Alicia Silverstone

Few actresses have the opportunity to gain the leading role in their first feature film. Alicia Silverstone did just that. She was chosen from a plethora of actresses to portray the lead in Morgan Creek’s The Crush as a highly intelligent adolescent girl who becomes obsessed with her “crush” played by Cary Elwes.

Silverstone then gained worldwide acclaim as Cher, the quintessential Beverly Hills teenager with a heart of gold in Paramount’s hit feature film Clueless, written and directed by Amy Heckerling. She soon formed her production company, First Kiss, in a multi-million dollar deal with Columbia Pictures, where she produced Excess Baggage. The film also starred Christopher Walken and Benicio Del Toro.

In addition, she co-starred as Batgirl in Batman and Robin (Warner Bros.) and was also seen in New Line Cinema’s comedy Blast From the Past opposite Brendan Fraser, Christopher Walken, and Sissy Spacek. She also co-starred in Miramax’s Shakespearean musical Love’s Labour’s Lost opposite Academy Award nominee Kenneth Branagh who directed the film as well.

Silverstone made her Broadway debut as Elaine Robinson in The Graduate starring opposite Kathleen Turner and Jason Biggs. The play broke box office records, garnering $5.3 million in ticket sales before it even opened.

Recently, Silverstone starred in Miss Match, a one-hour NBC dramedy produced by Darren Star. She played a divorce attorney by day turned matchmaker by night. The cast included Ryan O’Neal as her father and JoBeth Williams as her mother. Most recently, she completed filming Beauty Shop opposite Queen Latifah (the film is due out in theatres March 30).

Silverstone has also continued her career behind the camera as Executive Producer of the hit animated television series Braceface, for which she also provides the voice of the lead character, Sharon Spitz. Braceface debuted on the Fox Family Network in June of 2001 to critical acclaim and unprecedented ratings in its Saturday morning time slot. The series recently earned a Genesis Award, an Environmental Media Award and a Prism Award nomination. Silverstone was also nominated for a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Performer in an Animated program.

The 27-year-old actress was born and raised in San Francisco and spent her summers in England, the native country of her parents. It was while visiting relatives there that her love for theatre grew. She made her stage debut in Carol’s Eve at the Met Theatre is Los Angeles.

Before she was cast in The Crush, Silverstone guest-starred on The Wonder Years as Fred Savage’s “dreamgirl.” The busy actress soon added more credits to her resume with a starring role in the Showtime movie The Cool and the Crazy, directed by Ralph Bakshi, a co-starring role in TriStar’s science fiction thriller Hideaway starring Jeff Goldblum and Christine Lahti, subsequent starring roles in The Babysitter and True Crime and the love story Le Nouveau Monde, a film by noted French director Alain Corneau.

Silverstone’s performance in The Crush caught the eye of the rock group Aerosmith and she starred in their next three videos. The first, “Cryin,” was voted Best Video of All Time on MTV. Alicia herself has earned a total of six MTV Movie Awards as well as a Blockbuster Award, Nickelodeon Award, American Comedy Award and the prestigious National Board of Review Award. She also works tirelessly to support numerous animal-related charities from PETA to the Amanda Foundation. PETA honored her several years ago with a Special Humanitarian Award.