Career
Kendrick "caught the [acting] bug" at the age of 10, when her parents would let her and her brother catch a bus from Portland, Maine, to New York City so that she could attend auditions.[1] Kendrick's first acting role was as Dinah in the Broadway musical High Society in August 1998 when she was twelve years old, a performance for which she earned Theatre World Award, Drama Desk Award, and Tony Award nominations,[2] making her the third-youngest Tony Award nominee.[3]Kendrick went on to appear in a number of other theater productions, including the musical A Little Night Music, before making her film debut in the 2003 musical comedy Camp,[2] for which she was nominated in the Best Supporting Actress category at the 2004 Chlotrudis Awards and Best Debut Performance Independent Spirit Award for her portrayal of the character Fritzi Wagner.
In 2007, she appeared in her next film, Rocket Science, in which she portrayed Ginny Ryerson, a fast-talking high school debater. Although she says she found the role intimidating and challenging after watching an actual national collegiate championship debate, her performance was praised by critics[2] and she was nominated for a 2007 Independent Spirit Award in the category of Best Supporting Actress.[4]
In late 2007, she auditioned for the role of Jessica Stanley in Twilight, a 2008 film adapted from the first book of the novel series by Stephenie Meyer.[5] She had intended to do a mix-and-match audition with various actors, but was too ill and had to leave; she was, however, brought in for a later session where she was given the role.[1] Screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg said that the characters Jessica Stanley and Lauren Mallory from the book were combined to create the role.[6] Kendrick reprised her role as Jessica in the Twilight sequel, New Moon.[7]Kendrick's theater singing experience gave her the opportunity to star in her next project, 2009's The Marc Pease Experience, where she appears opposite Jason Schwartzman and Ben Stiller as a high school senior involved in musical theater.[2][8]
She appeared in the 2009 films Elsewhere, in which she plays her first lead character, a girl whose best friend (played by Tania Raymonde) goes missing,[2] and in director Jason Reitman's Up in the Air, based on Walter Kirn's 2001 novel of the same name, alongside George Clooney and Vera Farmiga.[9] For her role in Up in the Air, the National Board of Review named her Best Supporting Actress[10] and she has also picked up nominations from numerous critics awards and The Golden Globes[11] and The Screen Actors Guild[12] and the Academy Awards.
She reprised her role as Jessica Stanley in The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. Screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg devised a graduation speech for her character that was not part of the novel.[13] She appeared in Edgar Wright's adaptation of the graphic novel Scott Pilgrim, titled Scott Pilgrim vs. the World[14] and starring Michael Cera and Mary Elizabeth Winstead. Kendrick played Stacey Pilgrim, the sister of the lead character. She also stars in the Romantic-Comedy Live With It, alongside Joseph Gordon Levitt, Bryce Dallas Howard and Seth Rogen. In 2011, she will reprise her Role as Jessica Stanley in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn.
In 2010 Kendrick also appeared in LCD Soundsystem's Music video Pow Pow as a "shape-shifter" who collects "the souls of wicked men".[15] In October she attended the 2010 Top Glamour Awards in Mexico where she won for "Best International Actress".
Personal life
Kendrick was born August 9, 1985 in Portland, Maine, the daughter of Janice, an accountant, and William Kendrick, a history teacher.[16] Kendrick and her older brother, actor Michael Cooke Kendrick, who appeared in the 2000 film Looking for an Echo, attended Deering High School in Portland.[17] She now attends Bates College in Maine. She lists Parker Posey, Molly Shannon and Amy Poehler as her inspirations.[2]Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | The Mayor | Sadie Winterhalter | TV Movie |
| 2007 | Viva Laughlin | Holly | Episode: "What a Whale Wants" |
| 2009 | Fear Itself | Shelby | Episode: "The Spirit Box" |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | High Society | Dinah Lord | St. James Theatre (April 27, 1998–August 30, 1998) Theatre World Award for Featured Actress in a Musical Nominated—Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical Nominated—Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical |
| 2003 | A Little Night Music | Frederika | New York City Opera |
| Year | Title | Artist |
|---|
| |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Pow Pow | LCD Soundsystem |
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