Taylor Schilling
| Taylor Schilling | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 27, 1984 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 2007–present |
Taylor Schilling (born July 27, 1984) is an American actress. She is known for her lead role in Atlas Shrugged: Part I (2011) and more recently The Lucky One (2012), a romantic drama film, opposite Zac Efron.
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Early life [edit]
Schilling was born in Boston, Massachusetts. She is the daughter of Tish, an MIT administrator, and Robert J. Schilling, a former prosecutor,[1] and grew up in West Roxbury and Wayland, splitting time between her divorced parents.[2] She graduated from Wayland High School in 2002 and attended Fordham University, where she received her Bachelor's degree in acting in 2006.
Career [edit]
A fan of the NBC medical drama ER during her youth, Schilling began acting at a young age. She became active in her middle school's theater program when she appeared in a stage production of Fiddler on the Roof.[3] After graduating from Wayland High School in 2002, she attended Fordham University's New York City campus at Lincoln Center, where she continued to take part in stage productions before earning her Bachelor of Arts degree in 2006. Schilling then entered the graduate program at New York University to continue her acting studies, but left after her second year to start auditioning.[2][4] While she attempted to break into acting, Schilling supported herself by working as a nanny for a Manhattan-based family. Eventually, she landed a supporting role in the 2007 independent film Dark Matter.
Schilling was picked to star in the 2009 NBC medical drama Mercy. In the lead as Nurse Veronica Callahan, Schilling's character was a tough Iraq War veteran and former military nurse-turned-medical practitioner. Though she read for the part via video tape from New York City, show creator and executive producer Liz Heldens and her husband were impressed by Schilling and flew her out to Los Angeles to audition for the role. In Heldens' words, "she just blew the doors off the audition".[5] Prior to this experience, Schilling had only one screen credit to her name.
Schilling won the Emerson College Playwright's Festival Outstanding Performance Award.[4]
She portrayed Dagny Taggart in Atlas Shrugged, the 2011 film adaptation of Ayn Rand's novel of the same name.[6] Schilling also played the female lead, opposite Zac Efron, in The Lucky One. The film was based on the Nicholas Sparks novel of the same name. In 2012, Schilling signed on as the lead for the upcoming Netflix original series Orange Is the New Black based on the Piper Kerman memoir.[7]
Filmography [edit]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Dark Matter | Jackie | |
| 2011 | Atlas Shrugged: Part I | Dagny Taggart | |
| 2012 | The Lucky One | Beth | Nominated-Teen Choice Award for Choice Romance Actress Nominated-Teen Choice Award for Choice Liplock |
| 2012 | Argo | Christine Mendez |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009–2010 | Mercy | Nurse Veronica Flanagan Callahan | Series regular; 22 episodes |
| 2013 | Orange Is the New Black | Piper Kerman | Series regular |
References [edit]
- ^ [1]
- ^ a b Curt Brown (2009-05-06). "Mercy! Daughter of New Bedford lawyer lands lead role in NBC drama". SouthCoastToday.com. Retrieved 2009-08-05.
- ^ "Taylor Schilling Biography". Yahoo! Movies. Retrieved 21 April 2012.
- ^ a b "Mercy: Cast Bios: Taylor Schilling". NBC. Retrieved 2009-08-05.
- ^ "Taylor Schilling and Liz Heldens Talk Mercy". Movieweb. Retrieved 2009-10-30.
- ^ McNary, Dave (2010-06-14). "Cameras roll on 'Atlas'". Variety. Retrieved 2010-06-20.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (Auguest 30, 2012). "Taylor Schilling To Star In Jenji Kohan’s Netflix Series ‘Orange Is The New Black’". Deadline.com. Retrieved Auguest 30, 2012.
External links [edit]
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