Lorraine Broussard Nicholson (born April 16, 1990) is an American actress and director. She is known for playing
Alana Blanchard
Alana Rene Blanchard (born March 5, 1990) is an American professional surfer and model. Blanchard has surfed on the ASP World Tour.
Career
Alana Blanchard was first taught how to surf when she was just 4 years old by her father, Holt. Alana ...
in the biographical film ''
Soul Surfer
A soul surfer (term invented during the 1960s) is a surfer who surfs for the sheer pleasure of surfing. Although they may still enter competitions, winning is not the soul surfer's main motive, since they scorn the commercialization of surfing. T ...
'' (2011).
Early life
Nicholson was born in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
to actors
Jack Nicholson
John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an American retired actor and filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. In many of his films, he played rebels against the social structure. He received numerous ...
and
Rebecca Broussard
Rebecca Broussard (born January 3, 1963) is an American actress and model.
She was born in Louisville, Kentucky. From 1987 to 1988, Broussard was married to Richard Perry, a noted record executive who produced albums for Harry Nilsson, Julio Ig ...
. She was named after her father's aunt. She has a younger brother,
Raymond
Raymond is a male given name. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷᛁᚾᛗᚢᚾᛞ ( ...
, as well as two older half-siblings; a half-sister, Jennifer Nicholson and a half-brother, Caleb Goddard. She was four years old when her parents separated. In 2008, she graduated from
Brentwood School in
Brentwood, California
Brentwood is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. It is located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. The population is 66,854 as of 2022, an increase of 287% from 23,302 at the 2000 census.
Brentwood began ...
.
Career
Nicholson's first on-screen appearance was as an extra, at the age of 13, in her father's movie ''
Something's Gotta Give''. In 2008, she provided the voice of Katie in the animated film ''
Fly Me to the Moon
"Fly Me to the Moon", originally titled "In Other Words", is a song written in 1954 by Bart Howard. The first recording of the song was made in 1954 by Kaye Ballard. Frank Sinatra's 1964 version was closely associated with the Apollo missions ...
''.
After mostly minor roles as a child actor, Nicholson landed her first major role in ''Soul Surfer'', playing
Bethany Hamilton
Bethany Meilani Hamilton (born February 8, 1990) is an American professional surfer and writer who survived a 2003 shark attack in which her left arm was bitten off and who ultimately returned to professional surfing. She wrote about her exper ...
's best friend Alana Blanchard, who was there to help her after a shark attack took her left arm. As Blanchard was a competitive surfer, Nicholson had to take a crash course in wave riding.
Nicholson starred in ''Anonymous'' (2016), playing an expert hacker.
Nicholson wrote, produced and directed a 15-minute coming-of-age drama titled ''The Instant Message''. She later directed and wrote a short film titled ''This Magic Moment.'' In 2017, Nicholson released her third short film, ''Life Boat'', which premiered at the 2017
Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by TriBeCa Productions, Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive progra ...
.
Personal life
Nicholson served as
Miss Golden Globe The Golden Globe Ambassador, until 2017 Miss Golden Globe or Mr. Golden Globe, is the young person who assists in the annual Golden Globe Awards presentations by handing out trophies to the winners and escorting them off stage.
History
The first Mi ...
at the 2007
Golden Globe Awards
The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...
ceremony.
[
In May 2012, she graduated from ]Brown University
Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...
with a degree in Literary Arts, intending on being a screenwriter. In a 2011 interview, Nicholson stated, "I love to act and I also hope to one day write and direct and create my own projects. I feel that in the film industry, especially as a woman, it's really important to make your own luck – and create projects to give other people really strong opportunities as well as yourself." In 2017, Nicholson was accepted into the AFI Directing Workshop for Women, a mentorship and education program geared towards female filmmaking.
Filmography
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicholson, Lorraine
1990 births
21st-century American actresses
Actresses from Los Angeles
American child actresses
American film actresses
Brown University alumni
Living people