Tricia Helfer

Early life

Helfer was born in rural Donalda, Alberta, Canada, to Dennis and Elaine Helfer. She studied at William E. Hay Composite High School in Stettler, Alberta. She lived and worked on the family's grain farm with her three sisters, Trena, Tammy and Tara. Helfer was discovered at age 17 by a modeling agency scout while standing in line at a movie theatre.

Career

Modeling

In 1992, she won Ford Models' Supermodel of the World contest. Helfer retired from fashion modelling in 2002 and said all her shoots since then are related to projects or product endorsements. She has appeared in ad campaigns for Ralph Lauren, Versace, Chanel, and Giorgio Armani.

Helfer has walked for top fashion shows, such as Carolina Herrera, Christian Dior, Claude Montana, Givenchy, John Galliano, and Dolce & Gabbana. Helfer has appeared on the covers of Flare, Amica, ELLE, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, and Vogue, among others. She also regularly appeared in photo shoots by Maxim magazine, was the magazine's wall calendar girl for 2005, and was ranked #57 on the Maxims Hot 100 Women of 2007. Helfer was also featured as the cover model for the February 2007 issue of Playboy.

Acting

Helfer relocated to Los Angeles in 2002 to pursue an acting career. Her first acting assignment was a co-starring role as Sarah on the television series Jeremiah. She later played a model named Ashleigh James on the May 16, 2002 episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation ("The Hunger Artist"). In 2002, she played Eva in the independent film White Rush.

In 2003, she played Number Six on Battlestar Galactica. In 2004, she portrayed Farrah Fawcett in the telefilm Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Charlie's Angels. Concurrent with her role in Battlestar Galactica, Helfer began producing and hosting Canada's Next Top Model on May 31, 2006. She appeared in Spiral and The Green Chain later the same year.

In October 2006, it was announced that Helfer would not return to host the second season of Canada's Next Top Model so she could concentrate on Battlestar Galactica. Helfer also played a major role in Electronic Arts' video game Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars, as the high-level Nod general Kilian Qatar, along with her Battlestar Galactica co-star, actress Grace Park. She also starred in the episode "Roadkill" on the second season of Supernatural.

Helfer had a recurring role on the CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men. She played Gail, best friend of Charlie's (Charlie Sheen) fiancée Chelsea (Jennifer Taylor). When Chelsea finds out that her friend is recovering from a breakup, she says she should do so at Charlie's house. Shortly after Chelsea and Charlie begin a trial separation, Gail begins a sexual relationship with Charlie.

''Battlestar Galactica''

Main article: Number Six (Battlestar Galactica)

In 2003, the television series Battlestar Galactica was used as the basis for a three-hour miniseries on the Sci Fi channel. The project was written and produced by Ronald D. Moore and directed by Michael Rymer. Helfer played the role of Number Six, a humanoid Cylon operative. She continued that role as a regular cast member in the TV series, which completed its fourth and final season on March 20, 2009. Due to the special nature of the Number Six character – there are many "copies" of Number Six with distinct personalities – Helfer has, in effect, played numerous roles on the series. In 2009, she reprised her role as Number Six in Battlestar Galactica: The Plan – a television movie that tells the story of the series from the Cylons' point of view. In 2012, she voiced a prototype Cylon in the prequel Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome.

Awards:

• Leo Awards, Best Lead Performance By A Female in a Dramatic Series, Tricia Helfer ("Pegasus")

Nominations:

• Scream Awards, Breakout Performance, Tricia Helfer as Number Six
• Scream Awards, Best Television Actress, Tricia Helfer

2008–2015

In August 2008, Helfer appeared on the stage of NVISION 08, an event sponsored by NVIDIA, where she discussed her role in Battlestar Galactica as well as the use of computer graphics on the show. Helfer appeared in an episode of the NBC series Chuck, and as Michael Westen's nemesis in the USA Network series Burn Notice as "Carla Baxter". She appears as herself in Old 97's music video for their song, "Dance with Me".

She guest starred in "Resonance", the second episode of Warehouse 13 as FBI Agent Bonnie Belski on Syfy. She made a guest appearance in the pilot episode of Fox's 2009 mid-season series Human Target. She has played several prominent video game roles in recent years; including Kilian Quatar in Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars, Veronica Dare in Halo 3: ODST and EDI, the artificial intelligence aboard the Normandy SR-2 in Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3. She voices Sarah Kerrigan in StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty and the expansion sets Heart of the Swarm and Legacy of the Void. Helfer voices Black Cat in The Spectacular Spider-Man and reprised her role in Spider-Man: Web of Shadows.

Helfer joined the cast of Jerry Bruckheimer's TNT drama, Dark Blue, as FBI Special Agent Alex Rice. The show was cancelled in November 2010 because of low ratings. In October 2010, she made a guest appearance on Lie to Me.

In 2011, she starred in The Black Keys' music video for "Howlin' for You". She made guest appearances in No Ordinary Family (2011), and Franklin & Bash (2011). In 2011, Helfer starred as Morgana, a necromancer, in the TV series pilot 17th Precinct from Ron Moore with Galactica's co-stars James Callis and Jamie Bamber. In October 2011, she got the lead role in the TV pilot Scent of the Missing as Susannah, a K-9 Search and Rescue Volunteer. In November 2011, she appeared in the Hallmark TV movie Mistletoe Over Manhattan. For 2012, she signed for the recurring role of Alex Clark in the new NBC TV Series The Firm.

In 2014, she played Molly Parker on ABC's Killer Women, a remake of the Argentinian drama Mujeres Asesinas, with producer Sofia Vergara. Also in 2014, she played Viondra Denniger, the steward and captain's wife of the titular starship in the miniseries Ascension on its long journey carrying people to populate a new world. Helfer voiced Sonya Blade in the fighting game, Mortal Kombat X, which was released in April 2015.

In 2015, she appeared in the series finale of Falling Skies as the Espheni Queen, the leader of the alien race that had invaded Earth and devastated humanity. She also played Louise, a woman attending a doll convention, in the web series Con Man.

2016–present

In 2016, Helfer was added to the main cast for the second season of the Fox series Lucifer, playing the vessel of the titular character's real mother and "Goddess of all creation". She served as the primary antagonist of Season 2, and a minor character in Season 3.

In 2015–16, she played a recurring role as Evan Smith, a corporate attorney in the USA network series Suits.

In 2019, she was added to the main cast for the fourth season of the SyFy series Van Helsing, playing Dracula, the Dark One, who is the ruler of the vampire species.

Personal life

In 2003, Helfer married Jonathan Marshall, a lawyer whom she met at a mutual friend's birthday party. They separated in May 2017 and Helfer filed for divorce in January 2018, citing irreconcilable differences.

In 2011, Helfer became an American citizen.

She has four artificial discs in her back: two in her neck, resulting from an incident in which a piece of luggage was dropped on her head while she was sitting on an airplane, and two in her lower back from mishaps while doing her own stunts.

She co-founded the charity web site "Acting Outlaws" with former Battlestar Galactica co-star Katee Sackhoff; the web site collects donations for several causes and charity events. She is also involved in various causes, from animal rescue to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. In 2014, she appeared in a PETA video campaign, encouraging cat owners to keep their cats indoors.

Helfer is a vegetarian.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

References

References

1. Tricia Helfer. "Thanks for all the bday wishes. Feeling lots of love today".
2. "Famous Female Actors Gr. 4-8". On The Mark Press.
3. "Tricia Helfer Profile".
4. "Tricia Helfer profile".
5. "Maxim's Hot 100 Women of 2007".
6. Robertson, Josh. (February 23, 2013). "The 50 Hottest Celebrities Who've Posed For Playboy: 42. Tricia Helfer".
7. (August 8, 2011). "Bio".
8. (June 14, 2005). "The Unauthorized Story of 'Charlie's Angels'".
9. "Tricia Helfer – Canada's Top Model".
10. "The Green Chain (2007)". [[IMDb]].
11. "Toronto's Jay Manuel To Host Second Season of Canada's Next Top Model".
12. "EA Reveals Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars: Kane Edition". Yahoo! Business News.
13. Abrams, Natalie. (October 15, 2009). "Tricia Helfer to Guest Star on Two and a Half Men".
14. "NVISION 08".
15. Mitovich, Matt. (November 24, 2008). "Battlestar's Tricia Helfer to Handle Chuck".
16. "Dark Blue Review".
17. Sullivan, Brian Ford. (November 16, 2010). "Exclusive: TNT Cancels 'Dark Blue'".
18. "Exclusive: Tricia Helfer to Crush on Lie to Me's Lightman".
19. (February 10, 2011). "The Black Keys' "Howlin' For You"".
20. (March 1, 2011). "Michael Chiklis Faces No Ordinary Cylon Invasion".
21. (August 3, 2011). "Go Tell it on the Mountain".
22. (March 4, 2011). "Tricia Helfer 17th Precinct Pilot".
23. Goldberg, Lesley. (October 12, 2011). "Battlestar Galactica's' Tricia Helfer Nabs Lead in TNT Pilot". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
24. (August 19, 2011). "Battlestar Galactica Babe Tricia Helfer to Appear in 'The Firm'".
25. Vary, Adam B.. (June 28, 2012). "'Husbands': EP and star on season 2 of their gay-marriage web series".
26. {{IMDb name. 1065454. Tricia Helfer
27. Ausiello, Michael. (June 21, 2016). "Tricia Helfer Joins Lucifer Season 2 as Literally the Mother From Hell".
28. "Tricia Helfer Joins Cast of 'Lucifer'". aol.com.
29. (August 2019). "Tricia Helfer Talks Playing Dracula on Van Helsing".
30. Leech, Eric J.. (Spring 2008). "Tricia Helfer profile".
31. Mizoguchi, Karen. (January 26, 2018). "Tricia Helfer, Star of Lucifer & Battlestar Galactica, Files for Divorce from Husband of 13 Years".
32. (May 1, 2019). "'Battlestar Galactica' Star Tricia Helfer Settles Divorce, No Spousal Support for Either Side".
33. (January 21, 2011). "I became an American citizen yesterday. Very happy and proud to be an American!! And fellow Canadian's, I'm dual, so no hate. I'm both.".
34. (August 4, 2010). "Tricia Helfer on Lopez Tonight". YouTube.
35. Helfer, Tricia. "Right before my back surgery - was in so much pain there '@werdyo:Tricia Helfer @ Spike VGA's 2009 @trutriciahelfer... http://tinyurl.com/7bnt5d6'".
36. "Number 6 to Ascension: Tricia Helfer Talks".
37. "Tricia Helfer returns to Earth to go underground in 'Dark Blue'". Digital Journal.
38. "Tricia Helfer - And here's the picture of my neck right after surgery". Facebook.
39. "Who We Are".
40. "Our Mission".
41. "Fur Ball at the Skirball".
42. "Do Something!".
43. Shehori, Steven. (April 10, 2014). "Tricia Helfer and PETA Urge Pet Owners to Keep Their Cats Indoors".
44. [https://mobile.twitter.com/trutriciahelfer/status/1501202214039261184 "...we were eating vegan chili dogs while we were filming that scene. The prop department made them for me because I'm vegetarian."]
45. (January 5, 2024). "Hamzeh Mystique Films Announces the Filming Commencement of HELLO BEAUTIFUL".
46. Bibel, Sara. (April 30, 2014). "Tricia Helfer to Star in New Syfy Event Series 'Ascension'".
47. (July 20, 2016). "Lucifer Ups Tricia Helfer to Regular as the Mother From Hell — First Photo".
48. Boucher, Geoff. (May 14, 2019). "'Van Helsing': Tricia Helfer Stakes Claim To Dracula Role & WWE Wrestling Star Also Added To Cast".
49. "Tricia Helfer (visual voices guide) - Behind The Voice Actors".
50. Helfer, Tricia. (January 15, 2018). "No, I voiced Sonya Blade in it.".