A beautiful, exotic-looking blonde with pronounced eyebrows, Portia de Rossi first caught viewers' attention playing a virginal teenager who poses as a nude art model in "Sirens" (1994). After relocating to the USA from her native Melbourne, Australia, the actress quickly found work as the love interest of star Eric Schaeffer in the short-lived Fox sitcom "Too Something" (1995) and later spent one season (1996-97) as a co-worker of "Nick Freno: Licensed Teacher" on that The WB comedy. After a turn as a drug addict in the independent "The Woman in the Moon" (1995), de Rossi landed the high profile (but decidedly tiny) role as a sorority sister in "Scream 2" (1997). She further added to her growing reputation by joining the cast of the hit Fox comedy "Ally McBeal" in the fall of 1998. As Nell Porter, de Rossi added a mix of cool allure and sultry heat to the fantasy comedy. During and after the series the actress toiled in a variety of feature films of varying quality and distinction before landing her defining role on the quirky Fox sitcom "Arrested Development" (2003 - ) playing the pampered Lindsay Bluth Fünke. de Rossi proved she was game for just about anything, perfectly conveying her character's poor parenting skills, odd marriage and routinely disastrous attempts to seduce another man into her open relationship. During the critically hailed but ratings-challenged series' run de Rossi's private life also became more public when she entered into a romantic relationship with comedienne Ellen Degeneres.
- Also Credited As:
Amanda Lee Rogers, Amanda Rogers
- Born:
Amanda Lee Rogers on January 31, 1973 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
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Job Titles:
Actor
Family
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Father: Barry Rogers.
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Mother: Margaret Rogers.
Significant Others
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Wife: Ellen DeGeneres. Began dating in December 2004; announced the couple will legally wed, after the California Supreme Court overturned the ban on gay marriage on May 15, 2008; married Aug. 16, 2008 at their Beverly Hills estate
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Companion: Francesca Gregorini. born c. 1968; daughter of actress Barbara Bach; together from c. 2000
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Companion: Mel Metcalf. no longer together
Education
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University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia, law
Milestones
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1984 Began career as model; also appeared in TV commercials in Australia
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1987 Adopted stage name of Portia de Rossi
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1994 First significant role, playing a young model in the Australian film, Sirens
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1995 Had regular role of Maria Hunter on the short-lived Fox sitcom Too Something
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1995 Moved to Los Angeles
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1995 Portrayed a drug addict in The Woman in the Moon
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1996 Was series regular on The WB sitcom Nick Freno: Licensed Teacher
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1997 Had featured role in Scream 2
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1998 Joined cast of the hit FOX comedy Ally McBeal as lawyer Nelle Porter
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2001 Starred in Who is Cletis Tout with Tim Allen and Christian Slater
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2003 Co-starred in the FOX comedy series Arrested Development as Lindsay Bluth Fünke
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2003 Portrayed Carolyn Bessette Kennedy in the made for TV movie America s Prince: The John F. Kennedy Jr. Story (TBS)
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2005 Starred in the Wes Craven thriller Crused
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2007 Joined the fifth season of FX s Nip/Tuck as Julia McNamara s new girlfriend Olivia Lord