Samantha Robinson (born October 19, 1991) is an American actress. She is known for playing the lead role in the film ''

The Love Witch ''The Love Witch'' is a 2016 American comedy horror film written, edited, directed, produced, and scored by Anna Biller. The film stars Samantha Robinson as Elaine Parks, a modern-day witch who uses spells and magic to get men to fall in love ...

'', directed by

Anna Biller Anna Biller is an independent American filmmaker who has directed two feature films. Biller considers herself a feminist filmmaker and consciously explores feminist themes throughout her work, including exploring the female gaze in cinema. She i ...

. Her other roles include coffee heiress

Abigail Folger Abigail () was an Israelite woman in the Hebrew Bible married to Nabal; she married the future King David after Nabal's death (1 Samuel ). Abigail was David's second wife, after Saul and Ahinoam's daughter, Michal, whom Saul later married ...

in the 2019 film ''

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood ''Once Upon a Time in Hollywood'' is a 2019 comedy-drama film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. Produced by Columbia Pictures, Bona Film Group, Heyday Films, and Visiona Romantica and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing, it is a ...

'', directed by

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, Black comedy, dark humor, Nonlinear narrative, non-lin ...

Early life

Samantha Robinson was born on October 19, 1991 in New York City to a Panamanian mother and an English father. She was raised in

London, England London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...

. She attended the all girls' school

Queen's Gate Queen's Gate is a street in South Kensington, London, England. It runs south from Kensington Gardens' Queen's Gate (the edge of which gardens are here followed by Kensington Road) to Old Brompton Road, intersecting Cromwell Road. The street is ...

South Kensington South Kensington, nicknamed Little Paris, is a district just west of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically it settled on part of the scattered Middlesex village of Brompton. Its name was supplanted with ...

and the

London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) is a drama school located in Hammersmith, London. It is the oldest specialist drama school in the British Isles and a founding member of the Federation of Drama Schools. LAMDA's Principal is ...

. Robinson landed a role in the West End production of ''

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'' (often colloquially known as ''Joseph'') is a sung-through musical with lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the character of Joseph from the Bible's Book of Genesis. Thi ...

''. At the age of 14, her family relocated to

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, where she attended the

New World School of the Arts New World School of the Arts (NWSA) is a public magnet high school and college in Downtown Miami, Florida. Its dual-enrollment programs in the visual and performing arts are organized into four strands: visual arts, dance, theatre (comprising prog ...

. Robinson later graduated from the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

with a concentration in acting in 2014.

Career

Robinson's early roles included the independent films ''Serenade of Sonnets'', ''Dreamgirl'', and ''Labyrinths''. Her breakthrough came in 2016 with the lead role as Elaine, a seductive witch, in the film ''The Love Witch'' directed by Anna Biller. Robinson earned acclaim for her role in ''The Love Witch''.

Frank Scheck Frank Scheck is an American film critic. He is best known for his reviews in the ''New York Post'' and ''The Hollywood Reporter''. He formerly edited ''STAGES Magazine'' and worked as a theater critic for the ''Christian Science Monitor Ch ...

, writing for ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

,'' called Robinson's performance "intense" and "alluring in a way that goes far beyond her lithe dancer's body and stunning looks." '' Variety's'' Dennis Harvey said Robinson "does a great job encapsulating another era’s kitten-with-a-whip affectations." Charles Bramesco wrote in ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' that director Biller and Robinson "have created a three-dimensional version of the stock eroticized woman." IndieWire's David Ehrlich labeled Robinson's role "unforgettable" and "a breakthrough performance for the ages." ''

The LA Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' film critics

Justin Chang Justin Choigee Chang (born January 3, 1983) is an American film critic and columnist for the ''Los Angeles Times''. He previously worked for ''Variety''. Early life Justin Chang graduated from the University of Southern California in 2004. Chan ...

and Michael Rechtshaffen called Robinson "superb" and "simultaneously channeling

Tippi Hedren Nathalie Kay "Tippi" Hedren (born January 19, 1930) is an American actress, animal rights activist, and former fashion model. A successful fashion model who appeared on the front covers of ''Life'' and '' Glamour'' magazines, among others, Hed ...

and '60s scream queen

Barbara Steele Barbara Steele (born 29 December 1937) is an English film actress known for starring in Italian gothic horror films of the 1960s. She has been referred to as the "Queen of All Scream Queens" and "Britain's first lady of horror". She played th ...

," respectively. ''

Elle ''Elle'' (stylized ''ELLE'') is a worldwide women's magazine of French origin that offers a mix of fashion and beauty content, together with culture, society and lifestyle. The title means "she" or "her" in French. ''Elle'' is considered the w ...

'' magazine called Robinson's performance "pitch-perfect," while

The Nerdist ''ID10T with Chris Hardwick'' (formerly ''The Nerdist Podcast'') is a weekly interview show "about what it really means to be a nerd" hosted by Chris Hardwick, once usually accompanied by Jonah Ray and Matt Mira. The audio podcasts are typicall ...

reviewer Scott Weinberg said that Robinson "owns the whole movie," and that her performance was "brave, sexy, (and) commanding." ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'' ranked Robinson as one of the best actresses of 2016 for her role in ''The Love Witch.'' Robinson played Abigail Folger, one of the victims of the Tate-LaBianca murders, in the 2019 film ''

'' directed by

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Samantha 1991 births 21st-century American actresses American film actresses Living people People educated at Queen's Gate School Alumni of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art University of California, Los Angeles alumni American people of English descent American people of Panamanian descent Hispanic and Latino American actresses