Nikki Blonsky

Nikki Blonsky
Blonsky at a fashion show, 2008
Born	November 9, 1988 (1988-11-09) (age 20) Great Neck, Long Island, New York, United States
Years active	2007–Present

Nicole "Nikki" Blonsky^[1] (born November 9, 1988) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her role as Tracy Turnblad in Hairspray, a 2007 screen adaptation of the stage musical adaptation of the John Waters film of the same name and as Maggie Baker in Queen Sized.

Personal life

Blonsky was born in Great Neck, New York, which is in Nassau County on Long Island NY, the daughter of Karen (née Smeja), a school aide, and Carl Blonsky, a municipal worker for the village water pollution control district.^[2][3] Blonsky worked at Cold Stone Creamery before starting her work on Hairspray.^[2]

She graduated from Great Neck Village School in June 2005, having transferred into the school from Great Neck North High School in her sophomore year, because she was teased for being overweight, but in the High School she transfered to, she became very popular.^[3] Her father is Jewish but she was raised in her mother's Catholic religion. She wanted to be Tracy Turnblad when she saw Hairspray on Broadway. She tried out for the part then, but was told she was too young.^[4][5] Coincidentally, she was born the same year the original Hairspray film was released.

She said that her favorite singers are Patsy Cline and Cass Elliot.^[6]

Assault Charges in Caribbean

On August 1, 2008, Blonsky and her father were arrested after they were involved in a brawl in the departure lounge of Providenciales International Airport, Turks and Caicos Islands with the family of Bianca Golden, a former contestant of America's Next Top Model. She and her father supposedly started the brawl after making several comments about the Golden family audibly. Prosecutors said in August that Blonsky and Golden were aboard a flight when they started fighting over an occupied seat. Blonsky and Golden were both charged with actual bodily harm, while Blonsky's father was charged with grievous bodily harm. Blonsky was later released on bail.^[7]. TMZ.com aired on their show that Golden's mother was allegedly hurt during the incident. Golden went public telling Tyra Banks, live on her talk show, that Blonsky uttered several expletive words multiple times, and sat on her, crushing her pelvis. After that interview aired, Blonsky later responded to that claim, saying that Golden was the person who started it, adding that she was not racist and Golden was twisting the story to win sympathy from her fans.^[8] Blonsky later told People.com that she and her father Carl were "completely destroyed" by the incident. "The hardest part for me is to see my parents walk around in severe upset and sadness," she said.^[9] It was reported on January 2, 2009 that both Blonsky and Golden were cleared of all charges, however Nikki Blonsky's father, Carl, is still facing charges.^[10]

Career

Awards

Blonsky was honored in the 13th Annual Critics' Choice Awards for her role as Tracy Turnblad in Hairspray in 2007 (Best Young Actress). She was taped "screaming her brains out"^{[citation needed]} when she won the award. Blonsky, along with Queen Latifah (Beauty Shop), Amanda Bynes (She's the Man), James Marsden (X-Men), John Travolta (Grease), Zac Efron (High School Musical), Brittany Snow (The Pacifier), Allison Janney (Juno), and Elijah Kelley (Heavens Fall), also won best acting ensemble in Hairspray.

Music

Blonsky began work on her debut album in September 2007. She confirmed in November 2007 that she was working with alternative rock musician Duncan Sheik on a number of tracks. Her first single, "On a High", a cover of one of Sheik's tracks, was featured in the Lifetime Original Movie Queen Sized, in which Blonsky also starred. On December 18, 2007, she performed with the Turtle Creek Chorale in her first solo performance.

Blonsky covered the Disney classic "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes" from Cinderella for DisneyMania 6, which was released on May 20, 2008.^{[citation needed]}

Television

In 2008, Blonsky announced plans to star in a television sitcom, which is currently in the planning stages.^[11] In 2009 Blonsky made a guest appearance on the Ugly Betty episode "Dressed for Success", in which she played Teri O'Shaughnessy, an assistant at Elle, the rival magazine of the show’s fictional Mode.^[12]

Others

On 22 June 2008 she sang the American National Anthem in the pre-race ceremony at the 2008 Toyota\Save Mart 350 that took place at Infineon Raceway.

Filmography

References

External links

• Nikki Blonsky at the Internet Movie Database
• Nikki Blonsky at Allmovie
• Nikki Blonsky at TV.com
• "17 Year-Old Nikki Blonsky Cast as Hairspray Film's Tracy", BroadwayWorld.com, June 8, 2006
• "Breaking News: Unknown Lands Hairspray Lead", Cinematical.com, June 8, 2006
• "A ‘Hairspray’ dream come true", MSNBC/Access Hollywood, June 15, 2006