Ali Larter
Larter at the 64th Annual Golden Globe Awards.
Born	Alison Elizabeth Larter February 28, 1976 (1976-02-28) (age�34) Cherry Hill, New Jersey, U.S.
Other name(s)	Allegra Coleman
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1997–present
Spouse(s)	Hayes MacArthur (2009–Present)

Alison Elizabeth "Ali" Larter (born February 28, 1976) is an American actress and former fashion model. Ali has played the characters Niki Sanders and then her identical long-separated sister Tracy Strauss on the NBC sci-fi drama Heroes.

Despite starting her career as a model, Ali soon transitioned herself into acting. Her film career began in 1999 appearing in Varsity Blues. She then appeared in the horror film House on Haunted Hill (1999) and the box office smash Final Destination (2000). After appearing in several high profile films, Larter then starred in Legally Blonde (2001) alongside Reese Witherspoon. Since then, she has starred in several projects including reprising her role in the sequel to Final Destination entitled Final Destination 2 (2003), starring in the romantic comedy A Lot Like Love (2005) and as the titular character in the Bollywood film Marigold (2007). As well as featuring in a number of indie movies including Confess (2005) and Crazy (2008), Larter has had her biggest commercial successes with the action-horror Resident Evil: Extinction (2007) and with the 2009 thriller, Obsessed.

Larter has been named in "Sexiest Woman Alive" lists. Larter married her boyfriend of three years, Hayes MacArthur in a small ceremony in Maine on 1 August 2009.

Early life

Larter was born in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, the daughter of Margaret, a homemaker, and Danforth Larter, a trucking executive. She attended Carusi Middle School and Cherry Hill High School West. She began modeling with Ford Models at the age of fourteen and traveled the world. At seventeen, Larter settled temporarily in Japan. Later, in 1995, she accompanied her boyfriend in his move to Los Angeles, California. She began taking acting classes at a friend's suggestion.

Career

Modelling/Early career (1993–1999)

Larter began her modelling career at the age of 13 when a modelling scout discovered her on the street. She was asked to star in a Phillies commercial and later signed a modeling contract with the prestigious Ford Modeling Agency in New York. Larter subsequently skipped her senior year to model in Japan and Australia. While modelling in Italy, Larter met fellow model and aspiring actress Amy Smart. According to Larter, the two "became instant friends."Smart persuaded Larter to take up acting and the two then moved into an L.A. apartment together.

In November 1994, Larter portrayed the hoax model Allegra Coleman in Esquire magazine in which the magazine told of the fictional model's relationship with David Schwimmer, how Quentin Tarantino broke up with Mira Sorvino to date her, and Woody Allen's overhaul of a film to have her star. Even after the hoax had been revealed, various talent agencies sought to represent the non-existent Coleman.

Larter landed her first professional roles in 1997 when she appeared in several television shows. She appeared, for one episode, in the Brooke Shields television series, Suddenly Susan, and the short lived television series Chicago Sons. The roles were followed by a number of other appearances on Dawson's Creek, Chicago Hope and Just Shoot Me!

In 1999, Larter began her film career with an appearance in Varsity Blues which re-united her with Dawson's Creek star Van Der Beek, and close friend Amy Smart. Varsity Blues drew a domestic box office gross of $53 million on a budget of $18 million. Afterwards, Larter appeared in teen comedies, Giving It Up and Drive Me Crazy. That year as well, Larter starred in the horror remake House on Haunted Hill. Made for around $20 million, the movie was panned by the critics but grossed $15 million on its opening weekend and went on to earn over $40 million.

Breakthrough (2000–2005)

Larter promoting Heroes at Comic-Con 2006

In 2000, Larter starred as Clear Rivers in the teen horror film Final Destination which earned $112,802,314 at the end of its run. The following year in 2001, she appeared in the comedy Legally Blonde with Reese Witherspoon. The film earned the top spot with $20,377,426 in its opening weekend. She also appeared in the western American Outlaws with Colin Farrell and the Kevin Smith film Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. That year, Larter appeared on the cover of Maxim magazine and performed in the stage play The Vagina Monologues in New York City.

In 2003, Larter reprised her role as Clear Rivers in the sequel to Final Destination, Final Destination 2. In an interview with IGN, Larter explained her return to the franchise, "When New Line asked me to come back, I thought it was great. They showed me the script and let me have some input, and it was really terrific." The film opened at number 2 with $16,017,141, critical reception was mixed. A year later, Larter served as an associate producer and starred in the thriller Three Way. In 2005, Larter appeared in the independent film Confess and had a role in the romantic comedy A Lot Like Love alongside Amanda Peet and Ashton Kutcher.

As of September 2006, Larter has been portraying Jessica/Niki Sanders & Tracy Strauss on the NBC Emmy Award-nominatedscience fiction drama television series Heroes, created by Tim Kring. Larter's initial character Niki Sanders, was a wife, mother, and a former internet stripper from Las Vegas who exhibits superhuman strength and an alternate personality who goes by the name of Jessica. Larter had been nominated for "Best Supporting Actress" for the 33rd Saturn Awards. As of the third season, Larter began portraying a new character, Tracy Strauss, who possesses the ability to freeze objects; and later, turn her body into water.

Recent and Future roles (2007–Present)

In 2007, Larter starred in the Bollywood film Marigold as the title character alongside Salman Khan, which was released in August. In an interview with the BBC, Larter explained how she came about the role of Marigold and expressed why she wanted to star in a Bollywood film, "I was living in (director) Willard Carroll's guesthouse when he gave me the script. He had written this really strong female character and for me, it was an opportunity to overcome my fear of singing and dancing because I have no professional training. Also, I would get to live in another country for couple of months. With Heroes I didn't think of it as that huge sci-fi series and it was the same for Marigold. I really focused on the character and loved this journey she went on and the experiences she had." She was paid a seven-figure salary for the role of Marigold.

Larter in 2008

She also joined the cast of the film franchise Resident Evil: Extinction portraying the character Claire Redfield in the horror film with Milla Jovovich. Her role sent her to Mexicali, Mexico for filming from May to late July in which she also dyed her hair a light red for the film. Larter explained her character Claire, "She became the leader of this convoy. She's incredibly strong, patient. I think she serves a role for everyone within this convoy, let it be a mother to someone, a buddy, a best friend." Larter also attended the 2007 Comic Con International, her second appearance at the event, to promote the film, which was released in theaters on September 21, 2007. The film became Larter's highest grossing movie with $147,717,833 worldwide. That year she also appeared in the comedy Homo Erectus, which co-starred Hayes McArthur, and in the biographical film Crazy based on guitarist Hank Garland.

In an interview for Resident Evil: Extinction, Larter had expressed interest in producing films in the future, saying, "I definitely have many ideas and different avenues that I want to take as my career goes on."

In April 2009, Larter starred opposite Beyoncé Knowles and Idris Elba in the Screen Gems-produced film Obsessed, about an office executive (Elba) whose marriage to Knowles' character is threatened by the aggressive interests of a co-worker, portrayed by Larter. In an interview with Glam, she said that she "was excited to get the chance to play a femme fatale. I love playing women that are dark and vulnerable and sort of filled with a little bit of crazy emotion." The film opened at #1 at the box office with $28,612,730, a career high for Larter.

Larter reprises her role as Claire Redfield in Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010) which is due out in theatres on Spetember 10th. The film is directed by Paul W.S. Anderson. She attended the 2010 WonderCon to promote Resident Evil: Afterlife. She, along with director Paul Anderson and Milla Jovovich, debuted the 3D trailer for the movie. In an interview with JoBlo.com, Larter talked about her role in the film. "I guess people liked me as her...I'm excited that they brought me back. I love working with Milla, and it's also very excited to have Paul back directing this... To work with the man who really created this world and this vision... was what excited me about joining this next installment."

She is "in talks" to star as Col. Virginia Lake in the big-screen adaptation of UFO (2011) which will star Joshua Jackson.

While at WonderCon, Larter commented on Heroes' chances of being renewed for a fifth season. "I think we’re coming back for Heroes for another season. I think, but I’m not sure. It’s been such a thrill being on that show and I hope that we have the chance to sort of wrap up those storylines for all the fans of it. So you guys have to go and blog and get on there." NBC announced the show's cancellation on May 14, 2010, however there is a a possibility for a mini-series or a movie.

Image

In 2002, Larter was ranked #40 in Stuff magazine's "102 Sexiest Women in the World". Also ranking as #6 in Maxim's Hot 100 for 2007. In 2008, Larter appeared on 3 lists. AskMen.com featured her as #92 on the "100 Most Desirable Women in the World", while FHM Magazine listed her as #19 in their "100 Sexiest Women in the World 2008" supplement. She also ranked #2 on Maxim's "Hottest Women of Horror Movies" list.

Larter also appeared on People Magazine's "Ten Best Dressed List" as "The Newcomer" and was named Victoria's Secret Sexiest Legs of 2008.

Larter appeared on the cover of Glamour along with fellow actresses Rachel Bilson and Diane Lane in 2007. When asked if she still wishes she had the same body she had at 20 she replied:

Personal life

Larter has also lived in Miami and then New York City after the spring of 2002, where she studied at Michael Howard Studios. In January 2007, she moved to Los Angeles to take on the commitment of working on Heroes.

On August 1, 2009, Larter married her boyfriend of three years, actor Hayes MacArthur, in a small ceremony in Maine. They had met on the set of National Lampoon's Homo Erectus where they both had starring roles.

In an interview with Cosmopolitan, Larter 'mused' on the state of her life, "I work on a TV show I love, I have the opportunity to do movies with actors I respect, and I’m in love with the man I want to spend the rest of my life with, who pushes me and excites me...There’s this fighter in me that kind of needs to be put to rest a little bit. I don’t need to be so tough to protect myself."

Filmography

Television

Awards and nominations

External links

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• Ali Larter at the Internet Movie Database
• Ali Larter at Yahoo! Movies
• Ali Larter at Allmovie
• Ali Larter at People.com
• Ali Larter at E! Online