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Evan Rachel Wood (born September 7, 1987) is an American film, television, theater actress and singer. She began her acting career in the late 1990s, appearing in several television roles, including American Gothic and Once and Again. Wood made her debut as a leading film actress in 2002's Little Secrets, and became well known after her transition to a more adult oriented Golden Globe-nominated role in the critically acclaimed Thirteen (2003). An exceptionally gifted actress, Evan Rachel Wood specialized in playing girls who had seen and experienced often too much at very early ages. She first gained attention while still in grade school on the cult TV series “American Gothic” (1995-96) and “Once And Again” (1999-2002), before wowing critics with her portrayal of a young girl who dives headlong into sex and drugs in the disturbing indie drama, “Thirteen” (2003), for which she received a Golden Globe nomination. After that starmaking performance, Wood alternated between mainstream Hollywood features and independent productions, impressing reviewers and audiences alike with her mature and complex performances. Wood continued acting in mostly independent films, including Pretty Persuasion (2005), Down in the Valley (2006), Running with Scissors (2007), and in the big studio production Across the Universe (2007). Wood's acting has drawn critical praise and has been described by The Guardian newspaper as being "wise beyond her years" and as "one of the best actresses of her generation". Her personal relationship with singer Marilyn Manson has received media coverage. Wood was born in Raleigh, North Carolina, the daughter of Sara Lynn Moore, an actress, director and acting coach, and Ira David Wood III, an actor, singer, theater director and playwright. Wood's brother, Ira David Wood IV, is also an actor. Wood has another brother, Dana. Her paternal aunt, Carol Winstead Wood, is a Hollywood production designer. Evan Rachel Wood is Jewish. She has described the music of The Beatles as being a major part of her life since her first family Christmas. Wood and her brothers were actively involved in Theatre In The Park, a community theater directed by her father, while growing up; she played the Ghost of Christmas Past in a production of A Christmas Carol at the theater when she was several months old, and later starred as Helen Keller alongside her mother (who played Annie Sullivan) in a production of The Miracle Worker, under her father's direction. Wood began her career appearing in several made-for-television films from 1994 and onwards, also playing an occasional role in the television series American Gothic. In 1996, Wood's parents separated and later divorced, and Wood moved with her mother to her mother's native Los Angeles County, California. After a one-season role on the television drama, Profiler, Wood was cast in the supporting role of Jessie Sammler on the television show Once and Again. Wood's first major screen role was in the low-budget 1998 film, Digging to China, which also starred Kevin Bacon and Mary Stuart Masterson. Wood remembers the role as initially being "hard", but notes that it eventually led to her decision that acting is something she "might never want to stop doing". In 2002, Wood played a supporting role in the film S1m0ne, which starred Al Pacino. Wood's breakthrough movie role followed, with the somewhat controversial 2003 independent film Thirteen. The film garnered strong critical acclaim, and her performance was nominated for a Golden Globe Award as Best Actress - Drama and for a Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award for Best Actress. During the time of Thirteen's release, Vanity Fair named Wood as one of the It Girls of Hollywood, and she appeared, along with the other actresses, on the magazine's July 2003 cover. A supporting role opposite Cate Blanchett and Tommy Lee Jones, in Ron Howard's The Missing, followed the same year. Despite being forced to drop out of the lead role in “Raise Your Voice” (2004) due to scheduling conflicts and losing “Mean Girls” (2004) to the nominally more popular Lindsay Lohan, she was an eminently likable heroine in the sweet but little-seen kid comedy, “Little Secrets” (2002), which enjoyed a small following in subsequent TV screenings. Wood also played Al Pacino and Catherine Keener’s daughter in the odd science fiction parody “S1m0ne” (2002) and endured a kidnapping at the hands of a Native American medicine man in Ron Howard’s gritty Western “The Missing” (2003). Though Wood’s work in each film was commendable, none of the films could be considered showcases for her skills. Then came director Catherine Hardwicke and “Thirteen” (2003), giving critics got a second chance to see Wood at her best. As Tracy, a polite young preteen whose struggle to stay afloat in her family leads to rebellion, self-abuse, and disillusionment, Wood left viewers gasping from the emotional risks she took in the film, sending shivers down the spines of more than one parent. The film earned almost universally excellent notices, and garnered Wood Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild nominations, as well as a host of trophies from film festivals around the world. Wood also graced the cover of Vogue magazine that year, which named her one of Hollywood’s newest “It Girls.” Her status was soon underscored by appearances in videos for popular alt-rock bands Bright Eyes (“At the Bottom of Everything”) and Green Day (their epic “Wake Me Up When September Ends,” in which she co-starred with British actor Jamie Bell, with whom she was romantically linked). She was also name-checked on the cult TV show “Veronica Mars” (UPN/The CW, 2004-) as the actress that Veronica (Kristen Bell) wanted to play her if a biopic was made of her life. In 2005, she appeared in The Upside of Anger, opposite Kevin Costner, and Joan Allen, a well-reviewed film in which Wood played one of several sisters dealing with their father's absence. Her next two starring roles were in the dark independent films, Pretty Persuasion (also 2005), in which she played a villainous, sexually active high-schooler, and Down in the Valley, in which her character falls in love with an older man posing as a cowboy (Edward Norton). Wood has commented on her choice of sexually themed roles, saying that she is not aiming for the "shock factor" in her film choices. In 2005, Wood starred in the music videos for Bright Eyes' "At the Bottom of Everything" and Green Day's "Wake Me Up When September Ends". In September of 2006, she received Premiere magazine's "Spotlight Award for Emerging Talent". Later that year, Wood appeared with an all-star ensemble cast in the film, Running With Scissors. Also in 2006, she was described by The Guardian as being "wise beyond her years" and as "one of the best actresses of her generation". With the success of “Thirteen,” Wood became a popular go-to actress for independent filmmakers seeking someone wise beyond her years. In 2005, she played the youngest of four daughters who each seek their own way of dealing with their missing father and rage-filled and confused mother (Joan Allen) in Mike Binder’s smart and bittersweet drama “The Upside of Anger.” She also returned to “Thirteen” territory in the heavy-handed black comedy “Pretty Persuasion” (2005), for which she played a vicious and sexually precocious high school girl. Finally, she gave a standout performance in the solid but not spectacular “Running with Scissors” (2006), in which she portrayed the eccentric daughter of an even more unusual psychotherapist father. Wood deflected statements that she was seeking out these attention-grabbing roles by stating that she hoped her performances would help girls who were struggling with their own sexuality by showing them the consequences of unchecked experimentation. Though none of the films were hits, they all supported the growing opinion that Wood was, as one film critic wrote, one of the best actresses of her generation. Wood has roles in two films released in September, 2007: King of California and Across the Universe, a musical directed by Julie Taymor and set in Liverpool, United Kingdom, New York City and Vietnam; Wood sang musical numbers live during filming in the latter film. Starring in 2008's Vadim Perelman-directed The Life Before Her Eyes, Wood played a younger version of Uma Thurman's character; Wood has stated that she intends the film to be the last time she plays a teenager. Next, Wood will provide the voice of an alien in the animated film Terra, play writer Anne Brontë in the film Brontë, and will be involved in the film Phantasmagoria: The Visions of Lewis Carroll. Wood has stated that she prefers music to movies and is planning to launch a singing career. Wood and Across the Universe co-star, Jim Sturgess are reported to be involved in the upcoming Julie Taymor Broadway production of a Spider-Man musical adaptation. Music for the show will be composed and written by Bono and The Edge, of the band U2. Wood was home-schooled for most of her schooling years, and received her high school diploma at age fifteen. She has a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and enjoys singing, having recorded the songs "Christmas Isn't Christmas Without You" and "Silver and Gold" for the School's Out Christmas Album, which featured various artists. Wood has said that her character in Across the Universe, whom she describes as an "old soul, street smart and ahead of her time", is close to her real-life personality. Wood also describes herself as being "laid-back" and "not a party girl", citing her choice to stay away from what is considered a typical Hollywood lifestyle. In 2006, Wood, who was described by the Guardian as an "Anglophile", dated her "Wake Me Up When September Ends" music video co-star, English actor Jamie Bell. She is also a friend of actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt. In 2007, Wood's relationship with Marilyn Manson became public. The two met at a party at the Chateau Marmont Hotel; Wood has stated that she was attracted to Manson's frequent use of black eye liner and has described their relationship as "healthy and loving." Two portraits of Wood, painted by Manson, have been exhibited at the Celebritarian Corporation Gallery of Fine Art. Wood is also the inspiration behind Manson's song "Heart-Shaped Glasses" and appeared with Manson in the song's music video. Manson has said that Wood's appearance in the film was the highest-paid music video role ever. |
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