Vanessa Lengies

Vanessa Lengies began her professional career at the age of nine with voice acting work on such PBS children's series as "Arthur" and "Caillou." Born in Montreal, Lengies gained her first live-action roles on Canadian television, starring on such popular young adult-oriented shows as "Are You Afraid of the Dark?" and the improv-comedy program "Sponk!." After five short years in the business she secured her big break stateside on the critically acclaimed comedy-drama series "American Dreams," appearing as Roxanne Bojarski, the best friend of protagonist Meg Pryor (Brittany Snow). Lengies's scene-stealing performances earned the rising young star Best Supporting Actress nominations at both the Young Artist and Teen Choice Awards in 2004.

Lengies closed out the decade with support roles in films, from the raunchy comedy "Waiting " (2005) to the 2009 coming-of-age drama "My Suicide," and on TV, appearing as series regular Kelly Epson on the medical drama "Hawthorne."