Who is Olivia Thirlby?

Who is Olivia Thirlby? The Acting world knows her as 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]

Thirlby was born October 6, 1986 in New York City, the daughter of a contractor.^[3] 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).^[4]

She plans to attend college once she has made a sufficient start to her acting 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.^[5] She will however reunite with Gordon Green on the animated TV pilot Good Vibes^[6].

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^[7] and transferred to the Geffen Playhouse in June 2009.

Thirlby voices promotional video excerpts from the novel Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher which since October 2008 have regularly been posted to YouTube^[8].

In 2009, Thirlby will appear in a number of films including Margaret and Safety Glass and the HBO pilot Bored To Death.

She is attached to star in Parts Per Billion as well as Christmas In New York for Arlen Faber director John Hindman^[9].

Filmography

Film
Year	Film	Role	Notes
2006	United 93	Nicole Carol Miller
	Kidnapped	Aubrey Cain	TV series
	Unlocked	Abby	Short Film
2007	Snow Angels	Lila Raybern
	Juno	Leah
	Love Comes Lately	Sylvia
	The Secret	Samantha Marris
2008	The Wackness	Stephanie
	Eve	Kate	Short Film
	Uncertainty	Sophie
2009	The Answer Man	Anne
	Breaking Upwards	Erika
	What Goes Up	Tess
	Bored to Death	Suzanne
	New York, I Love You
	Margaret	Monica
2010	Parts per Billion

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