Evan Rachel Wood

EVAN RACHEL WOOD starred as Melodie in Woody Allen's Whatever Works. She earned critical acclaim for her powerful performance as Stephanie, Mickey Rourke's estranged daughter in Darren Aronofsky's 2008 film, The Wrestler. A working actress since she was five, Wood had her breakout role in 2003 with Catherine Hardwicke's controversial independent film, Thirteen, for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe® as Best Actress in a Drama.

Born in Raleigh, North Carolina, Wood is the daughter of Sara Lynn Moore, actress, director and acting coach, and Ira David Wood III, an actor, singer, theatre director and playwright. While growing up, she was active in a regional theatre called Theatre in the Park, directed by her father. She returned to this venue as Juliet, in Romeo and Juliet, directed by her brother Ira David Wood IV. She began her professional career in 1994, acting in TV movies, including In the Best of Families: Marriage, Pride & Madness, Search for Grace, A Father for Charlie, and Death in Small Doses. She also had a recurring role on the series American Gothic.

In 1996, Wood moved with her mother to Los Angeles. After a one season role on the drama Profiler, she was cast as a series regular on the award-winning series, Once and Again, in which she appeared for four seasons. Her first major screen role was Digging To China, with Kevin Bacon, followed by Practical Magic, with Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman. In 2002, she made her teenage debut as a leading film actress in Little Secrets. Her subsequent films include The Upside Of Anger, Missing, Pretty Persuasion (2005 Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner), Down In The Valley, Running With Scissors, and King Of California.

She displayed her singing talents in 2007 with her role as Lucy in Julie Taymor's Across the Universe, set to the songs of the Beatles. She then voiced the role of an alien in Battle for Terra, and starred opposite Uma Thurman in The Life Before Her Eyes, before playing Stephanie in The Wrestler.

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