Alex Rice
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Alexandrea Kawisenhawe Rice (born September 16, 1972) is an
Aboriginal Canadian In Canada, Indigenous groups comprise the First Nations, Inuit and Métis. Although ''Indian'' is a term still commonly used in legal documents, the descriptors ''Indian'' and '' Eskimo'' have fallen into disuse in Canada, and most consider the ...
actress. She grew up 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 * '' ...
.


Early life

Rice was born September 16, 1972, into a Kanien'kehaka (
Mohawk Mohawk may refer to: Related to Native Americans *Mohawk people, an indigenous people of North America (Canada and New York) *Mohawk language, the language spoken by the Mohawk people *Mohawk hairstyle, from a hairstyle once thought to have been t ...
) family on the
Kahnawake The Kahnawake Mohawk Territory (french: Territoire Mohawk de Kahnawake, in the Mohawk language, ''Kahnawáˀkye'' in Tuscarora) is a First Nations reserve of the Mohawks of Kahnawá:ke on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River in Quebec, C ...
reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...
in
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
, and she is proud of her First Nations heritage. Through her father she is a member of the
Rice family Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticated ...
of Kahnawake, having descended from
Edmund Rice Edmund is a masculine given name or surname in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector". Persons named Edmund include: People Kings an ...
, an early immigrant to
Massachusetts Bay Colony The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1630–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around the Massachusetts Bay, the northernmost of the several colonies later reorganized as the ...
. Two Rice boys were taken captive as children in 1704 from Massachusetts, and taken to Kahnawake, Quebec where they were adopted by Mohawk families and became assimilated. Alex is descended from Edmund Rice's great grandson, Silas, who took the name of Tookanowras, but he was also baptized as Catholic and known as Jacques Thanhohorens. Born on the Kahnawake Mohawk reserve in Quebec, Canada, Rice spent the majority of her childhood with her family in
Brooklyn, New York 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 ...
. Her father was among a community of Mohawk ironworkers, who settled in what is now Boerum Hill. The men worked on skyscrapers and bridges, and the women made community. The Mohawk called their neighborhood "Little Caughnawaga", after their homeland. There Rice attended local schools and trained to become a professional dancer at local dance studios; she developed a passion for acting when she landed a part in an educational video produced at her grammar school. She attended Our Lady of Perpetual Help High School in Brooklyn. In 1990, after her father died and she graduated from high school, Alex and her mother Melody Rice moved back to Kanawake. She attended
Dawson College Dawson College (French: ''Collège Dawson)'' is an English-language public general and vocational college in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The college is situated near the heart of Downtown Montreal in a former nunnery on approximately 12 acre ...
and
Concordia University Concordia University ( French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the t ...
in
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
, where she majored in library science.


Career

Rice first traveled to California in 1996 to attend a modeling convention and landed her first entertainment job working behind the scenes at the ''
Judge Judy ''Judge Judy'' is an American Court show#Arbitration-based reality court show, arbitration-based reality court show presided over by former Manhattan Family Court Judge Judy Sheindlin, Judith Sheindlin. The show featured Sheindlin as she adjudi ...
'' show. Her first feature film was the independent ''
The Doe Boy ''The Doe Boy'' is a 2001 independent drama film written and directed by Randy Redroad. It was selected as the United States winner of the Sundance Film Festival/NHK International Filmmakers Award in 2000. ''The Doe Boy'' was produced by filmm ...
'' (2001), which garnered several international film festival awards. She is perhaps best known for her recurring role as Janet Pete in the films '' Skinwalkers'' (2002), ''
Coyote Waits The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecological nich ...
'' (2003), and ''A Thief of Time'' (2004), based on the
Tony Hillerman Anthony Grove Hillerman (May 27, 1925 – October 26, 2008) was an American author of detective novels and nonfiction works, best known for his mystery novels featuring Navajo Nation Police officers Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee. Several of his work ...
novels by the same names. She has appeared in other films including '' Lewis & Clark: Great Journey West'', ''
On the Corner ''On the Corner'' is a studio album by American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer Miles Davis. It was recorded in June and July 1972 and released on October 11 of the same year by Columbia Records. The album continued Davis's exploration o ...
'', ''A Thousand Roads'', the
IMAX IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (approximately either 1.43:1 or 1.90:1) and steep stadium seating. Graeme F ...
release of ''Sacagawea'', ''
Johnny Tootall ''Johnny Tootall'' is a 2005 television film written and directed by Shirley Cheechoo.Laura Stevens"Johnny Tootall to receive wider audience" ''Ontario Birchbark'', Vol. 5 No. 6 (2006). The film stars Adam Beach as the titular Johnny Tootall, a yo ...
'' and ''
The New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...
''. She has also acted in various television series, including ''
Spin City ''Spin City'' is an American sitcom television series that aired from September 17, 1996 to April 30, 2002, on ABC. Created by Gary David Goldberg and Bill Lawrence, the show is set in a semi-fictionalized version of the New York City mayor's ...
'', '' CSI'', ''
Strong Medicine ''Strong Medicine'' is an American medical drama with a focus on feminism, feminist politics, health issues and class conflict that aired on the Lifetime Television, Lifetime network from 2000 to 2006. It was created and produced in part by Who ...
'' and ''
The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime drama television series created by David Chase. The story revolves around Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey-based American Mafia, Italian-American mobster, portraying h ...
''. Rice played Sue Clearwater in the third installment of '' The Twilight Saga: Eclipse'' released in 2010, and the fourth and fifth installments '' The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1'' released in 2011, and '' The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2'' released in 2012.


Filmography


Film


Television


Awards

*2003, Best Actress in the Motion Pictures Awards presented by the American Indian Film Institute, for her reprisal of Janet Pete in ''Coyote Waits.'' *2005, the First American Award for her work in ''A Thief In Time'', presented by the First Americans in the Arts Committee.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rice, Alex Living people Dawson College alumni Concordia University alumni Canadian Mohawk people American film actresses American television actresses Canadian film actresses Canadian television actresses First Nations actresses People from Brooklyn People from Montérégie Actresses from Quebec 21st-century Canadian actresses 21st-century First Nations people 1972 births Mohawks of Kahnawá:ke 21st-century American women