text-align:left;"	—	13	—
2010		—	—	45

Featured singles

Year	Single	Artist	Peak chart positions									Album
			! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"
2009		Cobra Starship	7	5	37	4	7	13	61	2	17	style="text-align:left;"
2010		Stephen Jerzak	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Awards

! Year	! Award	! Category	! Nominated work	! Result
2008	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Actress Drama
2008	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Breakout Star Female	''Gossip Girl''
2009	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Actress Drama	''Gossip Girl''
2009			"Good Girls Go Bad" (with Cobra Starship)
2010	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Actress Drama	''Gossip Girl''
2010	Hollywood Awards	Spotlight Award	''Country Strong''
2011			''The Roommate''
2011	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Movie Actress Drama	''Country Strong''
2011	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Movie Villain	''The Roommate''

References

External links

Official website

Category:1986 births Category:Actors from Texas Category:Actors from Florida Category:American child actors Category:American child models Category:American female models Category:American female singers Category:American film actors Category:American people of Dutch descent Category:American pop singers Category:American television actors Category:Living people Category:Musicians from Florida Category:Musicians from Texas Category:People from Collier County, Florida Category:People from the Dallas – Fort Worth Metroplex Category:Songwriters from Texas

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