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Vanessa Lengies

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Vanessa Lengies
Lengies in 2016
Born (1985-07-21) July 21, 1985 (age 39)
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Occupations
  • Actress
  • dancer
  • singer
Years active1996–present
Known forAmerican Dreams
Glee
Turner & Hooch

Vanessa Lengies (born July 21, 1985)[1] is a Canadian actress, dancer, and singer. She is known for starring in the drama American Dreams as Roxanne Bojarski. She appeared as Charge Nurse Kelly Epson on the TNT medical drama HawthoRNe, and has appeared in the recurring role of Sugar Motta in the third, fourth, and sixth seasons of the Fox series Glee. In 2021, Lengies played Erica on Turner & Hooch.

Early life

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Lengies was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, to a German father and an Egyptian mother. She grew up in Hudson, Quebec, where she graduated from Hudson High School in 2002.[citation needed]

Career

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Lengies got her start in Canadian television on shows such as Sponk!, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Radio Active, and Popular Mechanics for Kids. Her voice was lent to Emily on the PBS animated series Arthur. In 2000, she had the lead role in the Showtime film Ratz.

In 2002, she was cast as a series regular in the NBC comedy-drama American Dreams, playing teenager Roxanne Bojarski. The show was set in Philadelphia in the mid-1960s, and Roxanne becomes one of the dancers on the American Bandstand television show hosted by Dick Clark. The series ran for three seasons, with the final episode broadcast in March 2005.

In August 2005, she co-starred with Hilary Duff and Heather Locklear in the comedy The Perfect Man. She also plays a supporting role as the jailbait hostess, Natasha, in the 2005 American film Waiting...,[2] and reprised the role in the film's 2009 sequel, Still Waiting.... In 2006, she co-starred with Jeff Bridges and Missy Peregrym as a gymnast in the film Stick It.

For The Grudge 2, the role of Vanessa was originally written for Lengies, who eventually turned it down to film My Suicide; the part still bears her name. She has also appeared in CBS show Ghost Whisperer in an episode titled "The Vanishing" and the NBC show Medium in the episode "Apocalypse... Now?". She made another appearance in an episode of the short-lived CBS show Moonlight.

Lengies was seen as Sophia in the Lifetime original drama series Monarch Cove. She also co-starred in the ABC online comedy Squeegees.[2]

She appeared as Nurse Kelly Epson on the TNT medical drama Hawthorne from 2009 through 2011. The role was a recurring one for the first season, and Lengies became a series regular for the following two seasons. The show, which ran for three seasons of ten episodes starting each June, was not renewed for a fourth summer.[3] She appeared in the role of Loco Uno in an online mockumentary and sitcom called MyMusic.[citation needed]

She was cast as Kacey, a bubbly cocktail waitress, in the sitcom Mixology. However, ABC canceled Mixology after only one season.[4] Originally cast in a guest role, Lengies was upped to a main cast role on FOX's 2016 drama Second Chance (earlier titled Lookinglass).[5]

Glee

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In August 2011, Lengies was cast in the recurring role of Sugar Motta for the third season of Glee. Sugar, who is well-off, self-confident, and has a tin ear, first appeared in the season premiere on September 20, 2011.[6][7] Since then, Sugar's singing has greatly improved, and she now performs with the main glee club, New Directions; she had her first solo line in the season's tenth episode, "Yes/No".[8] In 2013, Lengies visited her old high school to see how much it had changed, and to speak to the Student Life and Drama students about her journey of how she got to be on Glee.

According to Lengies, Sugar's self-diagnosed Aspergers is part of her character. She said that it was difficult to sing poorly on purpose, especially with piano accompaniment.[9] Sugar's debut was praised by Salon's Matt Zoller Seitz, who said of the new addition to McKinley, "She's awful. She's also an entitled little snot... She's a great character, and I hope we haven't seen the last of her."[10] Entertainment Weekly's Abby West praised Sugar, and with Sue otherwise occupied hoped to see more of Sugar as "a thorn in the Glee club's side".[11] On the other hand, TV Guide "jeered" Sugar, calling her "an off-key addition to the cast".[12] The A.V. Club's Emily VanDerWerff concurred, and said of "I Am Unicorn", "Sugar continues to be one of my least favorite new characters in ages".[13] The Huffington Post named Sugar Motta one of the "Worst TV Characters" in 2012.[14] Respers France was entirely unimpressed with the routine. For her, Sugar's scene following it was one of the episode's few highlights, although she described Sugar as having "a horrible voice".[15]

Following the end of the fourth season, Lengies announced her departure from Glee, citing frustration with not having the opportunity to act as she was hired per episode,[16] though she did return for two appearances in the sixth season.

Personal life

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She came out as genderfluid and bisexual in her own documentary series The 'S' Word with Vanessa Lengies in 2017.[17]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role
2005 Waiting... Natasha
2005 The Perfect Man Amy Pearl
2006 The Substance of Things Hoped For Daphne
2006 Stick It Joanne Charis
2008 Foreign Exchange Robyn
2008 Extreme Movie Carla
2009 Archie's Final Project Mallory
2009 Still Waiting... Natasha
2015 We Are Your Friends Mel
2016 Happy Birthday Katie Elizondo
2018 Immortal Alex
2018 I'd Like to Be Alone Now Lisa
2018 Married Young Talya
2019 Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Additional voices

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1995–1996 The Little Lulu Show Annie Inch Voice role
1996–2002 Arthur Emily 24 episodes
1997 Lassie Charity Episode: "The Manhunt"
1997–1999 The Country Mouse and the City Mouse Adventures Various 25 episodes
1998 Radio Active Sarah Leigh 78 episodes
1998 Caillou Boy / Girl 3 episodes
1998 The Tale of the Great Bunny Abigail Television film
1999–2000 Are You Afraid of the Dark? Vange 26 episodes
1999–2001 Popular Mechanics for Kids Herself Host
2000 For Better or For Worse Elizabeth Patterson 5 episodes
2000 Ratz Marci Kornbalm Television film
Nominated — Best Performance in a TV Movie (Comedy) - Leading Young Actress
2002–2005 American Dreams Roxanne Bojarski Main Role
Nominated — Young Artist Awards for Best Ensemble in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama)
Nominated — Young Artist Awards for Best Performance in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama) - Supporting Young Actress
Nominated — Teen Choice Awards for Choice TV Sidekick
2003–2005 Pet Star Herself / Judge 4 episodes
2005 8 Simple Rules Monica Episode: "The After Party"
2006 Ghost Whisperer Caitlin Emerson Episode: "The Vanishing"
2006 Monarch Cove Sophia Preston Main role
2006 Split Decision Ashley Television film
2007 Moonlight Leni Hayes Episode: "Fever"
2007 The Cleaner Lolly Episode: "Rag Dolls"
2007 Untitled David Kohan/Max Mutchnick TV Project Tessa Television film
2008 Squeegees Annie Hackett
2009 Medium Zoey Lehman Episode: "Apocalypse... Now?"
2009–2011 Hawthorne Kelly Epson Recurring role (Season 1); main role (Seasons 2–3); 29 episodes
2010 Accidentally on Purpose Tracy Episode: "Back to School"
2010 CSI: Miami Shea Williamson Episode: "Reality Skills"
2010 Rules of Engagement Julia Episode: "Refusing to Budget"
2011 Castle Eliza Winter Episode: "Poof! You're Dead"
2011–2013, 2015 Glee Sugar Motta Recurring role (Seasons 3–4, 6); 26 episodes
Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
2012–2013 MyMusic Loco Uno Recurring role (Season 1); 7 episodes
2014 Mixology Kacey Main role
2014 Llama Cop Dr. Kristen Reynolds 2 episodes
2015 Resident Advisors Marissa 4 episodes
2016 Second Chance Alexa Main role
2016 The Detour Elf Episode: "The Drop"
2016–2017 Lego Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures Kordi Freemaker Main role
2017 The 'S' Word with Vanessa Lengies Herself / Host Miniseries; also producer
2018 I.R.L. Catherine VanRicher 2 episodes
2018 Lego Star Wars: All-Stars Kordi Freemaker Episode: "From Trenches to Wrenches: The Roger Story"
2019 A Date By Christmas Eve Chelsea Simms Television film (Lifetime)
2020 Heart of the Holidays Sam Television film (Hallmark)
2021 Turner & Hooch Erica Main role
2022 Christmas in Toyland Charlie Sawyer Television film (Hallmark)
2023 True Lies Quinn Episode: "Independent Dependents"
2023 Take Me Back for Christmas Renee Television film (Hallmark)
2024 Sweet Summer Love Lindie Summer Television film (Hallmark)

Music videos

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Year Title Artist
2006 "We Run This" Missy Elliot

Awards and nomination

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Year Award Category Work Result
2001 Young Artist Awards Best Performance in a TV Movie (Comedy) - Leading Young Actress Ratz Nominated
2003 Young Artist Awards Best Ensemble in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama) American Dreams Nominated
2004 Young Artist Awards Best Performance in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama) - Supporting Young Actress Nominated
Teen Choice Awards Choice TV Sidekick Nominated
2013 Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series Glee Nominated

Discography

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Main articles: Glee albums discography and Glee songs discography

Singles

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Year Single Peak chart
positions
US CAN UK ARIA
2011 "Candyman" - - 158 -
"Survivor/I Will Survive" 51[18] 47[19] 97 78
2012 "Cell Block Tango" - - 175 -
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

References

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  1. ^ Lengies, Vanessa (July 22, 2011). "Twitter / @littlelengies: @BubbaJM5 Oh thank you so much! I had a great birthday. Thanks for the song". Retrieved March 9, 2012.
  2. ^ a b Wortham, Jenna (February 28, 2008). "Disney, ABC Enter Online Video Arena With Squeegees". Wired. Retrieved September 12, 2011.
  3. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (September 2, 2011). "TNT Cancels TV Medical Drama 'Hawthorne'". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved September 12, 2011.
  4. ^ Goldberg, Lesley (May 8, 2014). "ABC Cancels Freshman Comedies 'Trophy Wife,' 'Mixology'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
  5. ^ Slezak, Michael (September 11, 2015). "TVLine Items: Fox Drama Promotes Glee Grad, HTGAWM Trailer and More". TVLine. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  6. ^ Ausiello, Michael (August 10, 2011). "Glee Exclusive: American Dreams Girl Vanessa Lengies Enrolls at McKinley High". TVLine. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on May 17, 2013. Retrieved August 10, 2011.
  7. ^ "(GLE-301) "The Purple Piano Project"". The Futon Critic (Press release). Retrieved February 28, 2012.
  8. ^ Kubicek, John (January 17, 2012). "'Glee' Recap: A Very Decent Proposal". BuddyTV. Retrieved January 18, 2012.
  9. ^ Gonzalez, Sarah (September 21, 2011). "'Glee' newbie Vanessa Lengies on Sugar's upcoming revenge (of sorts) and her scary moment with Idina Menzel". Entertainment Weekly. Time, Inc. Retrieved September 26, 2011.
  10. ^ Zoller Seitz, Matt (September 21, 2011). ""Glee" imagines life beyond senior year". Salon. Retrieved September 26, 2011.
  11. ^ West, Abby (September 21, 2011). "'Glee' season premiere recap: Join the Club!". Entertainment Weekly. Time, Inc. Retrieved September 21, 2011.
  12. ^ Fretts, Bruce (September 28, 2011). "Cheers & Jeers: Glee's Not-So-Sweet Sugar". TV Guide. Retrieved September 28, 2011.
  13. ^ VanDerWerff, Emily (September 27, 2011). ""I Am Unicorn"". The A.V. Club. The Onion. Retrieved October 7, 2011.
  14. ^ "Worst TV Characters of the Year". The Huffington Post. May 24, 2012. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
  15. ^ Respers France, Lisa (September 21, 2011). "You're right 'Glee,' you need new members". CNN. Archived from the original on September 23, 2011. Retrieved September 21, 2011.
  16. ^ "Sugar's departure is bittersweet for Glee". digitalspy.co.uk. 21 May 2013. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
  17. ^ Why Am I Scared to Question My Sexuality? - S Word w/ Vanessa Lengies on YouTube
  18. ^ Peak chart positions for season 3 singles and album tracks in the United States: "We Are Young", "Survivor / I Will Survive", "Man in the Mirror", "ABC" and "Red Solo Cup" Grein, Paul (December 14, 2011). "Week Ending Dec. 11, 2011. Songs: Mariah's Christmas Gift". Chart Watch. Yahoo! Music. Retrieved December 15, 2011.
  19. ^ "Nielsen Music: Canadian Update (December 16, 2011)" (PDF). Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 25, 2011. Retrieved December 15, 2011.
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