Vinessa Shaw

Vinessa Shaw Biography

You probably know her as the hot chick from the movie Ladybugs, Hocus Pocus(not a witch), or as the FBI agent in Corky Romano but this hottie has actually had a very diverse career.

Named after her grandfather Vincent, Vanessa Shaw was born in Los Angeles on July 19, 1976. Vinessa got a very early start in acting. By the age of 5 she was already starring in the 1981 horror film Home Sweet Home.

As a teenager Vinessa signed a contract with Elite modeling agency, she appeared in numerous magazines including British Vogue and Seventeen.

As a young woman in 1999, Vinessa was in need of a role to put her back in the mainstream. As luck would have it, legendary director Stanley Kubrick was casting for the Tom Cruise/Nicole Kidman film, Eyes Wide Shut. Vinessa won the key role of a prostitute and earned some deserved attention for her performance. She followed her big-screen role up with a lead on the TV miniseries, The '70s, in which her feminist character attended the same college that Vinessa had briefly enrolled in herself. This role also allowed her to work with her good friend Amy Smart.

After The '70s, Vinessa tried a more dramatic role in The Weight of Water (with Sean Penn) before switching gears to comedy. She survived pratfalls as an FBI agent in Corky Romano and she was the ex who drove Josh Hartnett to celibacy for 40 Days and 40 Nights. But, Vinessa earned full-blown comedy respect with a part in Woody Allen's Melinda and Melinda in 2004.

Vinessa went back to the horror genre for a meaty role in 2006's The Hills Have Eyes. Her fierce on-screen performance was memorable, as was the sight of her face on the movie's poster. The exposure helped Vinessa get another juicy role in 2007's Christian Bale/Russell Crowe effort, 3:10 to Yuma.

Look for her new movie due to premier soon called "Two Lovers," also starring Joaquin Phoenix and Gweneth Paltrow.