Samantha Futerman (born November 19, 1987) is a

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

n-born

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

, and

activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

. She is known for her supporting role in the drama film ''

Memoirs of a Geisha ''Memoirs of a Geisha'' is a historical fiction novel by American author Arthur Golden, published in 1997. The novel, told in first person perspective, tells the story of Nitta Sayuri and the many trials she faces on the path to becoming and wo ...

'', set in Japan around World War II. She is also known for her self-made documentary film ''

Twinsters ''Twinsters'' is a 2015 documentary film which covers the true-life story of identical twin sisters, separated at birth, discovering each other on-line, meeting, confirming their identity with a DNA test, and exploring aspects of their background ...

'', about how she discovered the identical twin sister she was not aware she had through Facebook and their journey after the truth is revealed.

Personal life

Futerman was born in

Busan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, w ...

and given the name Ra-Hee Chung. She was later adopted by American parents, Jackie and Judd Futerman, and has two brothers, Matt and Andrew. Raised in

Verona, New Jersey Verona is a township in Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 14,572, an increase of 1,240 (+9.3%) from the 2010 census count of 13,332, which in turn reflected a decl ...

, Futerman graduated from Verona High School in 2005. Afterward, she went to Boston University's College of Fine Arts and received her Bachelor of Fine Arts. In 2011, Futerman moved to Los Angeles to pursue her interest in acting. In 2012, Futerman made an appearance in

KevJumba Kevin Wu (born June 12, 1990) is an American former YouTuber best known under the username KevJumba. The ''San Francisco Chronicles Jeff Yang has noted that Wu is not a comedian in the conventional sense but that by "just talking eis, well, ...

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

video, ''High School Virgin''. After coming across this video, Futerman's identical twin sister, Anaïs Bordier, from whom she had been separated at birth and of whom she had no knowledge, contacted Futerman through

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

on February 21, 2013. Immediately after, Futerman decided to work with co-director Ryan Miyamoto to document the twins' journey. With the help of Dr. Nancy Segal, the women took a DNA test, which confirmed that Futerman and Anaïs are, in fact, twins. In May 2013, the women met in person for the first time when Futerman decided to visit Anaïs at school in London. The two sisters have made a documentary film about their lives called ''

'', which debuted on March 15, 2015, at the South by Southwest Film Festival. The film begins with the women’s first Skype conversation and moves on to them meeting each other in person and their trip to the adoptee conference in

Seoul, South Korea Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...

, where they also meet their foster mothers. Since meeting her sister, Futerman has been advocating for adoption. She worked with

Jenna Ushkowitz Jenna Noelle Ushkowitz (; born April 28, 1986) (born Min Ji []) is a South Korean-born American actress, singer, producer and podcast host. She is known for her performances in Broadway musicals such as ''The King and I'' and '' Waitress (musical ...

to co-found the Kindred: Foundation of Adoption. On March 19, 2022, Futerman married Ryan Miyamoto, who co-directed the film ''Twinsters'' with her, at a ceremony held in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Career

At the age of 16, Futerman made her feature film debut in 2005 with the leading role in '' The Motel''. That same year, Futerman received her role in the movie ''

'', for which she gained international attention with her role of Satsu. In early 2007, Futerman had a supporting role in ''

Dear Lemon Lima ''Dear Lemon Lima'' is a 2009 family comedy feature film written and directed by Suzi Yoonessi. Based on her short film of the same name and developed with the support of Film Independent and its Filmmaker Labs, this film is about a 13-year-old h ...

'' opposite

Meaghan Martin Meaghan Jette Martin () (born February 17, 1992) is an American actress and singer known for her work in film, television, and theatre. She is best known for her starring role in the ABC Family television series, '' 10 Things I Hate About You'' ...

and

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

winner

Melissa Leo Melissa Chessington Leo (born September 14, 1960) is an American actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award and two Critics' Choice ...

. Futerman is also known for roles in Going the Distance and 21 & Over.

Filmography

Bibliography

*''Separated @ Birth: A True Love Story of Twin Sisters Reunited'', with Anaïs Bordier,

G. P. Putnam's Sons G. P. Putnam's Sons is an American book publisher based in New York City, New York. Since 1996, it has been an imprint of the Penguin Group. History The company began as Wiley & Putnam with the 1838 partnership between George Palmer Putnam and J ...

, 2014

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Futerman, Samantha 1987 births 21st-century American actresses American adoptees South Korean adoptees American film actresses American actresses of Korean descent American television actresses Living people American twins People from Busan Identical twin females People from Verona, New Jersey Verona High School (New Jersey) alumni