Shiri Appleby

Early life

Appleby's Israeli-born mother is of Moroccan Jewish descent, and her Los Angeles–raised father is Canadian and of Ashkenazi Jewish descent. During Appleby's youth, her mother worked as a Hebrew school teacher, while her father worked as a tour guide at Universal Studios Hollywood. She was raised in what she described as a "middle-class" household in Calabasas in Los Angeles County, and kept kosher in her home growing up.

Appleby graduated from Calabasas High School in 1997. After two years she got the starring role in Roswell and was working steadily, but while shooting Life Unexpected in 2010, Appleby started to work towards a psychology degree from the online University of Phoenix. It took her 14 months, while also working, to complete the degree in 2012.

Career

Appleby began her acting career at the age of four, starting with advertisements for various products such as Cheerios and M&M's. She started acting and taking acting classes because her parents were concerned that she was so shy and introverted.

Appleby has been featured in a number of music videos, such as Bon Jovi's video for "It's My Life" with Will Estes, and the 2004 video for the song "I Don't Want to Be" by Gavin DeGraw, opposite Scott Mechlowicz. She also appeared in Sense Field's music video for "Save Yourself," which is part of the Roswell soundtrack and featured in the first season DVD box set.

In 2006, she had a recurring role on the short-lived ABC drama Six Degrees as Anya, a young assistant in a relationship with a much older photographer. Later that year, she played Hildy Young in the new USA Network series To Love and Die, that began airing in late December 2008. She also participated in a short film called Carjacking directed by Dan Passman and co-starring Geoff Stults.

In 2007, she appeared in the movie What Love Is alongside Cuba Gooding Jr., Matthew Lillard, and Anne Heche. She also participated in another short film Love Like Wind from Shaolin Film Productions. At the end of the year, she appeared as Charlie Wilson's press secretary in the film Charlie Wilson's War, which stars Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts. In 2008, Appleby had a recurring role on the 15th and final season of ER (her second time on the show), playing an intern named Daria Wade.

In 2010, Appleby starred in The CW network drama Life Unexpected as Cate Cassidy, a radio talk show host whose daughter whom she gave up for adoption becomes a part of her life. The show was canceled after two seasons.

In 2012, Appleby starred as the main character of Dating Rules from My Future Self, which she also produced.

In 2013, she had a role in the Lena Dunham HBO series, Girls, including a controversial "money shot" scene. She said the role allowed her to break out of a career where she was often typecast as being sweet. Appleby said that she was invited to read for a role when she was on the set of Girls because she was interested in directing and shadowed director Jesse Peretz. After a table read with the cast, she was offered a part.

In 2013, she was cast in the leading role in the Lifetime drama/dark comedy series Unreal, a show about the inner workings of a reality show (a show within a show), which premiered on June 1, 2015, and was produced by former The Bachelor producer, Sarah Gertrude Shapiro and writer Marti Noxon. To research her role as a reality show dating show producer, Appleby said that she spent time with a producer to quiz them about the work. In 2016, Appleby directed her first episode of Unreal, titled "Casualty". She went on to direct multiple episodes of the series. In July 2018, the series ended after four seasons.

In 2017, Appleby starred in Janicza Bravo's first full-length feature, Lemon, which debuted at Sundance Film Festival.

In 2021, Appleby had a cameo role in the last scene of Season 3 Episode 13 of Roswell, New Mexico, having previously directed an episode in each of the first two seasons.

Personal life

Appleby gave birth to a girl in March 2013. Appleby and the baby's father, chef and restaurateur Jon Shook, later married. Their second child, a son, was born in December 2015.

In Hebrew, the word shiri means either "my song" or "my poem" or simply "sing" (second person female imperative). Appleby said her parents said that when she was born, she was like the song in their hearts.

She has a scar above her left eyebrow that she got when a neighbor's dog bit her when she was young. To get over her fear of dogs, she went on the show Emergency Vets, accompanying staff veterinarian Kevin Fitzgerald (she also overcame another phobia in the same episode by holding a live snake, one of Fitzgerald's patients).

Films

Television

Web

Director

Accolades

References

References

1. (August 12, 2015). "Actress Shiri Appleby chats about Jewish influences and life on the small screen – Hollywood". Jewish Journal.
2. "Valley to Hollywood: An Actress' Journey". Arts in LA.
3. (October 28, 2013). "Interview with Interesting Jews: Actress & New Mom Shiri Appleby". Kveller.
4. (January 15, 2014). "In Bed With Joan – Episode 41: Shiri Appleby".
5. (August 12, 2015). "Actress Shiri Appleby chats about Jewish influences and life on the small screen".
6. (October 7, 1999). "My Favorite Weekend: Shiri Appleby". [[Los Angeles Times]].
7. (May 23, 2012). "My Road To Receiving A College Degree". [[Hello Giggles]].
8. (October 31, 1999). "Spotlight; Hey, Everyone's Cool, Teen-Age Aliens Too". [[The New York Times]].
9. Kenna. (May 2, 2004). "DVD Review: Roswell: The Complete First Season". Crashdown.
10. (February 1, 2010). "Life Unexpected's Shiri Appleby on the CW Cabal, Fading From the Spotlight, and Playing a Mom at 31". [[Vulture (blog).
11. (June 9, 2015). "UnREAL's Shiri Appleby on Why She's Happy to Be Playing a Character Who's Not 'Consumed With a Guy'". [[Vulture (blog).
12. (March 11, 2013). "A Seminal TV Moment f/k/a HBO's Girls "money shot": Was it the first in TV history?". [[Slate Magazine]].
13. (July 27, 2015). ""UnReal" Star Shiri Appleby On What She's Learned About Being an Ambitious Woman".
14. (March 4, 2013). "Shiri Appleby on Playing Adam's New Love Interest on Girls". [[Vulture (blog).
15. Andreeva, Nellie. (February 6, 2014). "Lifetime Picks Up Marti Noxon's Dark Comedy Pilot 'Un-Real' To Series".
16. Otterson, Joe. (July 28, 2017). "'UnREAL' Renewed for Season 4 at Lifetime, 'Mary Kills People' Renewed for Season 2". Variety.
17. (June 1, 2015). "'UnREAL' Is An Unsettling Look At Making Unsettling Television". [[NPR]].
18. (June 29, 2015). "Television's Most Alluring Antihero is a Fictional Jewish Woman". [[Tablet (magazine).
19. Evans, Benedict [https://www.vulture.com/2016/06/shiri-appleby-the-comeback-kid.html Shiri Appleby: The Comeback Kid] ''Vulture''. June 22, 2016
20. (January 23, 2017). "'Lemon': Review". [[Screen Daily]].
21. (March 29, 2013). "Shiri Appleby Welcomes Daughter Natalie Bouader". [[People (magazine).
22. (July 15, 2015). "Watch Shiri Appleby and Her Chef Husband Make The Sickest Nachos Ever". Delish.
23. (December 21, 2015). "Shiri Appleby Welcomes Son Owen Lee". [[People (magazine).