Jordan Ladd

Jordan Ladd
Ladd at the Grindhouse premiere, 2007
Born	Jordan Elizabeth Ladd (1975-01-14) January 14, 1975 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1990–present
Spouse(s)	Conor O'Neill (2001–05)
Parent(s)	Cheryl Ladd David Ladd

Jordan Elizabeth Ladd (born January 14, 1975) is an American actress. She is known as a scream queen, having appeared in several horror films. She began taking small film roles before landing her first high-profile role in Never Been Kissed (1999). Since then, Ladd has portrayed supporting as well as lead roles in films, including Cabin Fever (2002), Club Dread (2004), and Death Proof (2007). She has also earned acclaim for her lead role in the horror film Grace (2009).

Early life and family

Ladd was born in Hollywood, California, the daughter of Charlie's Angels star Cheryl Ladd (née Stoppelmoor) and David Ladd, a producer and former actor. Her parents divorced in 1980. Her paternal grandfather was actor Alan Ladd,^[1] and her paternal grandmother was Sue Carol (née Evelyn Lederer), a Hollywood talent agent and actress. She has a stepsister, Lindsay Russell, an aspiring actress. Her cousin is Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader Ashley Marie. She attended Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.^[2]

Career

At the age of two, Ladd began appearing in commercials. Her first commercial was for Polaroid. She began acting in film and television while in school, working with her mother in films such as The Girl Who Came Between Them (1990) and Broken Promises: Taking Emily Back (1993). After graduating high school, she took up acting professionally.

In 1994, she guest appeared in the NBC series Saved by the Bell: The New Class episode "The Return of Screech", and followed that appearance with a role opposite Alyssa Milano in the horror-thriller feature Embrace of the Vampire. She was going to play the role of Amy Blue in the teen drama film The Doom Generation (1995), until her mother vetoed her playing the role at the last minute. She spent the majority of the 1990s appearing in a variety of independent films, including Inside Out, Nowhere, Stand-ins, and Taking the Plunge. In 1999, she landed her first high-profile role as a popular teenager who tortures Drew Barrymore's character in the teen comedy Never Been Kissed, during its filming, Barrymore – who also produced the film – asked Ladd if she would like to appear in her film adaptation of Charlie's Angels (2000), but Ladd turned it down.^[3]

She appeared in The Specials (2000), a comedy about a group of superheroes on their day off; in the film she played a neurotic named Nightbird. That year, she had the starring role as an actress who vying for an Academy Award in E! first original film Best Actress. Ladd established herself as an independent film actress, appearing in Boys Life 3 and David Lynch's short film Darkened Room.^[3] She starred as the lead role in Eli Roth's 2002 horror film Cabin Fever, which was a moderate success at the box office. In 2004, she won the role of Penelope in the horror film Club Dread, and starred in the direct-to-video horror Madhouse. Ladd appeared opposite Anna Faris, Ryan Reynolds, and Justin Long in the independent romantic comedy Waiting..., which opened in the U.S. on October 7, 2005.

After a small role in the film Inland Empire (2006), she was cast as Shanna in Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof, a segment of the film Grindhouse.^[4] She won acclaim for her performance as the character Madeline Matheson in the horror film Grace. It was screened at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.^[5] In 2010, she starred as Cynthia in Wishing Well, a made-for-television film about a journalist from New York City who gets sent to a small town in Illinois to report on a legendary wishing well.^[6]

In 2016, she will appear in the thriller Brentwood Strangler opposite Australian actor Adam J. Yeend and Annika Marks.^[7]

Personal life

She married her longtime boyfriend, documentary film editor Conor O'Neill, in 2001.^[2] The couple divorced in July 2005.^[8]

Filmography

Television

Film

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jordan Ladd.

• Jordan Ladd on Twitter
  
• Jordan Ladd at the Internet Movie Database