Leslie Stefanson Bio - Biography

Name Leslie Stefanson
Height
Naionality American
Date of Birth 10 May 1971
Place of Birth Fargo, North Dakota, USA
Famous for
North Dakota-born, Minnesota-raised Leslie Stefanson got her career start as a model and did not decide to become an actress until after completing her education. In 1994, she made her professional acting debut in a small part as a girl at party in “The Cowboy Way,” a comedy film starring Woody Harrelson, Kiefer Sutherland and Dylan McDermott and directed by Gregg Champion. Her next big screen outing arrived in the following year when she was cast as Sara Myers in the Oscar nominated “The Mirror Has Two Faces” (1996), which was helmed by and starred Barbra Streisand.

In 1997, Stefanson did commercials for Lee Jeans. In the meantime, her film career showed an increase. Within a year, she had three different projects under her belt. In the independent film “Fool's Paradise,” Stefanson played the costarring role of Elizabeth 'Liz,' opposite Corey Parker as Raymond 'Ray' Powers, while in Disney's live-action comedy “Flubber,” she supported Robin Williams as Sylvia. She rounded out the year by appearing as Helen Hunt's fellow waitress in James L. Brooks' “As Good as It Gets,” a hit comedy/romance which won two out of seven Oscar nominations.

Stefanson also made three films in 1998. She first costarred with Ron Eldard and David Strickland in the comedy/thriller “Delivered” and then portrayed Michelle Rafferty in the box office flop “An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn,” opposite Ryan O'Neal and Eric Idle. In addition, she had a supporting role as Shelly in the drama/thriller “Break Up,” starring Bridget Fonda and Kiefer Sutherland.

After five years in the cinematic industry, Stefanson eventually enjoyed recognition with her portrayal of Capt. Elisabeth Campbell in the Simon West-directed “The General's Daughter” (1999). The John Travolta vehicle went on to become a summer hit, despite critics considered the on-screen artistic style of the film was totally exploitative.

Stefanson bolstered her profile in the next year by taking the small role of Kelly in the M. Night Shyamalan-directed/written thriller “Unbreakable” (2000), starring Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson and Robin Wright Penn, and playing Agent Donna Marbury in the action/thriller “Desert Saints” (2000). Still in the same year, she also had a major role as Joyce Parkins on director Sally Field's “Beautiful,” along side Minnie Driver and Kathleen Turner. Stefanson then costarred with James Spider in the action film “The Stickup” (2001), as Natalie Wright, but it was her role as Joan Kennedy in the TV miniseries “Jackie, Ethel, Joan: the Women of Camelot” (2001), Larry Shaw's adaptation of J. Randy Taraborrelli's best-selling book, that put her back on the spotlight. The series earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Music Composition for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special (Dramatic Underscore).

After the success of “Jackie, Ethel, Joan: the Women of Camelot,” Stefanson was cast in her first regular role in the television series “Mds” (2002), where she starring as as Shelly Pangborn, opposite William Fichtner as Dr. Bruce Kellerman and John Hannah as Robert Dalgety. The ABC medical drama, however, only had a short life and was axed after only 10 episodes. She returned to big screen in the next year to play Irene Kravitz in William Friedkin's action/thriller “The Hunted,” along with Tommy Lee Jones, Benicio Del Toro and Connie Nielsen, and team with James Spader, Janine Eser and John Lynch for the action/sci-fi movie “Alien Hunter.” Stefanson has since disappeared from the public eye.

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