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Portia De Rossi: Ally Mcbeal
built 213 days ago
Born in Australia, Portia de Rossi reinvented herself at 15 by changing her name from Mandy Rogers. With her new exotic moniker in tow, de Rossi hit New York and Hollywood, leaving law school to appear opposite Hugh Grant and Elle Macpherson in "Sirens." Several lesser-profile films followed, including the campy "Scream 2" with Neve Campbell. Eventually, the lithe blonde bombshell appeared on television as ambitious ice queen Nelle Porter on the quirky FOX show "Ally McBeal." When "Ally" ended its five-year run, de Rossi resurfaced on the equally quirky yet critically praised "Arrested Development." De Rossi, who was once married for two years to documentary filmmaker Mel Metcalfe, made the headlines when she revealed she is a lesbian.
A beautiful, exotic-looking blonde with pronounced eyebrows, Portia de Rossi first caught viewers' attention playing a virginal teenager who poses as a nude art model in "Sirens" (1994). After relocating to the USA from her native Melbourne, Australia, the actress quickly found work as the love interest of star Eric Schaeffer in the short-lived Fox sitcom "Too Something" (1995) and later spent one season (1996-97) as a co-worker of "Nick Freno: Licensed Teacher" on that The WB comedy. After a turn as a drug addict in the independent "The Woman in the Moon" (1995), de Rossi landed the high profile (but decidedly tiny) role as a sorority sister in "Scream 2" (1997). She further added to her growing reputation by joining the cast of the hit Fox comedy "Ally McBeal" in the fall of 1998. As Nell Porter, de Rossi added a mix of cool allure and sultry heat to the fantasy comedy. During and after the series the actress toiled in a variety of feature films of varying quality and distinction before landing her defining role on the quirky Fox sitcom "Arrested Development" (2003 - ) playing the pampered Lindsay Bluth Fünke.
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Australian actress Portia de Rossi was born on January 31, 1973 in Melbourne, Victoria. Originally named Amanda Lee Rogers, she had her name changed legally at the age of 15. She ... modeled for print and TV commercials at a young age. Though an intelligent student, she left the Melbourne Law School to pursue acting, appearing in movies and television series such as Sirens, Ally McBeal, Stigmata, and Scream 2. She officially came out and openly declared herself gay in 2005, after having dated singer Francesca Gregorini and comedienne Ellen DeGeneres, and is also presently recovering from anorexia.
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Portia de Rossi is an actress who was born under the name Amanda Lee Rogers in Melbourne, Australia in 1973. She changed her name to Portia when she was 15 after a character in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. She starred in Ally McBeal and Arrested Development. Portia de Rossi is 15 years younger than Ellen DeGeneres.
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Luxuriantly tressed blonde Portia de Rossi combined her former interest in the law with her subsequent acting career and achieved TV fame when she joined the cast of the Fox TV hit Ally McBeal in 1998. Born Mandy Rogers in Melbourne, Australia, de Rossi acted in TV commercials as a teen and modeled, but entered college to become a lawyer. She changed professions... when she was cast as one of the titular beauties tempting the wife of stuffy Hugh Grant in John Duigan's comedy Sirens (1994). de Rossi relocated to Los Angeles and appeared on TV sitcoms Too Something (1995) and Nick Freno: Licensed Teacher (1996), as well as in the blockbuster horror sequel Scream 2 (1997) as one of the terrorized sorority sisters.
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''Ally McBeal'' costar Portia de Rossi is saying bye-bye to the penthouse perch she bought just two years ago. Purchased for about $600,000, the three-story, 2,600-square-foot apartment stretches up to the top floor of the legendary Hollywood building where Marilyn Monroe and Rock Hudson once lived. The seven-story, French Normandy-style 1930 structure has a pool, a spa, a private garden, and a doorman. (Re/Max's Brian and Laura Moore have the listing.) De Rossi is moving to another home in L.A.
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