With the concurrent success of her films and an acclaimed
portrayal of a troubled young woman in a drama series,
NEVE CAMPBELL has proven to be a rare kind of performer,
moving effortlessly from television to film and back. She has
made an indelible impression in the entertainment industry,
having starred in the successful "Scream" trilogy. She received
a Saturn Award for Best Actress for her performance as Sidney
Prescott in the original film; for the sequel, she was honored
with both a Blockbuster Award and an MTV Movie Award for Best
Actress.
From the age of six, Canadian-born Campbell trained as a dancer,
earning a place with the National Ballet School of Canada when
she was just nine years old. However, her ambitions to be a
professional dancer were cut short by a series of injuries,
leading her to pursue an acting career. She made her acting debut
at age 15 as the Degas Girl in the Toronto premiere of "Phantom
of the Opera" for director Hal Prince and received her first
break as the feisty Daisy in the 1992 syndicated Canadian series
"Catwalk," from which she garnered stateside attention. Her film
debut was in the Canadian feature "Paint Cans." Soon after,
appearances in Alex Chapple's "Ruskin" and "Baree" for director
Arnaut Seligna followed.
After conquering Canadian film and television, Campbell landed
the role of scholarly but rebellious Julia Salinger on the
acclaimed Golden Globe-winning American television series
"Party of Five," which
concluded after a six-year run. She also starred in the
made-for-television films "I Know My Son Is Alive" and "The
Canterville Ghost," which earned her the Family Film Award for
Outstanding Actress in a Television Film.
1996 was a memorable year for the actress. Earlier in the year,
Campbell made her American feature film debut as a teenaged witch
in Columbia Pictures' supernatural classic "The Craft" for
director Andrew Fleming. Just months after, she gained
international recognition as 'Sidney Prescott', the virginal
heroine of Wes Craven's surprise hit
"Scream," a
film that has been credited for reviving the long-dead teen horror
genre. Made for less than $20 million, "Scream" was a huge success,
earning more than $100 million during its entire domestic run,
paving the way for Campbell and her costars to reprise their
roles in
"Scream 2,"
which held the record of being the biggest December opening for
any movie, with a debut weekend gross of nearly $33 million and a
final gross of more than $100 million.
In 1998, Campbell appeared in four wildly divergent films. She
portrayed a scheming jilted lover in the small Canadian
independent "Hairshirt," provided the voice of Simba's daughter,
Kiara, in Disney's straight-to-video sequel "The Lion King II:
Simba's Pride," had a brief role as a soap star in the disco-set
"54," which was both a critical and box office failure and
starred in John McNaughton's memorable erotic thriller "Wild
Things" opposite Kevin Bacon and Matt Dillon, in which she
played a social outcast who accuses her guidance counselor of
rape.
Campbell began the year 2000 on shaky ground, when her romantic
comedy "Three to Tango" flopped at the box office. Initially
having second thoughts about reprising her role in
"Scream 3" due to fears of
being typecast, Campbell finally signed on in order to put the
franchise to rest. Like its
predecessors, "Scream 3" was well-received by critics and
audiences, and currently holds the record for being the biggest
February opening. For her next film, Campbell played a young
woman who has an affair with an older man (William H. Macy) in
the acclaimed independent feature "Panic," which premiered at
the 2000 Sundance Film Festival. She then joined Danny DeVito,
Jamie Lee Curtis and Bette Midler in "Drowning Mona," a
who-dun-it about the not so accidental death of local Grand
Dame Mona Dearly.
Campbell will next be seen with Nick Nolte, Dermot Mulroney and
her "The Craft" co-star Robin Tunney in Alan Rudolph's
"Investigating Sex." She also has the lead role in the
action-drama "Lost Junction" and recently starred opposite
Jeremy Irons in the television movie "Last Call." She is
currently developing a script called "The Company," a large
ensemble piece about a ballet troupe, written by Barbara Turner
("Pollock").
As a producer, Campbell produced and starred in "Hairshirt"
opposite her brother Christian Campbell and the upcoming
"Move," a drama about a young dancer.
Born on October 3, 1973 in Ontario, Canada, Neve Adrianne
Campbell grew up in Toronto, where she studied acting with a
variety of teachers as well as classical singing and dance at
the prestigious National Ballet School of Canada. She appeared
on stage with Canada's National Ballet in productions of
"Sleeping Beauty" and "The Nutcracker."
Campbell currently lives in Los Angeles. She is divorced from
Canadian actor Jeff Colt. Her mother Marnie is a yoga
instructor, and her father, Gerry, is a high school
drama teacher. Her older brother Christian is also an actor.
![[Neve Cambell]](neve.jpg)