Isla Fisher

Isla Fisher

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Birth name: Isla Lang Fisher
Date of birth: 3 February 1976
Place of birth: Muscat, Oman
Nickname: Is
Height: 5′ 3″ (1.60 m)

Famous Quote: “I love the power women have. I think women rule the world because they rule men. Manipulating men — that’s our job. That’s what we’re on the planet for. All I know is that I’ve ruled out wearing fairy wings. When I was nine I wanted to get married in fairy wings, and now I realize that’s not cool anymore.”

Contact Address and Autograph: Addresses and fan mail information

Isla Fisher
Mosaic Media Group
9200 West Sunset Blvd
10th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90069, USA 

Biography:  Isla Lang Fisher (born February 3, 1976) is an Australian actress and author. She began acting on Australian Television, and is best known for her role of Shannon Reed on the Australian soap opera Home and Away and for her role in the 2005 comedy Wedding Crashers opposite Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson.

Fisher was born in Muscat, Oman to Scottish parents who resided there because of her father’s job as a banker for the United Nations. Her name, after the Scottish island of Islay, is pronounced eye-luh; she has two brothers. Fisher moved with her family to Perth, Western Australia, when she was nine months old. Fisher has said that she had a “great” upbringing in Perth with a “very outdoorsy life”. She began appearing in commercials on Australian television at the age of nine, before going on to win roles in popular children’s television shows Bay City and Paradise Beach. She attended Methodist Ladies’ College and appeared in lead roles in school productions.

As a former soap opera star, actress Isla Fisher could well have spent her career trapped in daytime television. She managed to break free of her sudsy bonds, however, first in London theater, then in mainstream Hollywood movies, all the while carving out a promising film career. But a public past that included racy spreads in British tabloids, stories about late-night partying and numerous romances, and constant questioning of her engagement to Sacha Baron Cohen (a.k.a. Ali G) threatened to turn her burgeoning career into a tabloid circus. Instead, Fisher stayed mum on her personal life and developed into a fine comedic talent with a bright future as a genuine actress. Then a breakout role as a wanton bridesmaid in “The Wedding Crashers” (2005), an uproarious comedy with Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn, pushed Fisher into the spotlight, giving her opportunities previously unseen.

Though of Scottish heritage (her name is Celtic, taken from the Isle of Islay), Fisher was born on February 3, 1976 in Muscat, Oman because her father worked for the United Nations. Her younger brother was later born in Brunei. The Fisher family then moved to Perth, Australia when she was seven. Two years later, her parents divorced. At 9, Fisher—a natural performer who always craved attention—began appearing in commercials and on television. By the time she was 11, Fisher was working consistently. She left home in 1992 to work on the short-lived syndicated teen drama, “Paradise Beach” (1993), about a group of young people from different parts of the world who settle in Australia in search of love, excitement and success. A year later, Fisher joined the cast of the popular Australian soap opera, “Home and Away” (Seven, 1988- ), playing Shannon Reed from 1994-1997.

In 1996, Fisher published two novels, Bewitched and Seduced by Fame, sappy romantic tripe about devious men and the lures of fame aimed at 14 year-olds. Once her stint on “Home and Away” was over, Fisher escaped Australia for Paris where she was accepted to the prestigious Jacques Lecoq School after bombarding them with numerous letters. She studied mime and Commedia dell’Arte, and emerged from the school a fully qualified clown. In 1998, she was performing in the British musical “Summer Holiday,” as well as several pantos—pantomime shows—that eventually took a toll on the actress. After a role on the seven-part BBC drama “Hearts and Bones” (2000) and another in “Atilla” (USA, 2001) as the marauding heathen’s bride-to-be, Fisher got her first big break as Shaggy’s girlfriend, Mary Jane, in “Scooby Doo” (2002).

At the age of eighteen, with the help of her mother, she wrote two teen novels, Bewitched and Seduced by Fame, that became bestsellers. From 1994 to 1997 she played the role of Shannon Reed on the hit Australian soap opera Home and Away. After leaving the popular soap to pursue new challenges, Fisher enrolled at a prestigious theatre and arts training school in Paris, and went on to appear in pantomime in the United Kingdom. She also toured with Darren Day in the Summer Holiday musical, and appeared in a London theatre production called Così. 

Fisher’s ambition was always to progress onto the big screen however, and in 2002 she had a part in the film version of Scooby-Doo as Mary-Jane, Shaggy Rogers’s love interest, and subsequently was taken on by an American agent. A larger role in Wedding Crashers, alongside Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson, in 2005 won her the Breakthrough Performance Award at the MTV Movie Awards. While promoting Wedding Crashers, she was officially crowned the 1000th guest on Australian talk show Rove on August 2, 2005. She entered the set ahead of Owen Wilson, winning the title by two meters.

Her role in “Scooby Doo” led to no more work than usual—a surprise given its box office success and the certain exposure she received. But Fisher plodded on, appearing alongside Jeff Goldblum in the independent coming-of-age drama, “Dallas 362” (2003), the directing debut of Hollywood progeny, Scott Caan. A brief appearance in David O. Russell’s existential comedy, “I Heart Huckabees” (2004) and small part in the mockumentary series “Pilot Season” (TRIO, 2004) was followed by her breakthrough role as a sex-starved bridesmaid in “The Wedding Crashers.” Fisher nearly pulled the rug out from under co-stars Wilson and Vaughn, easily holding her own against the two comedic heavyweights. “The Wedding Crashers” went on to take in over $120 million at the box office and even grabbed the number one spot in its third weekend of release.

With her profile gaining more attention, it was surprising for Fisher to retreat into smaller, independent films that, despite some critical praise, failed to capture the public’s attention. After “Wedding Crashers,” Fisher was in “London” (2006), an esoteric drama about an impulsive hipster (Chris Evan) who learns his ex-girlfriend, London (Jessica Biel), is leaving New York City for good and decides to crash her going away party, only to hole himself up in the bathroom with a pile of cocaine and an enigmatic bartender (Jason Statham) where his drug-fueled conversation runs the gamut of topics while he works up the courage to talk to London before it’s too late. She next starred in Scott Frank’s directorial debut, “The Lookout” (2007), playing an ex-stripper who, along with her shady acquaintance (Matthew Goode), helps lure a former high school hockey star (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) suffering brain damage from a car accident into helping to rob the bank where he sweeps floors. 

In 2006, Fisher starred as Becca, a Manhattan party host in the offbeat relationship drama London co-starring Jessica Biel, Chris Evans and Jason Statham. In 2007, she appeared in The Lookout, a thriller co-starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Matthew Goode, and Hot Rod, opposite Andy Samberg. She was scheduled to appear in The Simpsons Movie, although her appearance was cut from the final version. In 2008, she starred in Wedding Daze with Jason Biggs, Definitely, Maybe, with Ryan Reynolds and Abigail Breslin, and had a voice role in Horton Hears a Who! Fisher has also co-written a treatment for a script entitled Groupies with Amy Poehler, as well as another project entitled The Cookie Queen. She has signed up to star in the movie adaption of the book Confessions of a Shopaholic, the filming of which started in January 2008. Fisher has spoken out against the lack of opportunities for comediennes in Hollywood.

Fisher resides in Los Angeles, California, as well as in London, with her fiancé, English comedian Sacha Baron Cohen. Fisher, who was raised without religion, converted to Judaism after three years of study, in advance of her marriage to Baron Cohen. As of March 2007, the couple have not set a date for their wedding.

Fisher has said that her “sensibility is Australian” and that she has a “laid-back attitude to life” that she feels is “very Australian”. Her mother and siblings live and work in Athens, Greece, while her father lives in Frankfurt, Germany. On 19 October 2007, Fisher gave birth to her first child, a daughter named Olive, in Los Angeles.

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