Portia de Rossi

Infobox Actor


imagesize = 200px
birthname = Amanda Lee Rogers
birthdate = birth date and age|df=yes|1973|1|31
birthplace = Geelong, Victoria, Australia
spouse = Mel Metcalfe (1996–1999)
Ellen DeGeneres (2008 — present)
sagawards = Outstanding Ensemble in a Comedy Series
1998 "Ally McBeal"

Portia de Rossi (born 31 January 1973) is an Australian actress best known for her roles as lawyer Nelle Porter on the television series "Ally McBeal" and as Lindsay Bluth Fünke on the television series "Arrested Development".

Biography

Early life

De Rossi was born Amanda Lee Rogers in Geelong, Victoria, Australia, the daughter of Margaret, a medical receptionist, and Barry Rogers. [ [http://www.filmreference.com/film/91/Portia-de-Rossi.html Portia de Rossi Biography (1973-) ] ] She was raised in Grovedale, a suburb of Geelong. As a child, she modeled for print and TV commercials. She took the name Portia de Rossi at a young age:

"When I was 15, I changed it legally. In retrospect, I think it was largely due to my struggle about being gay. Everything just didn’t fit, and I was trying to find things I could identify myself with, and it started with my name. I picked Portia because I was a Shakespeare fan (Portia is the character in The Merchant of Venice who comes to the rescue of Antonio and Bassanio in their time of need). De Rossi because I was Australian and I thought that an exotic Italian name would somehow suit me more than Amanda Rogers. When you live in Australia, Europe is so far away and so fascinating, so stylish and cultured and sophisticated". [http://www.advocate.com/currentstory1_w_ektid20037.asp The Advocate, "Portia heart and soul"] ]

She studied at Geelong Grammar School and Melbourne Girls Grammar School, then the University of Melbourne Law School, but left before finishing the course to pursue an acting career.

Career

Her first significant role was playing a young and impressionable model in the Australian 1994 film "Sirens". Soon afterwards she moved to Los Angeles and had guest roles on several TV shows, and a permanent role in "", before landing a role in the film "Scream 2". She attracted international attention when she joined the main cast of the "Ally McBeal" TV series in 1998 playing lawyer Nelle Porter. She remained with the show until its end in 2002.

In 2001, she starred in "Who is Cletis Tout?" with Christian Slater. From 2003–2006, de Rossi starred as Lindsay Bluth Fünke on Fox Television's critically acclaimed, Emmy-winning series "Arrested Development".

From 2007-2008, de Rossi appears in "Nip/Tuck's" fifth season as Julia McNamara's new girlfriend Olivia Lord. In 2009, the concluding 8 episodes of season 5 will air. Due to the writers strike, the show was forced to take a break. She also portrayed John F. Kennedy, Jr.'s wife, Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, in a made for TV movie.

She will reprise her role as Lindsay Bluth Fünke in 2009's film adaptation of "Arrested Development". [ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0901469/ Arrested Development (2009), Internet Movie Database] ]

De Rossi was named number 67 in "Stuff's" 100 Sexiest Women, 31 in "Femme Fatales"' Sexiest Women of 2003 list, 24 in "Maxim's" 100 Sexiest Women List in 2004, and in late 2006, the magazine "Blender" listed her as one of the hottest women of film and TV. ["http://www.blender.com/guide/articles.aspx?ID=2464&src=blender_ed"] In May 2007, she was featured as one of 100 Most Beautiful in People Magazine special edition. TV Guide included de Rossi and DeGeneres in their Power A-List couples in 2007.

Personal life

De Rossi, who was married for two years to documentary filmmaker Mel Metcalfe, is now openly lesbian. [http://www.advocate.com/currentstory1_w_ektid20037.asp] ] From 2000 to 2004, de Rossi dated singer Francesca Gregorini, daughter of actress Barbara Bach and stepchild of Ringo Starr. De Rossi dodged media questions about her sexual orientation and the relationship during this period. De Rossi was rarely pictured with Gregorini in public.

In a September 2005 magazine interview with "The Advocate", de Rossi said that most of her family and "Ally McBeal" cast mates learned she was a lesbian because of tabloid pictures of de Rossi and Gregorini in 2001. The couple broke up in late 2004 as de Rossi began dating talk show host and comedienne Ellen DeGeneres. In 2005, de Rossi officially came out and opened up about being a lesbian in interviews with "Details" and "The Advocate". On 16 August 2008, de Rossi married DeGeneres. [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/celebritynews/2580530/Television-presenter-Ellen-DeGeneres-marries-lesbian-lover-Portia-de-Rossi.html "Television presenter Ellen DeGeneres marries lesbian lover Portia de Rossi"] by Anita Singh, 18 Aug 2008. UK Telegraph] The couple live in Beverly Hills, California.

Portia supports Locks of Love, a group that buys wigs for children with medical hair loss. According to cfidarren.com, Portia is a helicopter pilot, trained by her brother.

Filmography

* 1994: Sirens (AUS, UK) as Giddy
* 1995: The Woman in the Moon (USA)
* 1995: Too Something ("aka New York Daze") (USA) (TV series) as Maria Hunter
* 1997: Veronica's Closet (USA) (TV series) (episode S01 E05) as Carolyn
* 1997: Scream 2 (USA) as Sorority Sister Murphy
* 1998–2002: Ally McBeal (USA) (TV series) (seasons 2–5) as Morgan 'Nelle' Porter
* 1998: Astoria (USA) (TV)
* 1998: Girl (USA) as Carla Sparrow
* 1998: Perfect Assassins ("aka A Breed Apart") (USA) (TV) as Lana Collins
* 1999: The Invisibles (USA) as Joy
* 1999: American Intellectuals (USA) as Sarah
* 1999: Stigmata (USA) as Jennifer Kelliho
* 2001: Women in Film (USA) as Gina
* 2001: Who is Cletis Tout? (USA, CAN) as Tess Donnelly
* 2002: The Glow (USA) (TV) as Jackie Lawrence
* 2002: The Twilight Zone (USA) (TV series) (episode S01 E08) as Laurel Janus
* 2003: Two Girls from Leemore (USA)
* 2003–2006: Arrested Development (TV series) (USA) (TV series) as Lindsay Bluth Fünke
* 2003: (USA) (TV) as Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy
* 2003: Mister Sterling (USA) (TV series) (episodes S01 E08-E09) as Lauren Barnes
* 2003: I Witness (USA, GER) as Emily Thompson
* 2003: The Night We Called It A Day ("aka All The Way/aka All The Way: The Kidnapping Of A Music Legend") (AUS, USA) as Hilary Hunter
* 2004: Dead & Breakfast (USA) as Kelly
* 2005: Cursed (USA, GER) as Zela
* 2007: Nip/Tuck (USA) (TV series) (episodes S05 E02-E08, E13-E14) as Olivia Lord
* 2009: Better Off Ted (USA) (TV series) as Veronica
* 2009: Arrested Development as Lindsay Bluth Fünke

References

External links

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