Bridgette Leann Wilson Sampras (born September 25, 1973) is a former American actress, singer, model, and

Miss Teen USA Miss Teen USA is a beauty pageant formerly run, since 1983, by the Miss Universe Organization for girls aged 14–19. Unlike its sister pageants Miss Universe, which currently broadcasts on Fox and Miss USA, this pageant is webcast on the Mis ...

award winner. Wilson began her career as an actress after being crowned Miss Teen USA in 1990, playing the character of Lisa Fenimore on the soap opera '' Santa Barbara'' from April 1992 to January 1993. She appeared in a number of films, including ''

Last Action Hero ''Last Action Hero'' is a 1993 American fantasy action comedy film directed and produced by John McTiernan and co-written by Shane Black and David Arnott. It is a satire of the action genre and associated clichés, containing several parodies ...

'' (1993) in her movie debut, ''

Higher Learning ''Higher Learning'' is a 1995 American drama, drama film written and directed by John Singleton and starring an ensemble cast. The film follows the changing lives of three incoming freshmen at the fictional Columbus University: Malik Williams (Om ...

'' (1995), ''

Mortal Kombat ''Mortal Kombat'' is an American media franchise centered on a series of video games originally developed by Midway Games in 1992. The development of the first game was originally based on an idea that Ed Boon and John Tobias had of making a v ...

'' (1995), and ''

Billy Madison ''Billy Madison'' is a 1995 American comedy film directed by Tamra Davis. It stars Adam Sandler in the title role, Bradley Whitford, Bridgette Wilson, Norm Macdonald, Darren McGavin, Mark Beltzman, and Larry Hankin. The film was written by Sandler ...

'' (1995). She later had roles in ''

I Know What You Did Last Summer ''I Know What You Did Last Summer'' is a 1997 American slasher film directed by Jim Gillespie, written by Kevin Williamson, and starring Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe and Freddie Prinze Jr. It is loosely based on ...

'' (1997), ''

House on Haunted Hill ''House on Haunted Hill'' is a 1959 American horror film produced and directed by William Castle, written by Robb White and starring Vincent Price, Carol Ohmart, Richard Long, Alan Marshal, Carolyn Craig and Elisha Cook Jr. Price plays an ...

'' (1999), ''

The Wedding Planner ''The Wedding Planner'' is a 2001 American romantic comedy film directed by Adam Shankman, in his feature film directorial debut, written by Michael Ellis and Pamela Falk, and starring Jennifer Lopez and Matthew McConaughey. Plot Ambitious San ...

'' (2001), and ''

Shopgirl ''Shopgirl'' is a 2005 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Anand Tucker and starring Steve Martin, Claire Danes, and Jason Schwartzman. The screenplay by Steve Martin is based on his 2000 novella of the same title. The film is about ...

'' (2005).

Early life

Wilson was born and raised in the small coastal town of

Gold Beach, Oregon Gold Beach (Tolowa: yan-shu’-chit, yan-shuu-chit’-dvn) is a city in and the county seat of Curry County, Oregon, United States, on the Oregon Coast. The population was 2,241 at the 2020 census. History The community was originally named Elle ...

, United States, the daughter of Kathy and Dale Wilson. While in high school, she competed on the school's

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

team. She was crowned

in 1990 at the age of 17 in

Biloxi, Mississippi Biloxi ( ; ) is a city in and one of two county seats of Harrison County, Mississippi, United States (the other being the adjacent city of Gulfport). The 2010 United States Census recorded the population as 44,054 and in 2019 the estimated popu ...

, and was the second contender from Oregon to win the crown. She graduated from

Gold Beach High School Gold Beach High School is a public high school in Gold Beach, Oregon, United States. It is a part of the Central Curry School District. In addition to Gold Beach, the district's boundary includes Nesika Beach, Pistol River The Pistol River i ...

in 1991.

Career

After her reign as Miss Teen USA, Wilson became an actress and appeared in ''Santa Barbara'', Ginger on ''

Saved By The Bell ''Saved by the Bell'' is an American television sitcom created by Sam Bobrick for NBC. The series premiered, in primetime, on August 20, 1989, a Sunday night. Targeted at kids and teens, ''Saved by the Bell'' was broadcast in the United States ...

'', ''

'' (as Jack Slater's daughter Whitney), ''

'' (cameo as a university student),

(playing

Adam Sandler Adam Richard Sandler (born September 9, 1966) is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, producer and singer. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1990 to 1995, before going on to star in numerous Hollywood films, those of wh ...

's character's teacher/girlfriend Veronica Vaughn), ''Mortal Kombat'' (playing

Sonya Blade Sonya Blade is a fictional character in the '' Mortal Kombat'' fighting game franchise by Midway Games and NetherRealm Studios. She debuted in the original 1992 game as the roster's sole female fighter. Inspired by martial artist Cynthia Roth ...

), ''

Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

'' (a cameo as a nightclub performer), ''

'' (as

Sarah Michelle Gellar Sarah Michelle Prinze ( ; born April 14, 1977) is an American actress. After being spotted at the age of four in New York City, she made her screen acting debut in the television film ''An Invasion of Privacy'' (1983). A leading role on the te ...

's ill-fated elder sister), ''

'' (as Melissa Marr), ''

Buying the Cow ''Buying the Cow'' is a 2002 American screwball comedy film directed by Walt Becker and starring Jerry O'Connell, Ryan Reynolds, Alyssa Milano and Bridgette L. Wilson. Plot David is too afraid to commit to his girlfriend Sarah, who is pres ...

'', ''

The Suburbans ''The Suburbans'' is a 1999 American comedy-drama film that satirizes the 1980s revival hype around the turn of the 21st century. It stars Donal Lardner Ward, Craig Bierko, Will Ferrell and Tony Guma as one-hit wonder band the Suburbans and Jennif ...

'', '' Love Stinks'', ''

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

'', ''Sweet Evil'' (as a

psychopathic Psychopathy, sometimes considered synonymous with sociopathy, is characterized by persistent antisocial behavior, impaired empathy and remorse, and bold, disinhibited, and egotistical traits. Different conceptions of psychopathy have been ...

surrogate mother), ''

Extreme Ops ''Extreme Ops'' is a 2002 action thriller film directed by Christian Duguay, written by Michael Zaidan, Timothy Scott Bogart, and Mark Mullin, and starring Devon Sawa, Bridgette Wilson-Sampras, Rupert Graves, and Rufus Sewell. The film's plot cent ...

'' (as a world-champion

skier Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IO ...

), and ''The Wedding Planner''. Wilson also appeared on an episode of ''

CSI: Miami ''CSI: Miami'' (''Crime Scene Investigation: Miami'') is an American police procedural drama television series that ran from September 23, 2002 until April 8, 2012 on CBS. Featuring David Caruso as Lieutenant Horatio Caine, Emily Procter as Dete ...

'' as a woman whose husband is killed by a package delivered to their house. Wilson’s last film role before retiring from acting would be '' Phantom Punch'' (2008). Wilson has starred in ''

The Rocky Horror Show ''The Rocky Horror Show'' is a musical with music, lyrics and book by Richard O'Brien. A humorous tribute to the science fiction and horror B movies of the 1930s through to the early 1960s, the musical tells the story of a newly engaged couple ...

'' (

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

) and was a judge on the 2006

Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by a United States and Thailand based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stre ...

competition. Wilson is also a singer and was featured on

Tommy Shane Steiner Tommy Shane Steiner (born October 9, 1973) is an American country music artist. He made his debut in 2001 with the single "What If She's an Angel", which reached a peak of No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts. It wa ...

's debut album ''

Then Came the Night ''Then Came the Night'' is the only studio album of American country music artist Tommy Shane Steiner, released in 2002 on RCA Nashville. It features the single "What If She's an Angel", a number 2 hit for Steiner on the Hot Country Songs charts ...

'', performing a spoken-word part in "What We're Gonna Do About It". This song reached number 43 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

charts in 2002.

Personal life

Wilson married professional

tennis player Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cove ...

Pete Sampras Petros "Pete" Sampras ( el, Πέτρος Σάμπρας; born August 12, 1971) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. His professional career began in 1988 and ended at the 2002 US Open, which he won, defeating longtime rival Andre ...

on September 30, 2000 after dating for nine months. On November 21, 2002, their son, Christian Charles Sampras, was born. On July 29, 2005, the couple had their second son, Ryan Nikolaos Sampras. The family resides in

Lake Sherwood, California Lake Sherwood is an unincorporated community in the Santa Monica Mountains, in Ventura County, California overlooking Lake Sherwood reservoir. It is a body contact lake, swimming, fishing, SUP and boating allowed, located south of the Conejo Vall ...

Filmography

Discography

Albums

Guest singles

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Bridgette 1973 births 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Actresses from Oregon American child actresses American child models American women country singers American country singer-songwriters Female models from Oregon American film actresses American soap opera actresses American television actresses Living people 1990 beauty pageant contestants 20th-century Miss Teen USA delegates Miss Teen USA winners People from Gold Beach, Oregon Singer-songwriters from Oregon Country musicians from Oregon 21st-century American singers 21st-century American women singers