Musetta Vander

Musetta Vander (born Musetta van der Merwe, May 26, 1969) is a South African actress and model who is best known for her roles in science fiction and fantasy works.

Biography

Personal life

As the daughter of a ballet teacher her first appearance on stage was at age 4 in one of the many shows her mother choreographed. She earned a BA in Communications and Psychology and shortly after completing school she qualified as a ballet teacher. In 1988 she married director Jeff Celentano. She teaches at The Performer's Academy in Orange County, California, as does her husband.^[1]

Film & Television

After college, Vander landed the job of anchor host for South Africa's answer to MTV. Then she moved to the United States and began her career appearing in more than twenty music videos for such artists as Rod Stewart, Tina Turner, Elton John, Chris Isaak and Amy Grant.

Musetta first notable role was as 'Zander Tyler' in the action-adventure tv-series Super Force.

In 1997, Vander portrayed "Sindel" in Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, the sequel to the original video game adaptation Mortal Kombat.

In 1999 she had a supporting role in Barry Sonnenfeld's film Wild Wild West in which she played an assistant to Kenneth Branagh's character, "Dr. Loveless".

In 2000, Musetta played a seductive Siren in the critically acclaimed O Brother, Where Art Thou? directed by Coen brothers. The same year, she had a role in The Cell alongside Jennifer Lopez and Vince Vaughn.

She has also appeared in a wide variety of tv-shows, primarily science-fiction and fantasy series, including Buffy the Vampire Slayer (as a sexy teacher who turns out to be a giant Praying Mantis), Stargate SG-1, Star Trek: Voyager, Babylon 5, Xena: Warrior Princess and Frasier.

In 2006, she was cast for a role in the movie Alpha Dog, but the filming schedule kept changing, and because she was working on another project at the time she was unable to play the part in the end.^[2]

Most recently Vander played Robert Duvall's wife in the comedy Kicking & Screaming and co-starred alongside Rade Serbedzija and Faye Dunaway in Say It in Russian. She is the lead female character in Breaking Point, a thriller with Tom Berenger and Busta Rhymes.^[3] Vander can also be seen in the upcoming spoof/comedy Transylmania, due out December 4, 2009.^[4]

Other works

In 1998 Vander starred as Lady Elara, one of the lead characters in Dune 2000, a real-time strategy video game. In 2002 Vander reprised her role for the sequel: Emperor: Battle for Dune. Her theater credits include The Bourgeois Gentleman and Soweto's Burning. Vander has made national commercials, including playing Agent 24-7 for Prudential Real Estate and Yoplait Yogurt; she has been featured in a number of magazines, including a pictoral in Maxim and a cover on Details

Filmography

Film

Television

Other works

References

External links

• Musetta Vander at the Internet Movie Database
• Official web site
• Official Facebook Page