Kristin Kreuk's Main TV Roles Show Character(s) Smallville Lana Lang Beauty & the Beast (2012) Catherine '… Burden of Truth Joanna Hanley Legend of Earthsea Tenar Ben Hur (CA) Tirzah Edgemont (CA) Laurel Yeung

Main Movie Roles

BIOGRAPHY:

Kristin Laura Kreuk (born December 30, 1982) is a Canadian actress, known for her roles as Lana Lang in the Superman-inspired television series Smallville and as Laurel Yeung in the Canadian teen drama Edgemont. She has also starred in movies such as Snow White: The Fairest of Them All (2001), Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li (2009), and Irvine Welsh's Ecstasy (2011

Born in Vancouver, British Columbia. Her father, Peter Kreuk, is of Dutch descent; her mother, Deanna Che, is of Chinese descent, but was born in Indonesia; and her maternal grandmother was born in Jamaica. Both parents are landscape architects. She has a sister Justine, who is about five years younger. Kreuk trained in karate (she has a purple belt) and gymnastics at the national level until high school but quit in grade 11.

After filming the first season of Edgemont (a teenage soap opera set at a Vancouver-area high school) and getting herself an agent, Kreuk landed the lead role of Snow White in a TV movie titled Snow White: The Fairest of Them All. The film, shot in Vancouver, also starred Miranda Richardson as the Queen Elspeth, Snow White's evil stepmother, and was directed by Caroline Thompson. It aired on ABC, and later released on DVD, in 2002. In 2003, Kreuk ended her role on Edgemont. In mid-2004, Kreuk took the role of Tenar for the Sci Fi Channel two-part miniseries Legend of Earthsea. The miniseries was filmed in Vancouver, directed by Rob Lieberman and broadcast on December 13, 2004.

Neutrogena made her the spokesmodel for their new worldwide advertising campaign. In this role, Kreuk followed in the footsteps of fellow teen stars such as 'Jennifer Love Hewitt' and 'Mandy Moore". In 2005, she renewed her contract with Neutrogena for another two years, making her the company's longest-serving model spokesperson.

After Snow White, Kreuk's agent sent an audition tape to screenwriters Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, who at the time were putting together the cast of a show they had created for the WB Network entitled Smallville. The series, which was slated to be shot in Vancouver, revolves around the life of teenager Clark Kent before he becomes Superman. Gough and Millar called Kreuk to WB's studios in Burbank, California to audition for the role of Clark Kent's first love, Lana Lang. She was the first cast for the show. After seven seasons, Kreuk left Smallville in the beginning of 2008, when her character leaves town. She returned as a guest star in the show's season eight for five episodes to conclude her storyline.

In 2009, Kristin Kreuk signed on for a multi-episode arc in season three of Chuck. She played Hannah, a computer troubleshooter who joins the Buy More Nerd Herd after being laid off from her previous job.

In 2010, she portrayed Ben Hur's sister Tirzah in the TV movie Ben Hur, which aired in Canada and later on ABC in the United States.

Kreuk was involved with two pilots that did not get picked up: an NBC 2010 sitcom entitled Hitched (which was co-created by Josh Schwartz, who was also the creator of Chuck) and a 2011 CBS drama series called 17th Precinct, which was developed by Ronald D. Moore.

In February 2012, Kreuk was announced as the lead female character in The CW's reboot of Beauty & the Beast, which was picked up on May 11, 2012, and started airing in Fall 2012.

Kreuk currently resides in Toronto for the shooting of Beauty & the Beast. When not acting she resides in her hometown Vancouver with her French bulldog Dublin. As of late 2011, she owns a home in Los Angeles with her boyfriend, actor 'Mark Hildreth'.


TRIVIA:

• Her favorite shows are _"Friends" (1994)_ (qv), _"Third Watch" (1999)_ (qv), _"CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (2000)_ (qv), and _"ER" (1994)_ (qv).
• (June 2002) Came in at #71 in FHM's Sexiest Girls of 2002 poll, American edition.
• Her surname "kreuk" is Dutch for a "wrinkle" or "fold" in a material (textiles in particular).
• Has a purple belt in karate.
• #18 on askmen.com's Top 99 Most Desirable Women in 2005
• Named #67 on the Maxim magazine "Hot 100 of 2005" list.
• Was initally planning to go to university for psychology or environmental studies.
• Favorite author is 'John Irving (I)' (qv).