Amber Rose Tamblyn (born May 14, 1983) is an
Emmy,
Golden Globe, and
Saturn Award nominated American
actress. She appeared on the
soap opera General Hospital followed by a starring role on the
television series
Joan of Arcadia. She has branched out into film roles, appearing in
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and
The Grudge 2. Her most recent work includes a co-starring role in the upcoming film
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt with
Michael Douglas and in the cancelled television show
The Unusuals.
Early life
Tamblyn was born in
Santa Monica, California, the daughter of
Russ Tamblyn, an actor, dancer, and singer, and Bonnie Murray, a singer, teacher, and artist.
[Amber Tamblyn Biography (1983-)] Her paternal grandfather,
Eddie Tamblyn, was a
vaudeville performer. At the age of ten, she played
Pippi Longstocking at the Santa Monica Alternative School House; her father's agent, Sharon Debord, was attending as a family friend and ended up convincing her father to allow Tamblyn to go on auditions.
Television
Tamblyn's first tv role was Emily Bowen (later known as
Emily Quartermaine) on the
soap opera General Hospital, a role that she played for six years (from 1995 to 2001). She also starred in the
pilot episode of the revived
Twilight Zone series on
UPN in 2002.
Tamblyn became better known playing Joan Girardi, a teenage girl who receives frequent visits from
God, on the
CBS drama series
Joan of Arcadia. Tamblyn's father made several appearances as God in the form of a dog walker on the show, which ran from 2003 to 2005.
Tamblyn was supposed to return to CBS in the 2007 pilot
Babylon Fields, an
apocalyptic comedic drama about the
undead trying to resume their former lives.
However, the network excluded the show from its Fall 2007 programming lineup, since it would compete with the network's other undead-themed drama,
Moonlight.
Tamblyn starred in
The Unusuals, playing
NYPD homicide detective Casey Shraeger in this
crime drama.
[www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2008/12/18/2008-12-18_on_abc_this_upcoming_tv_season.html] The show was cancelled after just one season.
Notable guest roles include
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (playing
Janice Penshaw, the best friend of
Dawn Summers), as well as
Boston Public,
CSI: Miami, and
Punk'd (where
Ashton Kutcher and his crew members tricked her into losing someone else's dog).
Awards and nominations
The role of Joan Girardi earned her both
Golden Globe and
Emmy nominations in 2004. Tamblyn was also nominated for a Saturn award for Best Actress In a Television Series in both 2004 and 2005, winning in 2004 Other nominations include The Teen Choice Awards, The Golden Satellite Awards and The Young Artist Award.
Films
Tamblyn launched her film career playing bit parts in her father's movies:
Rebellious and
Johnny Mysto: Boy Wizard. She also appeared in 1995's
Live Nude Girls.
Her first major film role was in 2005's
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, co-starring
Alexis Bledel,
America Ferrera, and
Blake Lively. She also starred in its 2008 sequel
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2.
Her horror film career began with the opening scene of 2002's
The Ring. Tamblyn's also appeared in the Japan-set
The Grudge 2, a sequel to
The Grudge. The film, which also stars
Sarah Michelle Gellar, was released on October 13, 2006, and debuted in the #1 spot at the North American
box office.
In August 2006, Tamblyn won the Bronze Leopard at the
Locarno International Film Festival for her performance in the title role of
Stephanie Daley. The film, which also won an award at the
2006 Sundance Film Festival, features Tamblyn as a 16-year-old who kills her baby moments after giving birth in the bathroom of a ski resort. She was also nominated for Best Actress at the Independent Spirit Awards. The film also stars
Tilda Swinton and
Timothy Hutton.
Tamblyn will next appear in
Spring Breakdown, also featuring
Amy Poehler and
Rachel Dratch,
and
Blackout, a thriller by Italian writer Gianluca Morozzi, in which her character will be trapped in an elevator for nearly 24 hours.
In January 2008, Tamblyn appeared in the Hallmark movie,
The Russell Girl about a woman suffering from disease and mental anguish.
Poetry
Tamblyn has self-published two
chapbooks of poetry,
Of the Dawn and
Plenty of Ships, and has participated in
poetry readings at various venues, particularly in California.
The Loneliest, a poem book inspired by
Thelonious Monk and his music, was published in 2005 and contains
haiku poetry written by Tamblyn and coupled with collages by George Herms. Only 300 copies of the book were published.
In 2005,
Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing published a book of poems that she wrote over the span of seven years entitled
Free Stallion. The
School Library Journal's review states that, "
Free Stallion is a compilation of poetry that amounts to a portrait of the artist as a teenager.... Many of the selections are appropriately self-absorbed but move beyond journalistic
catharsis to real insight and stunning language for one so young."
In October 2006, Tamblyn did several poetry readings in California, including a few with poet
Derrick Brown. In 2008, she was featured in the
Write Bloody Publishing anthology,
The Last American Valentine: Illustrated poems to seduce and destroy.
Tamblyn appears in an upcoming poetry concert film recorded on August 4, 2007 in Los Angeles, "The Drums Inside Your Chest." Premiere date: April 26, 2009 at the Newport Beach Film Festival.
[YouTube - The Drums Inside Your Chest Movie Trailer w/Amber Tamblyn]
A new collection of poetry,
Bang Ditto, is forthcoming in September 2009 from
Manic D Press.
Beginning in October, 2009, Tamblyn began blogging for the
Poetry Foundation's blog,
Harriet.
[Amber Tamblyn's posts on Harriet, the blog of the Poetry Foundation]
Personal life
Tamblyn is currently dating comedian and actor
David Cross.
[Sicha, Choire. "It's full speed ahead for David Cross" Los Angeles Times, 14 June 2009.]
In February 2005, Tamblyn was threatened by a
stalker. He pledged to "
torture her for a million years" and "drill things into her kneecaps," among other acts of violence. Frightened, Tamblyn phoned the police. A
restraining order was issued forbidding the man from coming within 100 yards of her.
She is the goddaughter of actors
Dean Stockwell and
Dennis Hopper and musician
Neil Young. Her uncle is Larry Tamblyn, who was keyboardist in the 60s rock band
The Standells. Stockwell and her father,
Russ Tamblyn, appeared together in the film
The Boy with Green Hair and in the
Quantum Leap episode "Thou Shalt Not...".
Filmography
Films
directed by Wim Wenders.
| 2005 | The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants | Tibby Rollins |
|
| 2006 | The Grudge 2 | Aubrey Davis |
|
| Stephanie Daley | Stephanie Daley | Retitled "What She Knew" for US television release.
|
| 2007 | Blackout | Claudia |
|
| Normal Adolescent Behavior | Wendy |
|
| Spiral | Amber |
|
| 2008 | The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 | Tibby Rollins |
|
| The Russell Girl | Sarah Russell | Hallmark movie.
|
| 2009 | Beyond a Reasonable Doubt | Ella Crystal | Coming September 2009.
|
| Spring Breakdown | Ashley | Direct-to-video release.
|
TV series