Kristin Bauer van Straten

Kristin Bauer van Straten

Bauer van Straten at the 2012 Toulouse Game Show
Born Kristin Neubauer[1]
Racine, Wisconsin, U.S.
Occupation Actress
Years active 1994–present
Spouse(s) Abri van Straten[2]
Website www.kristinbauer.com

Kristin Bauer van Straten is an American film and television actress, perhaps best known for her roles as vampire Pamela Swynford De Beaufort on the HBO television series True Blood, Jerry's girlfriend Gillian on Seinfeld, and as sorceress Maleficent in the ABC series Once Upon a Time.

Personal life

Van Straten was born in Racine, Wisconsin. During childhood, she played sports, rode horses, and fired shot guns. She graduated from The Prairie School in Racine.[1] Van Straten studied fine arts at Washington University in St. Louis as well as in Boston and New York (Parsons The New School for Design) in her youth, but decided to become an actress and moved to Los Angeles, where she has been living since she began acting in 1994. She continues to draw and paint. Her works include commissioned portraits. Van Straten carries out conservation work to improve the treatment of animals.

Acting career

Van Straten at the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con International

In 1995, van Straten had her first regular role in a television series, as Maggie Reynolds on The Crew. Other recurring roles include Geneva Renault in Total Security, Candy Cooper in That's Life, Rebecca Colfax in Dirty Sexy Money, and Belinda Slypich in Hidden Hills. Perhaps her best known film role was in Dancing at the Blue Iguana in 2000. Van Straten played a porn star appearing as the featured act at a Los Angeles strip club and performed an extended nude dance. In 2001, she starred in the award-winning short film Room 302, and in 2004 she had a minor role in the film 50 First Dates, which starred Adam Sandler. In the animated series Justice League, she supplied the voice of the superhero Mera.

She has also made a number of guest appearances in several television shows, including LA Law, Seinfeld, Everybody Loves Raymond, Dark Angel, Two and a Half Men, Star Trek: Enterprise, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Desperate Housewives, and George Lopez. She famously appeared in a Seinfeld episode (The Bizarro Jerry) as Gillian, Jerry's girlfriend with "man hands".

From 2008 to its conclusion in 2014, van Straten played the vampire Pamela Swynford De Beaufort on the HBO fantasy drama series True Blood.[3] On December 8, 2009, TV Guide confirmed she had been promoted from recurring status to a series regular.[4] In 2011, van Straten was cast in the fantasy television series Once Upon a Time as the evil fairy Maleficent (the wicked fairy godmother, using the name from Disney's Sleeping Beauty), the rival of the Evil Queen of Snow White.[5][6]

Activism

In 2011, van Straten teamed with the Animal Legal Defense Fund in the fight to free Tony, a 10-year-old Siberian-Bengal tiger who has spent every day and night of the last decade at the Tiger Truck Stop in Grosse Tete, Louisiana.[7] She has also worked with Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine to promote cosmetics that are not tested on animals.[8]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1995 Galaxis Commander
1995 Glory Daze Dina
1997 Romy and Michele's High School Reunion Kelly
1998 My Little Havana Carmen Short film
2000 Dancing at the Blue Iguana Nico
2001 Hollywood Palms Kathleen
2001 Room 302 Karen Short film
2004 50 First Dates Female Firefighter
2004 Living with Lou Jean Short film
2005 Life of the Party Caroline
2011 Subject: I Love You Sarah Drake
2012 Gotten Mother Video short
2012 The Story of Luke Cindy
2014 Teen Lust Mary
2016 Nocturnal Animals Samantha Van Helsing

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1994 L.A. Law Miss English Episode: "McKenzie, Brackman, Barnum & Bailey"
1994 Columbo Suzie Endicott Episode: "Undercover"
1994 Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Mrs. Loomis Episode: "The Prankster"
1994 Silk Stalkings Heather St. Clair Episode: "Red Flag"
1995 Cybill Kirsten Episode: "The Curse of Zoey"
1995 Pointman Ellie Episodes: "That's Amore", "Father Connie" and "Business and Pleasure"
1995–96 The Crew Maggie Reynolds Main role (21 episodes)
1996 Seinfeld Gillian Episode: "The Bizarro Jerry"
1997 Everybody Loves Raymond Lisa Episode: "The Car"
1997 Men Behaving Badly Robin Episode: "I Am What I Am"
1997 Total Security Geneva Renault Main role (13 episodes)
1998 Fantasy Island Tamara Stevens Episode: "Estrogen"
1998 Chicago Hope Melody Cacaci Episode: "Viagra-Vated Assault"
2000 Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye Katy Scott TV film
2000 Dark Angel Lydia Meyerson Episode: "Pilot"
2000–01 That's Life Candy Cooper Recurring role (12 episodes)
2001 Dharma & Greg Stephanie Episode: "Dharma Does Dallas"
2001 Just Shoot Me! Allie Episodes: "At Long Last Allie" and "Finch in the Dogg House"
2001 Justice League Mera / Various (voice) Episode: "The Enemy Below: Parts 1 & 2"
2002 Boomtown Prostitute Episode: "Pilot"
2002 Hidden Hills Belinda Slypich Recurring role (10 episodes)
2003 Gary the Rat Unknown (voice) Episode: "Manrattan"
2003 Two and a Half Men Laura Episodes: "Pilot" and "Most Chicks Won't Eat Veal: Original Pilot"
2003 Justice League Mera (voice) Episode: "The Terror Beyond: Parts 1 & 2"
2004 Dr. Vegas Portia Episode: "Pilot"
2004 Commando Nanny Lizzie Winter TV series
2004 Quintuplets Ms. Kilcoyne Episode: "Teacher's Pet"
2004 Crossing Jordan Molly Greene Episode: "Fire in the Sky"
2005 Crazy Unknown TV film
2005 JAG Megan Ransford Episode: "Automatic for the People"
2005 Star Trek: Enterprise Lt. Laneth Episode: "Divergence"
2005 Less than Perfect Kaye Buchinski Episode: "Casey V. Kronsky"
2005 Close to Home Shannon Cooke Episode: "Suburban Prostitution"
2005 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Kenli Johnson Episode: "Secrets & Flies"
2005 Boston Legal Tori Pines Episode: "The Ass Fat Jungle"
2006 Pink Collar Eve TV film
2006 Crossing Jordan Molly Greene Episode: "Death Toll"
2006 Desperate Housewives Veronica Episode: "Could I Leave You?"
2006 Cold Case Paula '04/'06 Episode: "The War at Home"
2007 George Lopez Cris Watson Episode: "George Joins the Neighborhood Wha-tcha and Raises the Vigil-ante"
2007 Dirty Sexy Money Rebecca Colfax Episodes: "The Lions" and "The Italian Banker"
2007 Bones Janelle Stinson Episode: "Boy in the Time Capsule"
2008 Emily's Reasons Why Not Bethany Episode: "Why Not to Cheat on Your Best Friend"
2008–14 True Blood Pamela Swynford De Beaufort Recurring role, season 1-2; Main role, season 3-7 (59 episodes)
2009 House Rules Kathy McAdams TV film
2009 Private Practice Susanna Episode: "Pushing the Limits"
2009 Three Rivers Val O'Leary Episode: "Where We Lie"
2010 Justified Shirley Kelso Episode: "Riverbrook"
2010 A Drop of True Blood Pamela Swynford De Beaufort Episode: "Eric & Pam"
2010–13 The Secret Life of the American Teenager Didi Stone Recurring role (11 episodes)
2011 The Soup Pam the Intern Episode: "8.25"
2011–present Once Upon a Time Maleficent Season 1 (2 episodes), season 4 (8 episodes), season 6[9]
2013 Once Upon a Time in Wonderland Maleficent (voice) Episode: "Forget Me Not"

References

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