Amber Valletta

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Amber Valletta
Amber Valletta attending "The 6th Annual Hollywood Style Awards" Beverly Hills, CA on Oct. 10, 2009
Born	Amber Evangeline Valletta February 9, 1974 (1974-02-09) (age 36) Tucson, Arizona, United States of America
Occupation	Actress/Model
Years active	1995–present
Spouse(s)	Hervé Le Bihan (1994 - 1996) (divorced) Christian "Chimp" McCaw (September 2003-present) 2 children

Amber Evangeline Valletta (born February 9, 1974) is an American model and actress. She is best known for her roles in the movies Hitch, Transporter 2 and Gamer.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Personal life 4 Filmography 5 Television 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Early life

Valletta was born in Tucson, Arizona. Her mother worked at the post office.^[1] Shortly after her birth, her family moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma. She attended Booker T. Washington High School. She got her start in the fashion industry when her mother enrolled her in modeling school at the age of fifteen at the Linda Layman Agency.

[edit] Career

Valletta has gone on to act in many films, been on the cover of magazines and in advertisements for Louis Vuitton, Calvin Klein and Versace and hosted MTV's House of Style with fellow model Shalom Harlow. In 2010, she appeared in The Spy Next Door, starring Jackie Chan, George Lopez, and Billy Ray Cyrus; she played the mother of a child who accidentally downloads a CIA code from the internet.^[2]

[edit] Personal life

Valletta is married to Olympic volleyball player Christian "Chimp" McCaw. She has a daughter and a son. Her first marriage, in 1994, was to Hervé Le Bihan. They divorced in 1996.

Valletta also serves as the spokesperson for Oceana’s^[3] Seafood Contamination Campaign,^[4] where she brings awareness of the dangers of mercury poisoning in various kinds of seafood. The decision to join Oceana's campaign was prompted by the mercury-poisoning experience of a friend and the fact that she is a mother of two.

In August 2006, the New York Daily News reported that Valletta completed a stint at The Meadow rehabilitation facility in Wickenburg, Arizona, for stress and non-substance-related issues. Her breakdown was allegedly precipitated by reports of her being a drug mule (husband Christian McCaw had a prior arrest for drug smuggling), and a subsequent investigation by law enforcement. Valletta told People magazine, "As was correctly reported earlier this week, my stay at The Meadows had nothing to do with substance abuse or addiction; I am pleased to say I have seven years' sobriety. But I continue every day to heal and grow as a person".^[5]

In January 2008, she participated in a video for Barack Obama produced by Will.I.Am called "Yes We Can" along with her son Auden, whom she was holding in her arms. Valletta has kept him in the spotlight beginning with Vogue Magazine photos of her in a gown chasing a naked Auden through the grass and nine years later he still appears in public photos with his model mom. Conversely, Valletta keeps all details of her daughter under wraps and shields the girl from all forms of publicity.

[edit] Filmography

• Drop Back Ten (2000) - Mindy Deal
• What Lies Beneath (2000) - Madison Elizabeth Frank
• The Family Man (2000) - Paula
• Perfume (2001) - Blair
• Max Keeble's Big Move (2001) - Ms. Dingman
• Duplex (2003) - Celine
• Raising Helen (2004) - Martina
• Hitch (2005) - Allegra Cole
• Transporter 2 (2005) - Audrey Billings
• Man About Town (2006) - Brynn Lilly
• Dead Silence (2007) - Ella
• Premonition (2007) - Claire
• My Sexiest Year (2007) - Marina
• The Last Time (2007) - Belisa
• Days of Wrath (2008) - Jane Summers
• Gamer (2009) - Angie
• The Spy Next Door (2010) - Jillian

[edit] Television

• Hysteria - The Def Leppard Story (2001) - Lorelei Shellist
• Lucky (2003) - Sarah
• Rock Me Baby (2004) - Summer
• Punk'd (2005) - Herself
  • Originally scheduled to appear on Season 6 Episode 3, but moved to Season 6 Episode 4 due to Terrell Owens suspension.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Amber Valletta at the Internet Movie Database
• Amber Valletta at Fashion Model Directory
• Amber Valletta's work on the Oceana Seafood Contamination Campaign
• AskMen.com website
• Classic photographs from Vogue magazine
• Men's Vogue profile of Amber Valletta

Preceded by Cindy Crawford

Host of House of Style 1995-96 (co-host with Shalom Harlow)

Succeeded by Daisy Fuentes

Persondata
NAME	Valletta, Amber
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	American model and actress
DATE OF BIRTH	February 2, 1973
PLACE OF BIRTH	Tuscon, Arizona, United States
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH