AMANDA PEET

Beauty is only temporary, but your mind lasts you a lifetime

Born on January 11th, 1972, Amanda Peet grew up in New York and made a decidedly unconventional debut into showbiz: At three-years-old, a thoroughly uninvited Peet jumped onto a stage during the middle of a play. Despite the auspicious beginning, Peet treated acting as more of a hobby than anything else, and only began to consider it a potential career after her drama professor at Columbia University encouraged her to audition for renowned acting teacher Uta_Hagen. Peet studied with Hagen for four years, during which time she participated in the off-Broadway revival +Awake and Sing. Though she would eventually be voted one of the year's 50 most beautiful people in a 2000 issue of People magazine -- not to mention participate with the likes of Susan_Sarandon, Samuel_L._Jackson, and Jack_Nicholson -- Peet worked as a waitress during the first few years of her acting career.

The sloe-eyed brunette made her onscreen debut in Craig_Singer'sAnimal_Room (1996). That same year, she could also be seen in an episode of Law & Order, and went on to play a role in Grind (1996), a crime drama starring Billy_Crudup. Before long, Peet landed a small role in theMichelle_Pfeiffer-George_Clooney romantic comedy One_Fine_Day. Since then, the actress has continued to build both her film and television credits: in 1997, she appeared in the AIDS drama Touch_Me, and the following year she had sizable roles in South Boston crime drama Southie with Donnie_Wahlberg and Rose McGowan, which won the American Independent award at the 1998 Seattle Film Festival. On television, she could be seen guest starring on a number of shows including Seinfeld and Ellen_Foster. In 1999, she got her own television show, Jack & Jill, on the WB network. That same year, she could be seen playing Sean_Patrick_Flanery's fiancée in Simply_Irresistible and then acting as his bedmate in Body_Shots, another in the long line of explorations into pre-millennial twentysomething dating angst.

After starring in director Neil_Turitz's debut Two_Ninas, Peet landed a leading role in Peter_M._Cohen's independent comedy Whipped. While the film itself performed dismally, Peet met her boyfriend, Brian_Van_Holt, on the set. Despite it's independent status, Whipped was given a solid amount of mainstream marketing, and Peet was praised for a game performance in the face of an admittedly weak script.

After a small role in 2000's Isn't_She_Great with Bette_Midler andNathan_Lane, Peet was finally recognized by critics and audiences alike inThe_Whole_Nine_Yards. Though the film itself did not fare particularly well, Peet was praised for holding her own against Hollywood heavy-hitterBruce_Willis, which certainly didn't hurt her when it came time to audition forSaving_Silverman, which placed her opposite Jason_Biggs while he was still reeling from the success of American_Pie. In 2002, Peet played a considerably less vicious wife in Changing_Lanes with Ben_Affleck and Samuel_L._Jackson, and won no small amount of praise for her performance as the heroin-addled mistress of Kieran_Culkin's godfather in Igby_Goes_Down. Peet would go on to star opposite film veterans Diane_Keaton and Jack_Nicholson inNancy_Meyers' Something's_Gotta_Give, in which she stars as Nicholson's scandalously young girlfriend, as well as James_Mangold's psychological thrillerIdentity with John_Cusack. In 2004, Peet signed on for the sequel toThe_Whole_Nine_Yards (aptly titled The_Whole_Ten_Yards), and acted alongside Will Ferrell, Chloë_Sevigny, and Josh_Brolin in the Woody_Allenfeature Melinda and Melinda. 

The next year, Peet starred alongside Ashton Kutcher in the romantic comedy A Lot Like Love, before joining the cast of the politically charged thriller Syriana. Then, in 2006, the actress accepted a recurring role on the one-hour drama Studio 60 On the Sunset Strip. The Aaron Sorkin written series received major critical acclaim but was cancelled after just one season. Undeterred, Peet next teamed up with John_Cusack for the quirky, heartfelt drama Martian Child. Rebecca Flint Marx, Rovi