Elisabeth Harnois ( ; born ) is an American actress. Her career started at the age of five, where she began appearing in a number of film and television roles. As a child, she starred as Alice in Disney's ''

Adventures in Wonderland ''Adventures in Wonderland'' is a 1992–1995 American live-action/ puppet musical television series based on the novels ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and ''Through the Looking-Glass'' (1871) by Lewis Carroll as well as the 1951 ani ...

'' and as an adult, she starred as

Morgan Brody Morgan Brody is a fictional character on the CBS crime drama '' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', portrayed by Elisabeth Harnois. The character made her series debut during the season eleven episode "Cello and Goodbye", and departed the franchis ...

in the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

forensics drama '' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' from 2011 to 2015.

Life and career

Early life

Harnois was born in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

, to a hairstylist mother and a computer programmer father. She was raised in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. She is the eldest of five children with four brothers. She attended St. Mel's School in Woodland Hills and Canyon Springs High School in Moreno Valley, California, and graduated from

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a private liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church and with the support of prominent residents of Middletown, the col ...

with a degree in film studies in 2001.

Career

Harnois appeared in two films at the age of five, ''

One Magic Christmas ''One Magic Christmas'' is a 1985 Christmas fantasy film directed by Phillip Borsos. It was released by Walt Disney Pictures and stars Mary Steenburgen and Harry Dean Stanton. It was shot in Meaford, Ontario with some scenes in Owen Sound, Ontari ...

'' and '' Where Are the Children?''. She did commercials until landing the role of Emily in ''

Timeless Tales from Hallmark ''Timeless Tales from Hallmark'' is an American live-action/animated direct-to-video series of fairy tale adaptations hosted by Olivia Newton-John, produced by Hanna-Barbera and Hallmark Cards. Eight videocassettes were released between 1990 and ...

'' and the role of Alice in the 1992 Disney Channel series ''

''. In 1998, she appeared in ''

My Date with the President's Daughter ''My Date with the President's Daughter'' is a 1998 American made-for-television romantic comedy film produced by Walt Disney Television and premiered as part of ABC's revival of ''The Wonderful World of Disney''. It was shot in various locatio ...

'' alongside

Boy Meets World ''Boy Meets World'' is an American coming-of-age sitcom created by Michael Jacobs and April Kelly that aired on ABC for seven seasons between September1993 and May2000. The series centers on Cory Matthews (Ben Savage) and his friends and fami ...

actor

Will Friedle Will Friedle () (born August 11, 1976) is an American actor and writer. He is best known for his role as Eric Matthews on the ABC sitcom ''Boy Meets World'' (1993–2000). In animation, he voices Terry McGinnis / Batman on ''Batman Beyond'' (1 ...

and 9 to 5 actor

Dabney Coleman Dabney Wharton Coleman (born January 3, 1932) is an American actor. Coleman's best known films include ''9 to 5'' (1980), '' On Golden Pond'' (1981), ''Tootsie'' (1982), '' WarGames'' (1983), '' Cloak & Dagger'' (1984), ''The Beverly Hillbillies ...

as part of

The Wonderful World of Disney The Walt Disney Company has produced an anthology television series since 1954 under several titles and formats. The program's current title, ''The Wonderful World of Disney'', was used from 1969 to 1979 and again from 1991 to the present. The pr ...

. In 2005, she starred in the short-lived Fox teen mystery/supernatural/horror drama '' Point Pleasant'' as Christina Nickson, and also landed a role opposite

Evan Rachel Wood Evan Rachel Wood (born September 7, 1987) is an American actress and activist. She is the recipient of a Critics' Choice Television Award as well as three Primetime Emmy Award nominations and three Golden Globe Award nominations for her work ...

in the

black comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discu ...

/ satirical film ''

Pretty Persuasion ''Pretty Persuasion'' is a 2005 American black comedy film directed by Marcos Siega, written by Skander Halim, and starring Evan Rachel Wood, James Woods, Ron Livingston, Elisabeth Harnois, and Jane Krakowski. Its plot follows a 15-year-old stu ...

'', portraying the best friend of Wood's character. In May 2011, Harnois guest-starred in the long-running

police procedural drama '' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' in Season 11, episode 21, titled "Cello and Goodbye", as

, a CSI from the L.A.P.D. Scientific Investigation Division. In September that same year, when the twelfth-season premiere, called "73 Seconds" aired, Harnois was added to the main cast, wherein her character transfers to the

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

Crime Lab. Harnois remained on the show until it ended in September 2015 with the two-hour series finale titled "

Immortality Immortality is the concept of eternal life. Some modern species may possess biological immortality. Some scientists, futurists, and philosophers have theorized about the immortality of the human body, with some suggesting that human immorta ...

Awards and nominations

Harnois was nominated in 1987 for the Young Artist Award at the

Young Artist Awards The Young Artist Award (originally known as the Youth in Film Award) is an accolade presented by the Young Artist Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1978 to honor excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young ...

for Exceptional Performance by a Young Actress Starring in a Feature Film in Comedy or Drama for ''One Magic Christmas'' (1985) and again in 1988 for Best Young Actress Guest Starring in a Television Drama for ''

Highway to Heaven ''Highway to Heaven'' is an American fantasy drama television series that ran on NBC from September 19, 1984, to August 4, 1989. The series starred Michael Landon as Jonathan Smith, an angel sent to Earth in order to help people in need. Victo ...

'' (1987) for the episode "Man's Best Friend". She won the same award in 1993 for Outstanding Performer in a Children's Program for ''

'' (1992).

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Harnois, Elisabeth 1979 births 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Actresses from Detroit American child actresses American film actresses American television actresses American voice actresses Living people Wesleyan University alumni