Kelly Rowan

Kelly Rowan (born October 26, 1965) is a Canadian television and film actress and former fashion model. She is best known for portraying Kirsten Cohen on The O.C.

Early life

Rowan was born Kelly Jill Emily Rowan in Ottawa, Ontario, and is a graduate of Toronto's Northern Secondary School. At the age of 19, she left the University of Western Ontario and then attained her degree in English Literature to join the cast of the Canadian series Mount Royal. Rowan went on to further her education, studying acting at the British American Drama Academy in London and, upon returning to North America, relocating to New York to study at the city’s famed Neighborhood Playhouse.

Career

Rowan attended playwriting courses at UCLA, and has written her own play. She began modeling in her college years to earn money and started acting in commercials. She went on to appear in films such as The Gate, Hook, Three to Tango, and One Eight Seven.

Rowan guest-starred in television shows such as The Outer Limits, Growing Pains, Da Vinci's Inquest, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and Dallas. In 1993 She won a Gemini award for her work in the TV-movie Adrift. In 2002, Rowan guest-starred in four episodes of Boomtown, playing "Marian", the deceived wife of David McNorris (Neal McDonough). In 2003 she was cast as Kirsten Cohen on the Fox television series, The O.C.; for her role as the recovering alcoholic mother, she won a Prism Award.

Rowan has volunteered as an actress with the Young Storytellers Program. She has also starred in The O.C. co-star Peter Gallagher's music video, Still I Long For Your Kiss, a song from his album 7 Days in Memphis, which was released in 2005. She also appeared in the television movie In God's Country and in the film Jack and Jill vs. the World. She completed her third project for Lifetime, producing a TV movie, She Drives Me Crazy. In 2008 she completed a TV film, The Good Times Are Killing Me which she was an executive producer for and starred in alongside Rupert Graves.

In early 2009, Kelly did a cameo role in one episode ("Divorce Party") of CSI: Miami which aired on March 9, 2009. Rowan is set to star in A War Within, as the female lead, Karen Berks, filming is expected to start later this year. Rowan's other film project is Tracing Iris which is to be directed by Laurie Lynd, it’s based on the novel of the same name by Commonwealth prize nominee Genni Gun, filming is expected to start late 2009.

Personal life

On June 20, 2007, it was announced that Rowan became engaged to the Canadian billionaire David Thomson. They broke off their engagement just before she gave birth to their daughter on April 28, 2008. In September 2009, Rowan and Thomson made their first public appearance since their alleged split in early 2008, at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Filmography

External links

• Kelly Rowan at the Internet Movie Database