Biography And Filmography:

Born and raised in Seattle, Washington by parents Karen and Jack, Anna Faris studied English Literature while attending the University of Washington after high school. As a young girl, her parents always encouraged Anna to perform, and by the age of ten had already started her show business career with work in television commercials and small local theater performances.

After graduating from the University of Washington, Faris moved to Los Angeles, California to pursue a Hollywood acting career. After finding a talent agent and manager, The Gersh Agency, Faris started auditioning for any role she could, and after hearing about the Wayans brothers upcoming parody horror film "Scary Movie", took the time to send an audition tape to the producers. Soon, she was picked from thousands of girls auditioning to play the part of Cindy Campbell in the "Scary Movie" franchise.

"Scary Movie" (2000), was a smash hit. The spoof horror comedy told the story of a group of teenagers, including Cindy Campbell and Bobby Prinze (Jon Abrahams), who accidentally hit a man when driving, and dispose of the body, but are then stalked by a very recognizable masked killer. The victim count increases, and Cindy must survive the carnage that she has seen in so many horror films before. The movie was a spoof, and send-up of the horror genre of the early '70's and '80's, and audiences ate it up - and loved the character of Cindy played by Faris.

"Scary Movie" put Anna in the Hollywood spotlight, and the Wayans brothers made her the star of the expected sequel "Scary Movie 2" also starring Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, Christopher Masterson, Tim Curry, James Woods and Tori Spelling. This time around, four teens are tricked by their professor into visiting a haunted house for a school project, but the night won't go past quietly and the gang must work together to find a way to capture a ghostly menace.

Faris took a break from the "Scary Movie" franchise to take a lead role in another horror directed by Lucky McKee in the movie "May" (2002), a psychological horror thriller about a lonely young woman traumatized by a difficult childhood and her increasingly desperate attempts to connect with the people around her. She then starred opposite Rob Schneider in the summer comedy "The Hot Chick" (2002), about an attractive and popular teenager who is mean spirited toward others, and finds herself in the body of an older man (Schneider), and must find a way to get back to her original body. The film was a campy summer comedy, but proved that Anna had what it took to lead a movie on her talents, and Hollywood took notice.

She was then hired and cast in the role of Justine in the comedy "Winter Break" (2003), about four college graduate men living in Aspen who try to figure out what to do with their lives. She showed she had a knack for comedy and could do more then scream in mock horror movies. She then took a small role in the big hit "Lost In Translation" (2003), starring Scarlett Johansson and Bill Murray, where a movie star with a sense of emptiness, and a neglected newlywed meet up as strangers in Tokyo, Japan and form an unlikely bond. The movie went on to win an Oscar Award for Best Writing, Original Screenplay, and was nominated in two other categories. 

In the third installment of the "Scary Movie" franchise, Cindy is called on to investigate mysterious crop circles and video tapes, and to help the President in preventing an alien invasion. "Scary Movie 3" (2003) also welcomed newcomers Pamela Anderson, Jenny McCarthy, Charlie Sheen and Jeremy Piven, and was nominated for both a Teen Choice Award and Kid's Choice Awards, but was able to only score a BMI Film Music Award. Anna next took the lead role of Belle Scott in the romantic comedy "Southern Belles" (2005), about two women who want to break out of their trailer park lives and get up and out to the "Big City" of Atlanta.

More comedy followed for Faris, as she co-starred alongside Justin Long and Ryan Reynolds in "Waiting..." (2005), where the young employees at Shenaniganz restaurant try to stave off boredom and adulthood with their young teen antics. The film was a typical late summer teen comedy that failed to register with critics, but did a modest job at the box office, partially to the actress and the following she had won. She then moved to television for a four episode guest role on the hit sitcom "Friends" and two appearances on the animated cult favorite "King Of The Hill" with Brittany Murphy.

The actress was next cast and hired in a small, but important, role  in the award winning movie "Brokeback Mountain" (2005), starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, based on the 'E. Annie Proulx' story about a forbidden secretive homosexual relationship between two cowboys and their lives over the years. Even though the role she played was small, it showed she had the ability to bring a dramatic turn to her performance, and was capable of more then comedy and horror thrillers. 

She then returned to comedy in the summer sleeper hit "Just Friends" (2005), starring opposite Ryan Reynolds, the story about a man who while visiting his hometown during Christmas, comes face-to-face with his old high school crush whom he was best friends with, a woman whose rejection of him turned him into a ferocious womanizer. Anna wrapped that year back in familiar territory with "Scary Movie 4", where this time, Cindy finds out the house she lives in is haunted by a little boy and goes on a quest to find out who killed him and why. Also, Alien "Tri-Pods" are invading the world and she has to uncover their secret in order to stop them.

She then worked with Uma Thurman, Luke Wilson and  Rainn Wilson, in the sci-fi comedy "My Super Ex-Girlfriend" (2006), where when a regular guy dumps a superhero because of her neediness, she uses her powers to make his life a living hell. Faris then took the leading role next to Danny Masterson and Adam Brody in the adventure comedy "Smiley Face" (2007), a story about what happens after a young actress unknowingly eats her roommate's pot filled cupcakes, and her day becomes a series of misadventures. Anna ended that year next to Jon Heder, Diane Keaton and Jeff Daniels in the dramatic comedy "Mama's Boy" (2007), about a twenty-nine year-old slacker who lives with his mom realizes his sweet set-up is threatened when she hears wedding bells with her self-help guru lover.

She next took the starring role in the summer comedy "The House Bunny" (2008). The unexpected hit tells the story of Shelly, a Playboy bunny who is thrown out of the Playboy mansion and has nowhere to go until she falls in with the sorority girls from Zeta Alpha Zeta as their house mother. The members of the sorority are about to lose their house, and need Shelly to help them devise a plan to save the sorority. Next for the actor was the comedy "Young America" (2008), co-starring with Topher Grace and Michelle Trachtenberg, in a story that follow an aimless college graduate who pursues his dream girl at a wild Labor Day weekend party. He, his twin sister and their best friend struggle with their burgeoning adulthood over the course of the night.

Next was the sci-fi comedy "Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel" (2008), where while drinking at their local bar, three social outcasts attempt to navigate a time-travel conundrum. Faris then starred with Seth Rogen and Ray Liotta in the comedy "Observe and Report" (2009), about a local mall security guard who wages war on the cops.

Watch Anna Faris in "The House Bunny" Movie Trailer

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