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Friday, July 22, 2011
Hardin was born on 29th June 1967, in Houston, TX and raised in Los Angeles, CA. Her father, Jerry Hardin, was a prolific character actor who appeared in over 100 films and TV shows; her mother, Diane Hardin, was the acting coach behind young stars like Leonardo DiCaprio, Hilary Swank, Kellie Martin, and River Ph nix. Young Melora didn't need any encouragement to go into show business, however, as she seemed born to entertain.
Inspired by Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand, Hardin was singing and writing songs from the start, even before she began taking ballet lessons at the age of five. She begged her parents to let her audition for acting roles, and when she was eight, scored a toothpaste ad on her very first outing. Her first television role, in a Little Rascals-inspired show called "Cliffwood Avenue Kids" (NBC, 1977) came at the age of 10, followed by a string of appearances on seventies guest star staples like "The Love Boat" (ABC 1977-1986) and "Diff'rent Strokes"(NBC, 1978-1985).
She took some time off to return to the East Coast, studying at Sarah Lawrence College, before heading to Europe for months of solitary world travel that would be sure to inform her future as a well-rounded actress. In 1991, the avid song-and-dance gal landed the dream role of a vintage-era nightclub singer in "The Rocketeer," contributing several songs to the film's soundtrack. Throughout the nineties, she maintained an impressive schedule as a working actress - steady appearances on shows like "Quantum Leap" (NBC, 1989-1993) and "Caroline in the City" (NBC, 1995-99) and several juicy, memorable character moments like getting Ross to talk dirty on "Friends" (NBC, 1994-2004).
Being part of an award-winning cast opened new doors for Hardin, who appeared in the Golden Globe winning film "Thank You for Smoking" (2006) and made her film directorial debut with "You" (2007).In addition to impressive work on film and TV, Hardin released two CDs of original, theatrical-tinged vocal stylings - Meloradrama and Purr. She also performed at the Globe Theater in San Diego. In 2007, she directed the play "Strip Search," which enjoyed successful runs at the White Fire Theater and the Acme Comedy Theater, both in Los Angeles.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Jorja Fox was born on 7th July 1968 in New York. Fox began the 1990s with roles in TV productions including the specials "Summer Stories: The Mall", an installment of "ABC Afterschool Specials" and "Dead Drunk: The Kevin Tunell Story", one of HBO's "Lifestories: Families in Crisis". A 1993 episode of "Law & Order" (NBC) marked Fox's transition to primetime series, where she would land a regular role as an investigator for the Chicago police on ABC's "Missing Persons" (1993-94).
In 1996, Fox began her portrayal of Dr. Maggie Doyle, a gun-toting vegetarian lesbian who was in residency at the "ER" (NBC). A recurring character from 1996 through 1999, Doyle had some powerful scenes and storylines in the course of her run, and Fox handled her character with a combination of grace, reserve and vulnerability. Known to a wide audience for her portrayal of Maggie, Fox was featured in the groundbreaking 1997 "coming out" episode of ABC's "Ellen".
In 1999, Fox began a recurring role on the acclaimed NBC drama "The West Wing" playing Gina Tuscano, the Secret Service agent in charge of protecting the daughter (Elisabeth Moss) of the President of the United States (Martin Sheen). Leaving in 2000 to work full-time on "CSI", Fox and Tuscano could feasibly return to "The West Wing" thanks to an open-ended exit, but the success of "CSI" would seem to make such insurance unnecessary.
Though television has hosted her greatest successes to date, Fox has appeared in several films since her debut. A supporting role as Alan Arkin's love interest in the unimpressive comedy "The Jerky Boys" was one of three of the actress' big screen appearances in 1995, including black comedy "Dead Funny" and the romance "Alchemy". In 1997, in addition to a featured role in the NBC miniseries "House of Frankenstein 1997", Fox added to the less-seen but far more critically acclaimed independent feature "How to Make the Cruelest Month".
