Occupation: Actress, Model
Date of Birth:January 29, 1970
Place of Birth: Milwaukee, Wis., USA
Sign: Sun in Aquarius, Moon in Libra
Relations: Sister: Aimee Graham (actress); ex-companions: Kyle MacLachlan, James Woods, Elias Koteas, Stephen Hopkins, Edward Burns
Education: Dropped out of UCLA
WITH FIVE FILMS due out in 1999, Heather Graham could easily be called the "It Girl" of the year. Then again, she was the "It Girl" in 1997, when she made a splash with Boogie Nights, Scream 2 and Two Girls and a Guy. Let's just call her a bona fide starlet.
Born in Milwaukee, Graham grew up in cities around the country; her father, an FBI agent, was constantly receiving new assignments, and the family followed along. Heather's current sex-symbol status, not to mention her revealing roles in Austin Powers 2 and Boogie Nights, is a far cry from the convent, the path her staunchly Catholic parents urged her to follow. A total child of the '70s, Graham recalls her first crush (on Speed Racer) and a childhood watching family fare, including The Brady Bunch and The Partridge Family. She made her stage debut as so many young girls do, playing Dorothy in a school production of The Wizard of Oz. By the time she graduated high school in Southern California, she was regularly auditioning in Los Angeles.
Although her first big-screen ventures were forgettable (the teen flicks Student Exchange and License to Drive), Graham found that the third time was a charm. In 1989, Gus Van Sant cast her in Drugstore Cowboy, the bleak Matt Dillon film that heralded the young actor's comeback (and the young director's arrival). Unfortunately, the press spent so much time heralding Dillon and Van Sant that Graham went largely unnoticed by the public. Casting directors, however, took note, and Graham began steadily working, turning out one or two films (of varying quality) every year. There was a school stint in there somewhere, but Heather decided she wasn't much for studying.
Fast-forward to 1996. With a tiny part in the indie mega-hit Swingers, Graham began to get some notice. Next thing you know, she's stripping to her roller skates in Boogie Nights; drooling admiration ensued. Not to mention a whole lot of roles, including the coveted (to anyone who grew up in the '70s) Judy Robinson in Lost in Space.
While filming Lost in Space, Graham met director Stephen Hopkins, who has been her companion for the past three years. No longer a practicing Catholic, Heather keeps calm through the regular practice of Transcendental Meditation. In addition to her film work, Graham is a model for Emanuel Ungaro.
When in search of a leading lady (we use the term loosely) for Austin Powers 2: The Spy Who Shagged Me, comedian Mike Myers turned to Rollergirl Graham to take the role of the oversexed Felicity Shagwell. The enormous summer blockbuster is set to make Graham a household name… at least, in those few households where she isn't already known.
Movies:
1999 Bowfinger
1999 Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
1999 Alien Love Triangle
1999 Committed
1999 Kiss & Tell
1998 Lost in Space
1997 Scream 2
1997 Nowhere
1997 Boogie Nights
1997 Two Girls and a Guy
1996 Entertaining Angels: The Dorothy Day Story
1996 Swingers
1995 Desert Winds
1995 Let It Be Me
1995 Terrified
1994 Don't Do It
1994 Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle
1993 The Ballad of Little Jo
1993 Even Cowgirls Get the Blues
1993 Six Degrees of Separation
1992 Diggstown
1992 Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me
1991 Guilty as Charged
1991 Shout
1990 I Love You to Death
1989 Drugstore Cowboy
1988 Twins
1988 License to Drive
1987 Student Exchange
TV:
1992 O Pioneers!
1990 Twin Peaks
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
