Monica Keena (born May 28, 1979) is an American actress. She made her film debut in ''
While You Were Sleeping'' (1995), and a lead role as
Lilliana "Lilli" Hoffman in ''
Snow White: A Tale of Terror'' (1997).
She later starred as
Lori Campbell
Lori Campbell is a Two-Spirit Cree-Métis educator and advocate from Treaty 6 territory in Northern Saskatchewan and a member of Montreal Lake First Nation. She was appointed the inaugural Associate Vice-President Indigenous Engagement in 2021 a ...
in ''
Freddy vs. Jason
''Freddy vs. Jason'' is a 2003 American slasher film directed by Ronny Yu and written by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift. It is a crossover between the ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' and ''Friday the 13th'' series, being the eighth installment i ...
'' (2003), and has had roles in the films ''
Brooklyn Rules
''Brooklyn Rules'' is a 2007 American crime drama film directed by Michael Corrente, written by Terence Winter and starring Alec Baldwin, Scott Caan, Freddie Prinze Jr., Jerry Ferrara and Mena Suvari. The plot follows a group of lifelong friends ...
'' (2007) and the 2009 remake of ''
Night of the Demons''. Keena has also worked in television, starring as
Abby Morgan on ''
Dawson's Creek
''Dawson's Creek'' is an American teen drama television series about the lives of a close-knit group of friends in the fictional town of Capeside, Massachusetts, beginning in high school and continuing into college that ran from 1998 to 2003. T ...
'', Rachel Lindquist on the short-lived comedy ''
Undeclared
''Undeclared'' is an American sitcom created by Judd Apatow, which aired on Fox during the 2001–02 season. The show has developed a cult following, and in 2012, ''Entertainment Weekly'' listed it at #16 in the "25 Best Cult TV Shows from the P ...
'', and Kristen on
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
's ''
Entourage
An entourage () is an informal group or band of people who are closely associated with a (usually) famous, notorious, or otherwise notable individual. The word can also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* L'entourage, French hip hop / rap collecti ...
''.
Early life
Keena was born and raised in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
. Her parents are William Junior (a financial
sales manager
Sales management is a business discipline which is focused on the practical application of sales techniques and the management of a firm's sales operations. It is an important business function as net sales through the sale of products and ser ...
with the firm Paine Webber) and Mary Catherine Keena (a
nurse
Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health c ...
). She has a sister, Samantha, who is two years older. Monica attended
Saint Ann's School, a progressive private school in
Brooklyn Heights
Brooklyn Heights is a residential neighborhood within the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Old Fulton Street near the Brooklyn Bridge on the north, Cadman Plaza West on the east, Atlantic Avenue on the south, an ...
.
She auditioned for acceptance into
LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts
Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, often referred to simply as LaGuardia, is a public High school (North America), high school specializing in teaching visual arts and performing arts, located near Lincoln Ce ...
at age 13. Although she chose the drama department as her preference, she was accepted in both the dramatic and the vocal arts departments. Soon after starting her classes at LaGuardia, Keena played in her first role in a short film, ''Burning Love''.
Career
Keena portrayed Bertha in a stage reading of
Strindberg's ''
The Father'' and had her first starring role playing
Lilliana "Lilli" Hoffman in the folktale-inspired film ''
Snow White: A Tale of Terror''. She has appeared in numerous television and movie projects including the TBS Original Movie ''
First Daughter'' and ''
Crime and Punishment in Suburbia
''Crime and Punishment in Suburbia'' (stylized as ''Crime + Punishment in Suburbia'' or simply ''Crime + Punishment'') is a 2000 film directed by Rob Schmidt and starring Monica Keena, Ellen Barkin, Michael Ironside, James DeBello and Vincent Ka ...
'' which appeared at the 2000
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...
.
Monica appeared in the film ''
While You Were Sleeping'', ''
The Simian Line
''The Simian Line'' is a 2001 American improvisational film released in New York City and Los Angeles. It was filmed over an eleven-day period. The ensemble cast includes Harry Connick Jr., Cindy Crawford, Tyne Daly, William Hurt, Monica Kee ...
'' with
Lynn Redgrave
Lynn Rachel Redgrave (8 March 1943 – 2 May 2010) was an English actress. She won two Golden Globe Awards throughout her career.
A member of the Redgrave family of actors, Lynn trained in London before making her theatrical debut in 1962. By ...
, and ''
Bad Girls From Valley High'' with the film eventually released straight to DVD in 2005. In 2003, she played the heroine Lori Campbell in ''
Freddy vs. Jason
''Freddy vs. Jason'' is a 2003 American slasher film directed by Ronny Yu and written by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift. It is a crossover between the ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' and ''Friday the 13th'' series, being the eighth installment i ...
''. In 2006, she played Celia in the film ''
Left in Darkness
''Left in Darkness'' is a 2006 horror film produced by IDT Entertainment, and Soul Eaters Productions Inc. The film stars Monica Keena, David Anders, Jessica Stroup, and Travis Van Winkle.
Plot
A young woman, whose mother died giving birth to he ...
''.
Keena had a recurring role as
Abby Morgan on ''
Dawson's Creek
''Dawson's Creek'' is an American teen drama television series about the lives of a close-knit group of friends in the fictional town of Capeside, Massachusetts, beginning in high school and continuing into college that ran from 1998 to 2003. T ...
'' and a starring role on the short-lived ''
Undeclared
''Undeclared'' is an American sitcom created by Judd Apatow, which aired on Fox during the 2001–02 season. The show has developed a cult following, and in 2012, ''Entertainment Weekly'' listed it at #16 in the "25 Best Cult TV Shows from the P ...
'' as the college student Rachel. Keena also had guest roles on series such as ''
Law & Order
''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise.
''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering on ...
'', ''
Law & Order: Criminal Intent
''Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' is an American police procedural Drama (film and television), drama television series set in New York City, where it was also primarily produced. Created and Executive producer#Motion pictures and television, p ...
'', ''
Homicide: Life on the Street'', ''
Feds
''Feds'' is a 1988 American comedy film written and directed by Dan Goldberg, and starring Rebecca De Mornay and Mary Gross. The plot follows two women, the ex-Marine Ellie and Bryn Mawr graduate Janis, who aim to become FBI Agents and enroll ...
'', and ''
Entourage
An entourage () is an informal group or band of people who are closely associated with a (usually) famous, notorious, or otherwise notable individual. The word can also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* L'entourage, French hip hop / rap collecti ...
''. On the hit ABC
medical drama
A medical drama is a television show or film in which events center upon a hospital, an ambulance staff, or any medical environment. Most recent medical drama (film and television), dramatic programming go beyond the events pertaining to the chara ...
''
Grey's Anatomy
''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they develop into se ...
'', she appeared in the second season episode "Into You Like A Train" in which she played
Bonnie
Bonnie, is a Scottish given name and is sometimes used as a descriptive reference, as in the Scottish folk song, My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean. It comes from the Scots language word "bonnie" (pretty, attractive), or the French bonne (good). That ...
, a patient who was severely injured in a massive train accident. She later reappeared in the third season episode "Some Kind of Miracle" to reprise her role as Bonnie.
Keena appears as Maddie Curtis in
Adam Gierasch
Adam Gierasch and Jace Anderson are American husband-and-wife filmmakers, known for their work in the horror genre. Adam Gierasch is also known as an actor and director, and he released his directorial debut ''Autopsy (2008 film), Autopsy'' in 2 ...
's
straight-to-video
Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was p ...
2009 remake ''
Night of the Demons''. It was during filming that she became romantically involved with
Edward Furlong
Edward Walter Furlong (born August 2, 1977) is an American actor. He won Saturn and MTV Movie Awards for his breakthrough performance at age 13 as John Connor in James Cameron's '' Terminator 2: Judgment Day''; which was followed by a mini-seq ...
. He has been arrested three times for attacking her, and on January 15, 2013, was remanded in jail as he was unable to pay bail. Despite years of trouble the two have remained together and also continue to care for Furlong's son and have been seen together on both of their Instagrams and continue to attend fan conventions.
Filmography
References
External links
*
*
*
Monica Keenaat
Hollywood.com
Hollywood.com is an entertainment news website covering popular culture topics including movies, television, music and celebrities. Hollywood.com is principally owned by Mitchell Rubenstein and Laurie S. Silvers, who previously founded Sci-Fi Ch ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keena, Monica
1979 births
Living people
American people of Irish descent
Actresses from New Jersey
Actresses from New York City
American film actresses
American television actresses
People from Brooklyn
20th-century American actresses
21st-century American actresses
Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School alumni
Saint Ann's School (Brooklyn) alumni