Claire Rhiannon Holt (born 11 June 1988) is an Australian actress. She is known for her roles as Emma Gilbert in '' H₂O: Just Add Water'', Samara Cook in ''

Pretty Little Liars ''Pretty Little Liars'' is an American mystery teen drama television series based on the novel series of the same name written by Sara Shepard. Developed by I. Marlene King, the series was broadcast on Freeform between June 8, 2010, and June ...

'', Chastity Meyer in ''

Mean Girls 2 ''Mean Girls 2'' is a 2011 American teen comedy television film directed by Melanie Mayron, and serves as a sequel to the 2004 film ''Mean Girls''. The film premiered on ABC Family on January 23, 2011, and released direct-to-video on February ...

'', Rebekah Mikaelson in ''

The Vampire Diaries ''The Vampire Diaries'' is an American supernatural teen drama television series developed by Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, based on the book series of the same name written by L. J. Smith. The series premiered on The CW on September 10, ...

'', and its spinoff series '' The Originals'' and '' Legacies'' and Kate in the 2017 survival horror film, '' 47 Meters Down''.

Early life

Holt was born in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

to Geoffrey Holt and Ann. She has two sisters, Rachael (born in 1987) and Madeline (born in 1992), and one brother, David (born in 1989).

Career

2000s: Breakthrough and early recognition

In 2005, Holt won the role of Emma Gilbert in the

Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of fiv ...

children's television show '' H₂O: Just Add Water''. The show has earned a

Logie Award The Logie Awards (officially the TV Week Logie Awards; colloquially known as The Logies) is an annual gathering to celebrate Australian television, sponsored and organised by the magazine ''TV Week''. The first ceremony was held in 1959 as the ...

and Nickelodeon Australia Kids' Choice Award. While the series was renewed for a third season, Holt left the show after season two after signing on for the sequel to the 2007 film '' The Messengers'', titled '' Messengers 2: The Scarecrow''. She was replaced by Indiana Evans' character, Bella. Filming of ''Messengers 2'' took place in

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and h ...

throughout 2008. Starring alongside

Norman Reedus Norman Mark Reedus (born January 6, 1969) is an American actor best known for starring as Daryl Dixon in the AMC horror drama series '' The Walking Dead'' (2010–2022). He also starred as Murphy MacManus in the film ''The Boondock Saints'' (19 ...

and Heather Stephens, the film was released 21 July 2009 straight-to-DVD.

2010s: International recognition

In addition to television and film roles, Holt has appeared in advertisements for Dreamworld,

Sizzler Sizzler USA Restaurants, Inc., doing business as Sizzler, is a United States-based restaurant chain with headquarters in Mission Viejo, California, with locations mainly in California, plus some in the nearby states of Washington, Arizona, Neva ...

, and Queensland Lifesaving.

BuddyTV BuddyTV is an entertainment-based website, which generates content about television programs and sporting events. The website publishes information about celebrity and related entertainment news through a series of articles, entertainment profile ...

ranked her number 55 on its TV's 100 Sexiest Women of 2011 list. In August 2011, Holt was confirmed to be in the TV series ''

'' as Rebekah Mikaelson. On 13 January 2013, The CW announced that Holt had joined the cast for the backdoor pilot of ''The Vampire Diaries'' spin-off '' The Originals'', where she reprised her role as Rebekah Mikaelson. She exited the show as a series regular in the sixteenth episode of the first season, which aired in the U.S. on 11 March 2014. Holt returned to her role in the season one finale on 13 May 2014, and continued to periodically guest star on the series until its finale on 1 August 2018. In 2014, Holt was linked to CBS' ''

Supergirl Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. The character made her fir ...

'', though she chose not to pursue it. She starred in

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

"event series" ''

Aquarius Aquarius may refer to: Astrology * Aquarius (astrology), an astrological sign * Age of Aquarius, a time period in the cycle of astrological ages Astronomy * Aquarius (constellation) * Aquarius in Chinese astronomy Arts and entertainment ...

'' as Charmain Tully. In 2016, she was cast in the romantic comedy film '' The Divorce Party'', playing the role of Susan. Holt had a starring role, Kayla, in the ABC thriller drama television pilot ''Doomsday'' in 2017. Also that year, Holt starred as Kate in the underwater survival horror film '' 47 Meters Down'', opposite

Mandy Moore Amanda Leigh Moore (born April 10, 1984) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She rose to fame with her debut single, "Candy", which peaked at number 41 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Her debut studio album, '' So Real'' (1999), recei ...

and Matthew Modine, which was released in theaters on 16 June 2017.

2020s: Established actress

In 2021, Holt had a starring role in '' Untitled Horror Movie''. She also collaborated with the brand Andie Swim to design a swimsuit collection. In November of the same year, she appeared in the ''Originals'' spin-off series '' Legacies'' as Rebekah Mikaelson. In 2022, Holt appeared again in ''Legacies'' as Rebekah Mikaelson for one episode, playing the character for the last time.

Personal life

In July 2015, Holt became engaged to long-time boyfriend, television producer

Matt Kaplan Matthew Kaplan (14 April 1984) better known as Matt Kaplan is an American film producer and businessman. He is known for producing young adult films, including ''To All the Boys'' film series. He is the founder and CEO of Ace Entertainment and f ...

. The two were married in April 2016. On 27 April 2017, Kaplan filed for divorce from Holt, citing "irreconcilable differences". Holt subsequently filed in response on 2 May 2017, also asking for her name to be changed from Kaplan back to Holt. On 3 December 2017, Holt announced her engagement to real estate executive Andrew Joblon. On 5 March 2018, Holt revealed on

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

that she had suffered a

miscarriage Miscarriage, also known in medical terms as a spontaneous abortion and pregnancy loss, is the death of an embryo or fetus before it is able to survive independently. Miscarriage before 6 weeks of gestation is defined by ESHRE as biochemica ...

. Holt and Joblon were married on 18 August 2018. On 11 October 2018, Holt announced on Instagram that she was pregnant, and revealed on 19 November that she was expecting a son. On 28 March 2019, she gave birth to a son. On 3 April 2020, Holt announced on Instagram that she was expecting her second child, and revealed on 16 April 2020 that she was expecting a girl. On 12 September 2020, Holt gave birth to a daughter. Holt announced that she became an American citizen in November 2019.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Holt, Claire 1988 births 21st-century Australian actresses Actresses from Brisbane American people of Australian descent American people of British descent Australian child actresses Australian expatriate actresses in the United States Australian film actresses Australian people of British descent Australian television actresses Living people