Shawnee Smith(I)
- Actress
- Producer
- Director
Shawnee Smith has consistently put her versatile talents to use in the
film, television, theatrical and musical arenas with much success. Her
impressive career includes a co-starring role on an award-winning
television show, which is now strong in syndication, and a variety of
memorable roles in hit feature films. She also toured America and the
U.K. fronting a rather extreme rock band called "Fydolla Ho".
Smith was born in Orangeburg, South Carolina, to Patricia Ann (Smoak), an oncology
nurse, and James H. "Jim" Smith, a financial planner and U.S. Air Force pilot.
Shawnee's achievements began early in her career when she appeared in
the movie Annie (1982). As a young actress,
she was awarded the Youth in Film Award for Best Actress in a
television film for her role in the CBS drama
Crime of Innocence (1985).
She was honored with the Dramalogue Critics Award for her performance
in the theatrical production "To Gillian on her 37th Birthday". In the
same year, she received rave reviews for her co-starring role with
Richard Dreyfuss at the Huntington
Hartford Theatre in "The Hands of its Enemy". Shawnee then starred in
The Blob (1988) for Columbia Pictures,
in the hit comedy
Summer School (1987) for Paramount
Pictures and in
Who's Harry Crumb? (1989),
also for Columbia Pictures. Those roles would be followed by
appearances in such highly-acclaimed films as
Leaving Las Vegas (1995),
Armageddon (1998),
Desperate Hours (1990) and
Breakfast of Champions (1999).
Shawnee's television credits are equally as impressive, with a list
that includes a regular role on the hit CBS comedy
Becker (1998) as well as series
regular roles on
The Tom Show (1997) and
Arsenio (1997). She appeared in the
CBS television movies
Something Borrowed, Something Blue (1997),
I Saw What You Did (1988)
and Face of Evil (1996),
as well as the miniseries
The Stand (1994) and
The Shining (1997). Her recent
film projects include
The Almost Guys (2004),
Saw (2004), a gritty, taut and terrifying
film and the sequel Saw II (2005).
Satisfied with pushing the extremes in her critically-acclaimed
punk/metal band "Fydolla Ho", Shawnee is working on her first solo
record with
Queens of the Stone Age producer
Chris Goss.