Best Known As: Struggling single mom Niki Sanders on the TV series Heroes
Ali Larter was James Van Der Beek's co-star in the 1999 football movie Varsity Blues, where she appeared briefly in a bikini made entirely of whipped cream. That appearance gave her a certain cachet and led to roles in the horror films The House on Haunted Hill (1999, with Taye Diggs) and Final Destination (2000). She appeared on the April 2001 cover of the men's magazine Maxim, considerably boosting her profile. The same year she played Brooke Taylor Windham in the Reese Witherspoon comedy Legally Blonde, and played the girlfriend of Jesse James in American Outlaws. She has also co-starred in the Kevin Smith film Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001). In 2006 she began starring as a single mom with supernatural powers on the TV series Heroes, and in 2007 starred with Milla Jovovich in the action flick Resident Evil: Extinction
Career Highlights: Final Destination 2, Resident Evil: Extinction, A Lot Like Love
First Major Screen Credit: Giving It Up (1999)
Biography
Once she decided to become an actress, Ali Larter swiftly became caught up in the late '90s surge of teen-oriented entertainment. A native of Cherry Hill, NJ, Larter began modeling at age 13. After seven years as a cover girl and a globe-trotting Ford model, she opted to move to Los Angeles to set her sights on acting, and soon landed guest star roles on several TV series, including a two-episode stint on the WB's hit teen drama Dawson's Creek in 1998. Quickly making the jump to movies, Larter co-starred in the high school gridiron hit Varsity Blues (1999) as an alluring, ambitious cheerleader with eyes for Dawson's Creek heartthrob James Van der Beek's quarterback. Though her next two movies, Drive Me Crazy (1999) and The House on Haunted Hill (1999), were not as successful, Larter's status as an up-and-coming young movie actress was enhanced by the sleeper success of teen horror film Final Destination (2000), in which she sported a brunette hair color to suit her artist character's gothic leanings. The following summer, Larter could be seen -- this time playing characters closer to her own age -- in two more high-profile releases for the PG-13 set: first as Reese Witherspoon's possibly-homicidal sorority sister in the comedy Legally Blonde (2001); and later, as the main squeeze of Colin Farrell, one of the titular train robbers in American Outlaws . The next several years brought much more of the same for Larter, as she signed for supporting roles in mostly buttered popcorn pictures and Hollywood programmers - such as the supernatural thriller follow-up Final Destination 2 (2003) and the Ashton Kutcher/Amanda Peet romantic comedy A Lot Like Love (2006) - but her career took an interesting twist in 2006. That year, Larter switched venues, signing for her first major television role: that of Niki Sanders, a single mom suddenly dumbstruck by the discovery of her violent, uber-strong alter ego, on the superhero-themed serial drama Heroes. In 2007, Larter tackled two major roles, very different from one another: that of Marigold Lexton, a young actress who stumbles into the cast of a Bollywood musical, in the quirky comedy-drama Marigold, and that of Alice, a resilient fighter who helps save the world from a zombifying virus, in the effects-heavy video game adaptation Resident Evil: Extinction. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
Larter was born in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, the daughter of Margaret, a homemaker, and Danforth Larter, a trucking executive.[1][2] She attended Carusi Middle School and Cherry Hill High School West. She began modeling with Ford Models at the age of fourteen and traveled the world. At seventeen, Larter settled temporarily in Japan.[3] Later, in 1995, she accompanied her boyfriend in his move to Los Angeles, California. Soon afterwards, he left her and she flew to Australia "to put a little distance between us."[4] Back in Los Angeles, she began taking acting classes at a friend's suggestion.
Career
Early career
In November 1994, Larter portrayed the hoax model Allegra Coleman in Esquire magazine. The article published in the magazine told of the fictional model's relationship with David Schwimmer, how Quentin Tarantino broke up with Mira Sorvino to date her, and Woody Allen's overhaul of a film to have her star. Even after the hoax had been revealed, its effects lingered, and various talent agencies sought to represent the non-existent Coleman.[5]
Larter landed her first professional roles in 1997, in which she appeared for one episode in the Brooke Shields' television series, Suddenly Susan, and the short lived television series Chicago Sons. The roles were followed by a number of other appearances on Dawson's Creek, Chicago Hope and Just Shoot Me!
In 1999, Larter began her film career with an appearance in Varsity Blues which re-united her with Dawson's Creek star Van Der Beek, and close friend Amy Smart. Varsity Blues drew a domestic box office gross of $53 million, making Larter's first film a commercial success. Larter's most infamous scene was one with her wearing nothing but whipped cream (aka "the whipped-cream bikini") in attempts to seduce Van Der Beek's character. Afterwards, Larter appeared in teen comedies, Giving It Up and Drive Me Crazy. That year as well, Larter starred in the horror remake House on Haunted Hill. Made for around $20 million, the movie was panned by the critics but grossed $15 million on its opening weekend and went on to earn over $40 million.
In 2007, Larter starred in the BollywoodMarigold as the title character alongside Salman Khan, which was released in August. She also joined the cast of the popular film franchise Resident Evil: Extinction portraying the character Claire Redfield in the horror film with Milla Jovovich. Her role sent her to Mexicali, Mexico for filming from May to late July in which she also dyed her hair a light red for the film.[8] Larter explains on her character Claire, "She became the leader of this convoy. She's incredibly strong, patient. I think she serves a role for everyone within this convoy, let it be a mother to someone, a buddy, a best friend."[9] Larter also attended the 2007 Comic Con International, her second appearance at the event, to promote the film, which was released in theaters on September 21, 2007. That year she also appeared in the comedy Homo Erectus. Larter was also featured as #6 in Maxim's Hot 100 for 2007.[10]
In an interview for Resident Evil: Extinction, Larter had expressed interest in producing films in the future, saying, "I definitely have many ideas and different avenues that I want to take as my career goes on."[8]
In March 2008, it was announced that Larter would star opposite Beyonce Knowles and Idris Elba in the Screen Gems-produced film Obsessed, about an office executive (Elba) whose marriage to Knowles' character is threatened by the aggressive interests of a co-worker, to be portrayed by Larter. Shooting took place in the summer of 2008.[11] "Obsessed" was released in theaters April 24, 2009 in the United States.
Personal life
Larter is a good friend of actress Amy Smart with whom she co-starred in Varsity Blues and Erick Alegria, a former Sam's Kid. Larter has also lived in Miami and then New York City after the spring of 2002, where she studied at Michael Howard Studios. In January 2007, she moved to Los Angeles to take on the commitment of working on Heroes.[9]
