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Olivia Thirlby
Thirlby on the set on New York, I Love You, 2008
Born	October 6, 1986 (1986-10-06) (age 23) New York, United States
Years active	2005–present

Olivia Thirlby (born October 6, 1986) is an American actress best known for her role as Leah, the best friend of Ellen Page's character in the 2007 film Juno.^[1]

In June 2008, Thirlby was described by Vanity Fair magazine as a member of "Hollywood's New Wave", along with young performers including the cast of Gossip Girl, The Jonas Brothers, Emma Roberts, Amanda Seyfried, Kristen Stewart, Josh Peck and Christopher Mintz-Plasse.^[2]

Early life

Thirlby was born in New York City, to an advertising executive mother and a contractor father.^[3][4] She was raised in Manhattan's East Village, attending school at Friends Seminary in the city's Gramercy neighborhood, where she graduated in a class of 57 students.^[1] She also attended French Woods Festival of the Performing Arts in upstate New York. She took classes at the American Globe Theatre, and briefly at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London where she completed a stage combat course with the British Academy of Stage and Screen Combat (BASSC).^[5]

Career

While still at high school, Thirlby was offered a role in The Secret. In 2006, she made her film debut in United 93 and her television debut in Kidnapped.

In the Sundance Audience Award-winning film The Wackness, a mid-1990s period piece, she plays Stephanie, a pothead from New York City. Thirlby stars opposite Josh Peck, who plays a drug dealer. Ben Kingsley stars as her stepfather. The film was released in the U.S. on July 3, 2008.^[1]

Thirlby was cast in the Judd Apatow-produced stoner comedy, Pineapple Express, as Seth Rogen's girlfriend, but was replaced by actress Amber Heard after rehearsing for the film.^[6] She will however reunite with Gordon Green on the animated TV pilot Good Vibes.^[7]

She made her stage debut in Farragut North, a play by Beau Willimon at the Atlantic Theater Company in New York City. The Off Broadway production ran from October 22, 2008 – November 29, 2008 with official opening on November 12^[8] and transferred to the Geffen Playhouse in June 2009.

Thirlby appears in the 2009 HBO series Bored To Death and voices promotional video excerpts from the novel Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher which since October 2008 have regularly been posted to YouTube.^[9]

Thirlby appears in the forthcoming film Margaret. She is attached to star in Christmas In New York for Arlen Faber director John Hindman^[10] as well as For Ellen for Bradley Rust Gray^[11], The No Game, The Manners of Madness and Parts Per Billion.

Filmography

References

External links

• Olivia Thirlby at the Internet Movie Database
• Profile at Filmmaker Magazine's "25 New Faces Of Independent Film 2006"