Natasha Henstridge
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Natasha Tonya Henstridge (born August 15, 1974) is a Canadian actress and model. In 1995, she came to prominence with her debut role in the science-fiction thriller ''
Species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
'', followed by performances in ''
Species II ''Species II'' is a 1998 American science fiction horror thriller film directed by Peter Medak. The film is a sequel to ''Species'' (1995) and the second installment in the ''Species'' series. The film stars Michael Madsen, Natasha Henstridge, ...
'' and ''
Species III ''Species III'' is a 2004 Science fiction film, science fiction Thriller (genre), action thriller television film. The film is a sequel to ''Species II'' (1998) and the third installment of the Species (film series), ''Species'' series. Directed b ...
''. She has since starred in a string of films and television series, including ''
Maximum Risk ''Maximum Risk'' is a 1996 American action thriller film directed by Hong Kong director Ringo Lam in his American directorial debut, and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and Natasha Henstridge. The film was released in the United States on Septembe ...
'' (1996), ''
The Whole Nine Yards "The whole nine yards" or "the full nine yards" is a colloquial American English phrase meaning "everything, the whole lot" or, when used as an adjective, "all the way", as in, "The Army came out and gave us the whole nine yards on how they use ...
'' (2000), ''
The Whole Ten Yards ''The Whole Ten Yards'' is a 2004 American crime comedy film directed by Howard Deutch and starring Bruce Willis, Matthew Perry, Amanda Peet, Natasha Henstridge, and Kevin Pollak. It is a sequel to the 2000 film '' The Whole Nine Yards''. It was b ...
'' (2004), ''
Ghosts of Mars ''Ghosts of Mars'' (titled onscreen as ''John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars'') is a 2001 American science fiction action horror film written, directed and scored by John Carpenter. It was produced by Screen Gems and distributed by Sony Pictures Re ...
'' (2001), ''
She Spies ''She Spies'' is an action-adventure television show that ran from July 20, 2002 until May 17, 2004 in two seasons. The show was sold into syndication but the first four episodes were premiered on the NBC network, whose syndication arm was one of t ...
'' (2002–2004), ''
Eli Stone ''Eli Stone'' is an American legal comedy-drama television series, named for its title character. The series was created by Greg Berlanti and Marc Guggenheim, who also served as executive producers alongside Ken Olin who directed the pilot, wit ...
'' (2008–2009), and '' Would Be Kings'' (2008). For the latter, she won the
Gemini Award The Gemini Awards were awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television between 1986–2011 to recognize the achievements of Canada's television industry. The Gemini Awards are analogous to the Emmy Awards given in the United States ...
for Best Actress. Since 2019, she has been starring in the
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 ...
series ''
Diggstown ''Diggstown'' (known as ''Midnight Sting'' in the UK), is a 1992 American sports comedy-drama film directed by Michael Ritchie and written by Steven McKay, based on the 1978 novel ''The Diggstown Ringers'' by Leonard Wise. It stars James Woods ...
''.


Early life

Henstridge was born in
Springdale, Newfoundland and Labrador Springdale is a town in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, which had a population of 2,965 people in 2021, up from 2,764 in the Canada 2006 Census. The community is located on the Northwestern shores of Hall's Bay in Central Newfoundland, near ...
, on August 15, 1974, to Helen Henstridge, a homemaker, and Brian Henstridge, a construction-manager and business-owner. She was raised in
Fort McMurray, Alberta Fort McMurray ( ) is an urban service area in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo in Alberta, Canada. It is located in northeast Alberta, in the middle of the Athabasca oil sands, surrounded by boreal forest. It has played a significan ...
, with her younger brother, Shane."Natasha Henstridge Biography (1974–)"
''Film Reference''.


Career


Modeling

At age 14, Henstridge entered the Casablanca Modeling Agency's Look of the Year contest and was chosen first runner-up. The following year, she went to
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
to pursue her modeling ambitions. At age 15, she was featured on her first magazine cover, the French edition of ''
Cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Food and drink * Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo" History * Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953 Hotels and resorts * Cosmopoli ...
''. Several more magazine covers followed and Henstridge went on to do television commercials for products such as
Olay Olay, previously Oil of Olay, Oil of Olaz, Oil of Ulan or Oil of Ulay, is an American skin care brand owned by Procter & Gamble. For the 2009 fiscal year, which ended on June 30, Olay accounted for an estimated $2.8 billion of P&G's revenue. Ear ...
,
Old Spice Old Spice is an American brand of male grooming products encompassing aftershaves, deodorants and antiperspirants, shampoos, body washes, and soaps. It is manufactured by Procter & Gamble. Old Spice was launched as Early American Old Spice by W ...
and Lady Stetson. With her modeling career established, Henstridge started doing commercials and decided she preferred acting. One of her first roles was as “Foxy Fox” in the Missoula Children's Theatre production of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” staged in Fort McMurray, Alberta.


Film

In her film debut ''
Species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
'' (1995), Henstridge played Sil, a genetically engineered alien/human hybrid created from a message received by
SETI The search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) is a collective term for scientific searches for intelligent extraterrestrial life, for example, monitoring electromagnetic radiation for signs of transmissions from civilizations on other p ...
, who breaks free from the captivity of a laboratory. Pursued by a team of experts who band together to stop her before she reproduces, Sil embarks on a killing spree while also discovering her powerful instinct to mate. ''Species'' was an instant hit, making US$113 million at the
box office A box office or ticket office is a place where ticket (admission), tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a Wicket gate, wicke ...
. Notable for its sexual content, the film won Henstridge the
MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss The following list is for the MTV Movie Award winners and nominees for Best Kiss. Kristen Stewart & Robert Pattinson won for "The Twilight Saga films" (along with "Best Movie") in four consecutive years (2009–2012). Winners and nominees Award ...
for a scene in which her character, while kissing a date, impales his head with her tongue. In 1998, she played Eve, a more ambiguous genetic duplicate of Sil, in ''
Species II ''Species II'' is a 1998 American science fiction horror thriller film directed by Peter Medak. The film is a sequel to ''Species'' (1995) and the second installment in the ''Species'' series. The film stars Michael Madsen, Natasha Henstridge, ...
'', which was a failure at the box office. Between ''Species'' films, Henstridge starred in two low budget action films in 1996, '' Adrenalin: Fear the Rush'' with
Christopher Lambert Christophe Guy Denis "Christopher" Lambert (; ; born March 29, 1957) is a French-American actor, producer, and novelist. He started his career playing supporting parts in several French films, and became internationally famous for portraying Ta ...
, and ''
Maximum Risk ''Maximum Risk'' is a 1996 American action thriller film directed by Hong Kong director Ringo Lam in his American directorial debut, and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and Natasha Henstridge. The film was released in the United States on Septembe ...
'' opposite
Jean-Claude Van Damme Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg (, ; born 18 October 1960), known professionally as Jean-Claude Van Damme (, ), is a Belgian actor, martial artist, filmmaker, and fight choreographer. Born and raised in Brussels, Belgium, at the a ...
. A few smaller independent movies followed, including ''Bela Donna'' and ''
Dog Park A dog park is a park for dogs to exercise and play off-leash in a controlled environment under the supervision of their owners. Description Dog parks have varying features, although they typically offer a 4' to 6' fence, separate double-gated ...
'', with varied box office returns. Henstridge starred in the film ''
The Whole Nine Yards "The whole nine yards" or "the full nine yards" is a colloquial American English phrase meaning "everything, the whole lot" or, when used as an adjective, "all the way", as in, "The Army came out and gave us the whole nine yards on how they use ...
'' (2000) and its sequel ''
The Whole Ten Yards ''The Whole Ten Yards'' is a 2004 American crime comedy film directed by Howard Deutch and starring Bruce Willis, Matthew Perry, Amanda Peet, Natasha Henstridge, and Kevin Pollak. It is a sequel to the 2000 film '' The Whole Nine Yards''. It was b ...
'' (2004). Despite having some reservations about the science fiction genre, she signed up for
John Carpenter John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American filmmaker, actor, and composer. Although he worked in various film genres, he is most commonly associated with horror, action, and science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s. He ...
's ''
Ghosts of Mars ''Ghosts of Mars'' (titled onscreen as ''John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars'') is a 2001 American science fiction action horror film written, directed and scored by John Carpenter. It was produced by Screen Gems and distributed by Sony Pictures Re ...
'' (2001) in the lead role of Lieutenant Melanie Ballard. The film was not well received, with a 20% rating on
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
. In 2004, she briefly appeared as Eve in ''
Species III ''Species III'' is a 2004 Science fiction film, science fiction Thriller (genre), action thriller television film. The film is a sequel to ''Species II'' (1998) and the third installment of the Species (film series), ''Species'' series. Directed b ...
''. In 2007, Henstridge was a festival judge at the first annual
Noor Iranian Film Festival The Noor Iranian Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Los Angeles, California, founded by cultural producer Siamak Ghahremani and co-founder Anthony Azizi in 2007. The festival's namesake comes from the word Nur, also spelled Noor, mea ...
.


Television

Henstridge has played a number of roles on television, for example in '' Caracara'' and '' The Outer Limits''. From 2005 to 2006, she had a recurring role as the Speaker's Chief of Staff on the ABC drama '' Commander in Chief'', which starred
Geena Davis Virginia Elizabeth "Geena" Davis (born January 21, 1956) is an American actor
as a fictional female
U.S. president The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...
. She also hosted ''Mostly True Stories: Urban Legends Revealed'' on
TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an A ...
, a show about
urban legends An urban legend (sometimes contemporary legend, modern legend, urban myth, or urban tale) is a genre of folklore comprising stories or fallacious claims circulated as true, especially as having happened to a "friend of a friend" or a family m ...
. She guest-starred as a substitute teacher in the first-season ''
South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boys Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand th ...
'' episode "
Tom's Rhinoplasty "Tom's Rhinoplasty" is the eleventh episode of the first season of the American animated television series ''South Park''. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on February 11, 1998. In the episode, the South Park Elementary ...
", and was credited as "the chick from ''Species''". Henstridge was working on the television series ''
She Spies ''She Spies'' is an action-adventure television show that ran from July 20, 2002 until May 17, 2004 in two seasons. The show was sold into syndication but the first four episodes were premiered on the NBC network, whose syndication arm was one of t ...
'', prior to its cancellation. She has also completed a television movie for the Lifetime channel titled ''Widow on the Hill''. In 2006, she filmed the CTV original
miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...
'' Would Be Kings'' in
Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of T ...
, for which she won a
Gemini Award The Gemini Awards were awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television between 1986–2011 to recognize the achievements of Canada's television industry. The Gemini Awards are analogous to the Emmy Awards given in the United States ...
. She also starred in the expansion set to the video game '' Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars'', entitled ''
Kane's Wrath ''Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath'' is an expansion pack for the 2007 real-time strategy video game '' Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars''. Developed by EA Los Angeles studios and BreakAway Games studios, it was released on March 24, 2008 in ...
''. In 2008, Henstridge played a role on the ABC comedy-drama series ''
Eli Stone ''Eli Stone'' is an American legal comedy-drama television series, named for its title character. The series was created by Greg Berlanti and Marc Guggenheim, who also served as executive producers alongside Ken Olin who directed the pilot, wit ...
''. She has also been involved with two other productions, joining the cast of Dave Rodriguez's '' Anytown'', an indie drama that examines a racist high school attack and its aftermath. She has also been involved with the production of ''Should've Been Romeo'' from American Independent Pictures. In 2009, Henstridge did a guest spot on ''
The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. The show has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2009 and 201 ...
'' with
Conan O'Brien Conan Christopher O'Brien (born April 18, 1963) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and producer. He is best known for having hosted late-night talk shows for almost 28 years, beginning with ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' (19 ...
. During this, she demonstrated a Newfoundland custom called "Screeching In" which involved getting O'Brien to drink
Newfoundland Screech Newfoundland Screech is a rum sold in Newfoundland with 40% alcohol by volume. The term ''screech'' is a colloquial term that has been used to describe almost any cheap, high alcohol spirit, including moonshine. The term is used in the brand name ...
rum and kiss a large fish. In 2011, she appeared on the season 9 finale and season 10 premiere 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 Renee Locklear. She then starred in the CW television series ''
The Secret Circle The Secret Circle is a supernatural, young-adult series of books created by L. J. Smith. The narrative follows the character of Cassie Blake as she is initiated into a "Circle" of eleven other teenage witches and the danger that ensues when they ...
'' as Dawn Chamberlain. Since 2019, she has been starring in the
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 ...
series ''
Diggstown ''Diggstown'' (known as ''Midnight Sting'' in the UK), is a 1992 American sports comedy-drama film directed by Michael Ritchie and written by Steven McKay, based on the 1978 novel ''The Diggstown Ringers'' by Leonard Wise. It stars James Woods ...
''.


Personal life

Henstridge married American actor
Damian Chapa Damian Robert Chapa (born October 29, 1963) is an American actor, film director, and producer. Life Chapa's ancestry is of Mexican, Italian, German and Native American descent. He now calls San Antonio, Texas home. Career Chapa played the par ...
in 1995 and they divorced in 1996. She dated American actor
Liam Waite Liam Waite (born Liam Owen East; March 20, 1971) is an American actor. He is the stepson of Ralph Waite. He is known for portraying a Mars Police Force Officer in John Carpenter's ‘’Ghost of Mars’’ & portraying a father figure in televis ...
from 1996 to 2004, and they have two sons together: Tristan River (born October 1998) and Asher Sky (born September 2001). She began a relationship with late Scottish singer
Darius Campbell Darius Campbell Danesh (19 August 1980 – 11 August 2022) was a Scottish singer-songwriter, actor and film producer. He first came to prominence as Darius Danesh when he appeared in the first series of '' Popstars'' in 2001, and the 2002 inau ...
in 2004. They became engaged but broke it off in early 2010, then married on
Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, throu ...
2011. They filed for divorce in July 2013. The divorce was finalized in February 2018. In June 2009, Henstridge spoke of her past use of diet pills in combination with extreme diets for weight loss; she said this damaged her metabolism and led to subsequent weight gain. In November 2017, during the height of the #MeToo movement, Henstridge joined six other actresses in accusing director
Brett Ratner Brett Ratner (born March 28, 1969) is an American film director and producer. He directed the ''Rush Hour'' film series, ''The Family Man'', '' Red Dragon'', '' X-Men: The Last Stand'', and ''Tower Heist''. He is also a producer of several films ...
of sexual assault and harassment; she maintains that he forced her to perform oral sex on him in the early 1990s. She also accused producer
Harvey Weinstein Harvey Weinstein (; born March 19, 1952) is an American former film producer and convicted sex offender. He and his brother, Bob Weinstein, co-founded the entertainment company Miramax, which produced several successful independent films inclu ...
of sexual harassment.


Filmography


Film


Television


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Henstridge, Natasha 1974 births 20th-century Canadian actresses 21st-century Canadian actresses Actresses from Alberta Actresses from Newfoundland and Labrador Canadian female models Canadian film actresses Canadian Screen Award winners Canadian stage actresses Canadian television actresses Living people People from Fort McMurray People from Newfoundland (island)