Evan Rachel Wood Biography

Evan Rachel Wood (born September 7, 1987) is an American film, television, theater actress and singer.

Biography

Evan Rachel Wood was born in Raleigh, North Carolina to Ira David Wood III, an award winning actor, theatre director and playwright, and Sara Lynn Moore, an actress. Her brother, Ira David IV, is also an actor and her aunt, Carol Winstead Wood, is a Hollywood production designer; Wood also has a half brother, Dana, from her mother's first marriage. Wood was raised in a mixed religion home; her father is a Christian and her mother is Jewish (having converted to Judaism before Wood's birth).
Wood and her brother were actively involved in their father's theatre, Theatre In The Park, while growing up; she appeared in a production of A Christmas Carol at the theatre when just a few months old, and later starred as Helen Keller in a production of The Miracle Worker, under her father's direction.

Evan Wood auditioned for the child role in Interview with a Vampire, which was eventually given to actress Kirsten Dunst. She appeared in several made-for-television films from 1994 and onwards, also playing an occasional role in the television series American Gothic. In early 1997, Wood's parents separated and she moved with her mother to Los Angeles, where Wood was cast in the supporting role of Jessie Sammler on the television show Once and Again.

Consequentially, Evan Wood appeared in a number of films catering to a teenage audience, including Little Secrets. She was set to have the leading role in the films Raise Your Voice and Mean Girls, but was unable to because of production scheduling changes. Wood's best-known movie role to date may be in the 2003 film Thirteen, for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award as Best Actress - Drama.

Vogue named Evan Rachel Wood as one of the It Girls of Hollywood, and she appeared, along with the other actresses, on the July 2003 cover. In 2005, she starred in the music videos for Bright Eyes', "At the Bottom of Everything", and the Green Day song "Wake Me Up When September Ends"In the same year, she was also mentioned on the television show Veronica Mars.

Wood has filmed roles in 3 as-yet unreleased films, including Running with Scissors (a drama co-starring Joseph Cross, Gwyneth Paltrow and Jill Clayburgh), Down in the Valley (with Edward Norton) and Across the Universe (a musical).

Evan Rachel Wood is also working on her debut album, which is expected to hit stores in 2006.

Personal Quotes

• "I look back on some of the stuff I wore and I'm so embarrassed. I definitely blame it on this clique of girls I was friends with back then. I've been talked into wearing stuff that I didn't want to wear. Now, I like very simple, elegant things, by Oscar de la Renta or Armani."
• "What's nice about acting is that you're not just left with yourself all the time, but you get to see the world through so many different people's eyes."

Wood was home-schooled, receiving her diploma at age 15. She has a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and enjoys singing, having recorded the songs "Christmas Isn't Christmas Without You" and "Silver And Gold" for "School's Out Christmas Album", which featured various artists.

Wood is friends with actor Frankie Muniz (who appeared in productions of A Christmas Carol at her father's theatre) and her Thirteen co-star Nikki Reed. She is currently dating English actor Jamie Bell.