|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Poppy Petal Emma Elizabeth Deveraux Donahue Montgomery (born 19 June 1975 in Sydney, New South Wales) is an Australian actress. After bouncing around for nearly a decade from one forgettable role to another, blond Aussie import Poppy Montgomery finally arrived as one of the new millennium’s brightest TV stars. A popular cover girl for such testosterone-friendly publications as Maxim, FHM and Stuff, Montgomery was voted TV’s “Hottest Cop” in a 2005 Maxim readers’ poll for her role as FBI agent Samantha “Sam” Spade on the hit CBS crime procedural, “Without a Trace” (CBS, 2002- ). She chose her mother's maiden name, Montgomery, as her stage name. She left Australia at 16 to be with her then-boyfriend. They broke up, and she arrived in Hollywood at 18 carrying a copy of How to Make It In Hollywood. She currently stars as Samantha Spade in the American television series Without a Trace. Montgomery was the "cover girl" for the May 2005 Stuff, which labelled her "TV's Hottest Cop." She has also appeared in Maxim, FHM and posed nude in the art magazine Black+White. Montgomery was praised for her portrayal of Marilyn Monroe in the 2001 CBS mini-series Blonde, based on the novel by Joyce Carol Oates. She quit practicing yoga and gained 12 pounds to emulate Marilyn Monroe's ample figure for the role. The daughter of a restaurateur and market researcher, Montgomery and all four of her sisters were named after flowers. A lifelong fan of Hollywood, Montgomery recalled that she and her sisters spent an inordinate amount of their childhood playing “dress up;” pretending to be movie stars, a la Marilyn Monroe. Arriving in Los Angeles in the early 1990’s and quaintly carrying a copy of Wendy Hyland’s book, How to Make It in Hollywood, Montgomery reportedly tracked down Julia Roberts' personal manager to inform him that she was available. While Roberts' people passed, this naïve but gutsy move did eventually lead Montgomery to her first representation. In 1995, Montgomery made her feature film debut in director Carl Franklin’s underrated thriller, "Devil in a Blue Dress." Montgomery’s small role in the film led to a handful of television guest roles on such mainstays as “NYPD Blue” (ABC, 1993-2005) and “Party of Five” (Fox, 1995-96). Soon after, Montgomery landed her first regular series role, playing Kimberly Williams' younger sister, Jennifer Lukens, on the short-lived romantic drama, "Relativity" (ABC, 1996-97). Critically adored, but abysmally rated, ABC pulled the plug on “Relativity” after just 17 episodes. But fortunately by this point, Montgomery was already on a roll. In 1998, Montgomery scored the female lead role in the MTV-produced comedy, “Dead Man on Campus” (1998), starring Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Tom Everett Scott. Reviews of the film were, not surprisingly, generally harsh. In 2001, Montgomery landed the dream role of her lifetime when she was cast as childhood idol, Marilyn Monroe, in the CBS miniseries, “Blonde” (2001). Based on the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Joyce Carol Oates, “Blonde” was a fictionalized account of the iconic bombshell’s life, as seen through her own eyes. To better look the part, the small-framed Montgomery put on 12 pounds and worked tirelessly with a dialect coach in order to master Monroe’s famed wispy-voiced delivery. Aired over two nights during May sweeps, “Blonde” performed respectably in terms of ratings, but reviews were mixed on the show and Montgomery’s portrayal, both. Still searching for her breakthrough vehicle, Montgomery came close to finding it when she was cast in the short-lived mystery series, “Glory Days” (WB, 2002) – the brainchild of “Dawson Creek” creator, Kevin Williamson. Unfortunately, “Glory Days” failed to catch on and died less than halfway through its first season. Fortunately, Montgomery’s patience was finally rewarded later that year when she landed the role of Special Agent Samantha Spade on the crime series, “Without a Trace.” Unlike Montgomery’s previous series, “Without a Trace” proved to be a ratings winner straight out of the gate – providing the actress a welcome departure from the norm. Montgomery attended the Ascham School, in Sydney. Her parents are divorced and both have remarried. Her brother is named Jethro Tull, after Jethro Tull. Her sisters are named Rosie Thorn, Daisy Yellow, Lily Belle and Marigold Sun - all named after flowers, as Poppy is. She has stated the reason for her siblings interesting names was that her parents "were big hippies." She has two half brothers Sean and Patrick and one half sister Tara. Montgomery is dating and living with boyfriend, actor Adam Kaufman, her co-star in the independent film Between. In June 2007, Montgomery announced her pregnancy with Kaufman. While in Australia accidentally announced she was expecting a boy. On 23 December 2007, Montgomery gave birth to son Jackson Phillip Deveraux Kaufman in Los Angeles. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Celebrities Guide 
| WhoABC
Home : Disclaimer
: Terms
: Privacy
Policy : Contact
Us : Links All original content Copyright Celebrities Guide, WhoABC.com © 2004 - 2008. All Rights Reserved |