Kristin Kreuk
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Kristin Laura Kreuk (; born December 30, 1982) is a Canadian actress. Debuting on
teen drama In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...
'' Edgemont'', she became most known for her roles as
Lana Lang Lana Lang is a fictional supporting character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She has appeared in other media adaptations of Superman, typically as a teenager. These portrayals include the '' Adventures of Superboy'' t ...
in the
superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...
television series ''
Smallville ''Smallville'' is an American superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produced by Millar Gough ...
'' (2001–2011), also as Catherine Chandler in
The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
sci-fi series '' Beauty & the Beast'' (2012–2016) and as Joanna Hanley in the CBC/CW legal drama series '' Burden of Truth'' (2018–2021). She has also starred in movies such as '' Snow White: The Fairest of Them All'' (2001), '' Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li'' (2009) and ''
Irvine Welsh's Ecstasy ''Irvine Welsh's Ecstasy'' is a 2011 Canadian film adaptation of the short story " The Undefeated" from the best-selling book '' Ecstasy'' by Irvine Welsh. Directed by Rob Heydon, the film stars Adam Sinclair as Lloyd Buist, a drug user who s ...
'' (2011).


Early life

Kreuk was born in
Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
,
British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
, to Deanna Che and Peter Kreuk, two landscape architects. Her father is of
Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...
descent. Her mother is of
Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
descent, born in
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
; her maternal grandmother was
Chinese Jamaican Chinese Jamaicans are Jamaicans of Chinese people, Chinese ancestry, which include descendants of migrants from China to Jamaica. Early migrants came in the 19th century; there was another moment of migration in the 1980s and 1990s. Many of the d ...
. Her mother and grandmother lived in
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
and the
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...
before settling in Vancouver. She has a younger sister, Justine Kreuk. Kreuk trained in
karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...
and
gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shou ...
at the national level until high school, but quit in grade 11 due to
scoliosis Scoliosis is a condition in which a person's spine has a sideways curve. The curve is usually "S"- or "C"-shaped over three dimensions. In some, the degree of curve is stable, while in others, it increases over time. Mild scoliosis does not t ...
. Kreuk was planning to study
forensic science Forensic science, also known as criminalistics, is the application of science to criminal and civil laws, mainly—on the criminal side—during criminal investigation, as governed by the legal standards of admissible evidence and criminal ...
or psychology at
Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a public research university in British Columbia, Canada, with three campuses, all in Greater Vancouver: Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, and Vancouver. The main Burnaby campus on Burnaby Mountain, located from ...
and was surprised when a casting director for the CBC television series ''Edgemont'' contacted her at her high school.


Career


Television

After filming the first season of '' Edgemont'' (a teenage soap opera set at a Vancouver-area high school) and getting herself an agent, Kreuk landed the lead role of Snow White in a TV movie, '' Snow White: The Fairest of Them All'', which aired on
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
, and later released on DVD, in 2002. In mid-2004, Kreuk took the role of Tenar for the
Sci-Fi Channel Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Launc ...
two-part miniseries ''
Earthsea ''The Earthsea Cycle'', also known as ''Earthsea'', is a series of high fantasy books written by the American writer Ursula K. Le Guin. Beginning with ''A Wizard of Earthsea'' (1968), ''The Tombs of Atuan'', (1970) and ''The Farthest Shore'' ( ...
''. The miniseries was filmed in Vancouver, directed by
Robert Lieberman Robert Lieberman (born July 16, 1947) is an American motion picture and television director. Personal life Lieberman was married from June 27, 1990 to June 7, 2001 to actress Marilu Henner; the divorced couple has two children, Nicholas Morga ...
and broadcast on December 13, 2004. After ''Snow White'', Kreuk's agent sent an audition tape to screenwriters
Alfred Gough Alfred Gough (born August 22, 1967) is an American screenwriter, producer and showrunner. He is best known as co-creator of The WB/The CW's Superman prequel series ''Smallville'' and Netflix's ''Addams Family'' spin-off series ''Wednesday''. Al ...
and
Miles Millar Miles Millar (born 1967) is an Australian-British screenwriter, showrunner, producer and director. He is known for co-creating the long-running Superman prequel television series ''Smallville'' and the Tim Burton Netflix ''Addams Family'' spin- ...
, who at the time were putting together the cast of a show they had created for the
WB Network The WB Television Network (for Warner Bros., or the "Frog Network", for its former mascot, Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network launched on broadcast television on January 11, 1995, as a joint venture between the Warner Bros. ...
(now The CW) entitled ''
Smallville ''Smallville'' is an American superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produced by Millar Gough ...
''. The series, which was slated to be shot in Vancouver, revolves around the life of teenager
Clark Kent Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publish ...
before he becomes
Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...
. Gough and Millar called Kreuk to WB's studios in
Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, w ...
to audition for the role of Clark Kent's first love, Lana Lang, and she was later cast in the part. For a while, Kreuk was starring on both ''
Smallville ''Smallville'' is an American superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produced by Millar Gough ...
'' and '' Edgemont'', although her role on ''Edgemont'' slightly diminished over time. ''Edgemont'' ended its run in 2005. After seven seasons, Kreuk left ''Smallville'' in the beginning of 2008, when her character leaves town. She returned as a guest star in the show's 8th season for five episodes to conclude her storyline. In 2009, Kreuk signed on for a multi-episode arc in
season three A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...
of ''
Chuck Chuck is a masculine given name or a nickname for Charles or Charlie. It may refer to: People Arts and entertainment * Chuck Alaimo, American saxophonist, leader of the Chuck Alaimo Quartet * Chuck Barris (1929–2017), American TV producer * C ...
''. She played Hannah, a computer troubleshooter who joins the Buy More Nerd Herd after being laid off from her previous job. In 2010, she portrayed
Judah Ben-Hur Judah Ben-Hur, shortened to Ben-Hur, is a fictional character, the title character and protagonist from Lew Wallace's 1880 novel '' Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ''. The book covers the character's adventures and struggle against the Roman Empire ...
's sister Tirzah in the TV movie '' Ben Hur'', which aired in Canada and later on ABC in the United States. Kreuk was involved with two pilots that did not get picked up: a 2010 CBS sitcom entitled ''Hitched'' (which was co-created by
Josh Schwartz Joshua Ian Schwartz (born August 6, 1976) is an American screenwriter and television producer. Schwartz is best known for creating and executive producing the Fox teen drama series '' The O.C.'' which ran for 4 seasons. Schwartz is also known fo ...
, who was also the creator of ''Chuck'') and a 2011 NBC drama series called '' 17th Precinct'', which was made by Ronald D. Moore. In February 2012, Kreuk was announced as the lead female character in
The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
's reboot of '' Beauty & the Beast'', which was picked up on May 11, 2012, and started airing in Fall 2012. The CW announced in October 2015 that the show's upcoming fourth season, scheduled to air over the summer of 2016, would be its final season. The series finale aired on August 25, 2016. In 2018, Kreuk played the lead role in '' Burden of Truth'', a
CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...
production in which she portrays a "big-city lawyer who takes on a case for a group of sick girls in her hometown". The show premiered on January 10, 2018. On April 5, 2018, The CW announced that they had acquired the rights to air the show beginning in summer 2018. CBC has renewed ''Burden of Truth'' for a fourth season. The series concluded in 2021 after four seasons.


Films

Kreuk appeared in the comedy film '' EuroTrip'' (2004), playing the girlfriend who cheats on the protagonist with a musician (played by
Matt Damon Matthew Paige Damon (; born October 8, 1970) is an American actor, film producer, and screenwriter. Ranked among ''Forbes'' most bankable stars, the films in which he has appeared have collectively earned over $3.88 billion at the North Americ ...
). In early 2005, Kreuk signed on to the Canadian independent film ''
Partition Partition may refer to: Computing Hardware * Disk partitioning, the division of a hard disk drive * Memory partition, a subdivision of a computer's memory, usually for use by a single job Software * Partition (database), the division of a ...
'' (2007), playing Naseem, a vulnerable 17-year-old whose world is shattered by the trauma of the
Partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...
in 1947; the character also falls in love with an ex-
British Indian Army The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which co ...
officer. In the summer of 2006, Kreuk starred in the short film, ''Dream Princess'' by comic book writer/artist
Kaare Andrews Kaare Andrews is a comic book writer, artist and filmmaker from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. His work includes '' Spider-Man'', '' Iron Fist'', '' Renato Jones'', and '' Incredible Hulk''. Andrews has a diverse drawing style, which ranges from hyper ...
. The film is a modern sci-punk retelling of the tale of ''
Sleeping Beauty ''Sleeping Beauty'' (french: La belle au bois dormant, or ''The Beauty in the Sleeping Forest''; german: Dornröschen, or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess cu ...
'', with a twist. However, it never aired. Kreuk starred in the film '' Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li'' (2009), in which she played the title character,
Chun-Li is a fictional character in Capcom's ''Street Fighter'' video game series. The first ever female playable character to appear in a fighting game to gain mainstream recognition, she first appeared in ''Street Fighter II: The World Warrior'' in 1 ...
. She tested for the sequel '' Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol'' (2011), with the role going to
Paula Patton Paula Maxine Patton (born December 5, 1975) is an American actress and producer. Patton made her feature film debut in the 2005 comedy '' Hitch'', and has had starring roles in the films ''Déjà Vu'' (2006), '' Precious'' (2009), '' Jumping th ...
. In early 2010, Kreuk signed onto the Japanese horror film ''
Vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mi ...
'' (2011). In 2010, Kreuk also starred in the music video " I Heard" by musician
Hill Zaini Hill Zaini (born 13 October 1987), popularly known as Hill, is a well-known Bruneian singer and actor.Razak, Khairi"Emerging Star Gears Up for International Debut" ''The Brunei Times''. 26 July 2009. Retrieved 10 February 2010. Early life Hill ...
. Kreuk stars as Heather in the film ''
Irvine Welsh's Ecstasy ''Irvine Welsh's Ecstasy'' is a 2011 Canadian film adaptation of the short story " The Undefeated" from the best-selling book '' Ecstasy'' by Irvine Welsh. Directed by Rob Heydon, the film stars Adam Sinclair as Lloyd Buist, a drug user who s ...
'' (2011), based on
Irvine Welsh Irvine Welsh (born 27 September 1958) is a Scottish novelist, playwright and short story writer. His 1993 novel '' Trainspotting'' was made into a film of the same name. He has also written plays and screenplays, and directed several short fil ...
's novel. She also stars as Tilda in the science fiction comedy film '' Space Milkshake'' (2012).


Film production

Kreuk, with Rosena Bhura, whom Kreuk met on the set of ''Partition'', started a production company called ''Parvati Creative Inc'', which focuses on "human-centric films as seen through a female lens". ''Parvatis first production was a short film directed by
Rick Rosenthal Richard L. Rosenthal, Jr. (born June 15, 1949) is an American film instructor and director, known for directing '' Halloween II'' and '' Halloween: Resurrection''. Early life, family and education Rosenthal was born in New York City, the son o ...
called ''Blink'', of which Kreuk is listed as an
executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...
. The second project was a comedy
web series A web series (also known as a web show) is a series of scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet, which first emerged in the late 1990s and became more prominent in the early 2000s. A single i ...
titled ''Queenie'' which featured Kreuk's friend Olivia Cheng.


Advertising work

In 2003,
Neutrogena Neutrogena Corporation, trading as Neutrogena, is an American company that markets skin care, hair care and cosmetics owned by parent company Johnson & Johnson and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.
made her the spokesmodel for their worldwide advertising campaign. In this role, Kreuk followed in the footsteps of fellow teen stars such as Jennifer Love Hewitt and
Mandy Moore Amanda Leigh Moore (born April 10, 1984) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She rose to fame with her debut single, "Candy", which peaked at number 41 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Her debut studio album, '' So Real'' (1999), recei ...
. In 2005, she renewed her contract with Neutrogena for another two years, becoming the company's longest-serving model spokesperson.


Voice acting

In August 2017, Kreuk provided the voice for Princess Shuyan in ''Shuyan Saga'', a
graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...
series set in an ancient Chinese martial arts fantasy universe. She also reprised her role as Catherine Chandler from ''Beauty & the Beast'' on '' Robot Chicken''.


Personal life

As of 2017, Kreuk resided in
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
,
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
. She stated on ''
Live! with Kelly and Michael ''Live with Kelly and Ryan'' (or simply ''Live'') is an American syndicated morning talk show hosted by Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest. Executive produced by Michael Gelman, the ''Live with...'' show formula has aired under various hosts since ...
'' in October 2012 that she is a
pescetarian Pescetarianism (; sometimes spelled pescatarianism) is the practice of incorporating seafood into an otherwise vegetarian diet. Pescetarians may or may not consume other animal products such as eggs and dairy products. Approximately 3% of adults ...
. In November 2017, Kreuk and her ''Smallville'' co-star
Allison Mack Allison Christin Mack (born July 29, 1982) is an American actress. She played Chloe Sullivan on the superhero series ''Smallville'' (2001–2011) and had a recurring role on the comedy series '' Wilfred'' (2012–2014). Mack was a member of N ...
were linked to a
multi-level marketing Multi-level marketing (MLM), also called network marketing or pyramid selling, is a controversial marketing strategy for the sale of products or services in which the revenue of the MLM company is derived from a non-salaried workforce selling th ...
organization and
cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...
known as
NXIVM NXIVM () is the name commonly used to describe the personality cult of imprisoned racketeer and sex offender Keith Raniere. NXIVM is also the trademarked name of the defunct corporation that Raniere founded, which provided seminars and vide ...
, which was founded by
Keith Raniere Keith Allen Raniere (; born August 26, 1960) is an American criminal convicted for a pattern of racketeering activity including human trafficking, sex offenses, and fraud. He co-founded NXIVM, a purported-self-help multi-level marketing com ...
. In March 2018, following Raniere's arrest, Kreuk disclosed on her
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
account that she had joined NXIVM believing it was a "self-help" group but left in 2013, and had not witnessed any illegal or nefarious activities during her time in the group. Kreuk's statement was backed by actress
Sarah Edmondson Sarah Edmondson (born June 22, 1977) is a Canadian actress and podcaster. She is known for supporting roles on Hallmark, and as voice actress in Geronimo Stilton and as “Lina” in the Bratz movies. Edmondson is a former member of NXIVM, a n ...
, who had participated in exposing NXIVM's activities.


Filmography


Television


Film


Video games


Producer


Awards and nominations

In 2015, Kreuk was ranked as Canada's most beautiful person in an online poll organized by
ET Canada ''ET Canada'' (previously referred to as ''Entertainment Tonight Canada'') is a Canadian entertainment news television series, using the same format as the American entertainment newsmagazine ''Entertainment Tonight''. ''ET Canada'' is a broadcas ...
.


See also

* Chinese Canadians in Greater Vancouver


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kreuk, Kristin 1982 births Living people Actresses from Vancouver Canadian actresses of Chinese descent Canadian film actresses Canadian people of Dutch descent Canadian people of Indonesian descent Canadian people of Jamaican descent Canadian soap opera actresses Canadian television actresses NXIVM people 21st-century Canadian actresses