Shawnee Smith

Shawnee Rebecca Smith (born July 3, 1969) is an American actress and singer. She is known for her portrayal of Amanda Young in the ''Saw'' franchise (2004–2010), which established her as a " scream queen" and as an influential figure in popular culture. She has also starred as Linda in the CBS sitcom ''Becker'' (1998–2004) and Jennifer Goodson on the FX sitcom ''Anger Management'' (2012–2014).

In addition to acting, Smith once fronted the rock band Fydolla Ho, with which she toured globally. Later, with actress Missi Pyle, she served as half of Smith & Pyle, a country rock band.

Early life

Smith was born at Orangeburg Regional Hospital in Orangeburg, South Carolina. She is the second child of Patricia Ann (née Smoak), an oncology nurse, and James H. Smith, a financial planner and former US Air Force pilot. When she was one year old, her family relocated from South Carolina to Van Nuys, California. Her parents divorced when she was two years old, and her mother remarried when she was eight years old. She attended Ranchito Avenue Elementary School in Panorama City, Los Angeles and Madison Jr. High in North Hollywood, Los Angeles. She attended Grant High School for two years then transferred to North Hollywood High School, graduating in 1987.Biodata
thetandd.com; accessed December 26, 2014.

Career

Acting career

Early film roles

Smith began acting as a child, appearing on stage in ''A Christmas Carol'' repertory from ages eight to 11 and starred in a stage play with Richard Dreyfuss at age 15. She performed in the original stage production of ''To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday'' and won the Dramalogue Critics Award for her performance, becoming the youngest actor up to that time to receive such an honor. She made her television debut in a McDonald's commercial titled "Best Friends" in 1981.

She joined the Screen Actors Guild at age nine and made her feature film debut in John Huston's 1982 adaptation of the Broadway musical ''Annie'', as one of Annie Bennett Warbucks's fellow orphans. In 1985, she co-starred in two melodramas, ''Not My Kid'' and ''Crime of Innocence'', along with a small role in ''Iron Eagle'' (1986). In 1987, Smith co-starred in '' Summer School'' as pregnant student Rhonda Altobello. The following year, she starred in the 1988 remake of ''The Blob'', as well as the film ''Bluegrass'' with Cheryl Ladd.

Smith played a rich teen who helps Harry Crumb locate her kidnapped sister in the 1989 film ''Who's Harry Crumb?''. That same year, she co-starred with Jennie Garth and Barbara Eden in the short-lived TV series ''Brand New Life''. The following year, she co-starred in Michael Cimino's remake of the thriller ''Desperate Hours''. She took a three-year break from acting in the early 1990s, primarily because she had outgrown teenage roles and had a hard time finding work. In 1994, she played Julie Lawry in the TV miniseries ''The Stand'', based on the novel by Stephen King, and landed a small role in the film ''Leaving Las Vegas''.

Breakthrough with ''Becker'' and the ''Saw'' franchise

From 1998 to 2004, Smith co-starred as Linda in ''Becker''. She made several guest appearances on such television shows as ''Cagney & Lacey'', ''Murder, She Wrote'', ''The X-Files'', '' Players'', and '' Law & Order: Los Angeles''. In 2003, she lent her voice to an episode of the Disney cartoon ''Kim Possible'' as Vivian Porter.

Smith became well known for her role as Amanda Young in the ''Saw'' films. She has been called a " scream queen" due to the number of horror films in which she has appeared. In the DVD commentary of ''Saw'', the producers revealed that her scenes were filmed while she was battling a terrible case of the flu. In the DVD commentary of ''Saw II'', she was revealed to be four months pregnant with her second child during filming. Her pregnancy was kept a secret from everyone except director Darren Lynn Bousman. He mentioned in the commentary that Smith's daughter Verve accidentally told him about the pregnancy during filming.

Smith has said that although she is briefly shown in ''Saw IV'' and ''Saw V'', she was never on set. Any scenes featuring her were dubbed from file footage. On March 20, 2009, producer Mark Burg released a statement confirming that Smith would be in ''Saw VI''. She arrived in Toronto on March 31, 2009, to begin filming new flashback sequences. She admitted she has a hard time watching the ''Saw'' films, or horror movies in general. She originally turned the role of Amanda Young down because it was very upsetting to her. After turning the role down, she was shown the eight-minute short film ''Saw'' by Leigh Whannell and James Wan and changed her mind after the role was offered to her a second time.

Continued work and other ventures

In 2006, Smith made an appearance in the 10-minute short film trailer ''Repo! The Genetic Opera'', also directed by Bousman. Smith's character was Heather Sweet, the surgery-addicted daughter of GeneCo president Rotti Largo. The trailer was filmed in Toronto, Ontario, and was an adaptation from the stage version. Bousman filmed the trailer after completing ''Saw III'' to try to pitch the idea to film producers. Smith did not reprise her role as Heather Sweet when Lionsgate and Twisted Pictures picked up the film in 2007; she was replaced by Paris Hilton.

In 2008, Smith played Detective Gina Harcourt in the FEARnet original series '' 30 Days of Night: Dust to Dust''. The series premiered on July 17, 2008, on FEARnet.com in six webisodes along with behind-the-scenes clips. This series is a continuation of the first webisode series '' 30 Days of Night: Blood Trails''. She made her producing debut with this series. Smith was the host and one of three mentors on the VH1 reality program '' Scream Queens'', which aired from October 20, 2008, to December 8, 2008. Smith did not return as host and mentor for season two due to scheduling conflicts; she was replaced by Jaime King.

In 2009, Smith played the role of Dr. Sullivan, child psychiatrist, in ''The Grudge 3''. The film was a direct-to-DVD release on May 12, 2009. She appeared as a guest star on ''The Secret Life of the American Teenager'' on August 30, 2010. It was her first television appearance since ''Scream Queens'' aired in 2008. She appeared in the series premiere of ''Law & Order: Los Angeles'' on September 29, 2010. Smith starred as Jennifer Goodson, the ex-wife of Charlie Sheen's character in the TV series ''Anger Management''.

Music career

Smith & Pyle

She was part of a country rock music group with actress Missi Pyle called Smith & Pyle. The two actresses met while filming an ABC comedy pilot titled ''Traveling in Packs''. The band started after Smith invited Pyle to join her in attending the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. The duo formed a band.

Their first album, ''It's OK to Be Happy'', was released digitally through iTunes and Amazon.com in July 2008. Their debut album was recorded in Joshua Tree, California, and produced by Chris Goss. Smith and Pyle became business partners and formed their own record label, called Urban Prairie Records.

The two disbanded in 2011 before a second album was completed. While promoting ''Anger Management'' in 2013, she stated that she reached a point where she wanted to focus on her children and television work.

Other work

Smith contributed to the soundtrack of ''Saw III'' with vocals on Hydrovibe's song "Killer Inside", and to the soundtrack for ''Catacombs'' as a solo vocalist with the song "Please Myself". Her voice was also featured in the film ''Carnival of Souls'', where her character Sandra performed a jazz song titled "I Fear".

Smith fronted the punk/metal band Fydolla Ho (the name coming from the Chris Rock character in ''I'm Gonna Git You Sucka'' (1988) in the early 2000s. The group was originally formed by Smith, Suicidal Tendencies bassist Robert Trujillo, Suicidal Tendencies guitarist Rick Battson, Soulfly drummer Roy Mayorga, and Skindred vocalist Benji Webbe as a small recording project. The band released their debut full-length album, ''Untied'', in December 2001.

Smith began working on a solo album in 2004 with producer Chris Goss, but the project was never completed. In an interview with Radio Free in October 2005, she stated, "between being a mom, and working, and growing another baby, I have not had time to give attention to music for a while." She provided vocals on a cover of Steve Miller Band’s "Abracadabra" by Eagles of Death Metal after Jesse Hughes overheard her singing the song in a studio bathroom. This cover was released in 2019.

Personal life

Smith has three children, a daughter from her marriage to photographer Jason Reposar (1998–2003), a son from her brief marriage to musician Kai Mattoon (2005–2006) and another son in 2010. Her two older children were featured in the debut Smith & Pyle album, ''It's OK to Be Happy.'' The children are listed in the album credits as having vocals and spoken narrative tracks for two songs.

Smith and Reposar eloped in 1998 while on vacation in Scotland. The song "Sugar", performed by Smith & Pyle, was written by Smith after her divorce from Reposar. She describes it as her breakup song, saying that it is quite different from Pyle's breakup song, "I Wish You Were Dead".

Smith is a convert from Lutheranism to Eastern Orthodoxy, and in 2014 stated that she was thinking of making a documentary about her conversion and other aspects of Orthodoxy, which she planned to call ''Orthodoxy: A Love Story''.

Smith was featured in ''Maxim'' in June 2001. In 2013, after her religious conversion to Orthodox Christianity, Smith expressed regret about the two ''Maxim'' photo shoots and guessed that 80% of her presence on the Internet comes from those two shoots alone.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Discography

Singles

; Songs featured in film
* "I Fear", ''Carnival of Souls'' (1998)
* "Killer Inside" (with Hydrovibe), ''Saw III'' soundtrack (2006)
* "Zytrate Anatomy", ''Repo! The Genetic Opera'' 10-minute short film (2006)
* "Please Myself", ''Catacombs'' soundtrack (2007)

Standalone works

* "Deciding" (2004)
* "Head" (2004)
* "Shelter" (2004)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Shawnee
Living people
Actresses from South Carolina
American child actresses
American women country singers
American country singer-songwriters
American film actresses
American heavy metal singers
American stage actresses
American television actresses
American women heavy metal singers
People from Orangeburg, South Carolina
20th-century American actresses
21st-century American actresses
Converts to Eastern Orthodoxy from Lutheranism
Eastern Orthodox Christians from the United States
Country musicians from South Carolina
North Hollywood High School alumni
Singer-songwriters from South Carolina
Women punk rock singers
1969 births