A blonde, blue-eyed beauty with an improbable pout and a voluptuous figure likened to that of Swedish siren Anita Ekberg, Canadian import Estella Warren began modeling at age seventeen, after earning three national championships as a synchronized swimmer. A top model who has appeared on the pages of nearly every fashion magazine, Warren was discovered when a Polaroid of her taken at a high school fashion show generated interest with New York agents. Leaving behind the swimming and a possible spot in the Olympic games, Warren headed to NYC to pursue a modeling career. She soon landed career-making campaigns with Perry Ellis and Chanel, appearing in print wearing nothing but a man's white oxford shirt for the former and playing an unaffectedly seductive Red Riding Hood as the new face of Chanel No. 5. Though her image seemed to exist within the limiting range of wanton damsel to cheeky sexpot, Warren emerged in interviews as a well-spoken and genuine young woman with her eye on the future.
While flesh-fixated men's magazines like Maxim honored her with the top spot in their "Hot 100" and Sports Illustrated featured her prominently in their swimsuit issue, Warren was already branching out into acting. In 2001, she made her big screen debut in the fashion industry-set "Perfume", which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Her first mainstream break came with the Renny Harlin car race action flick "Driven", playing Sophia, the beauty who drives two competitors (Til Schweiger and Kip Pardue) to distraction. That summer, she was featured in Tim Burton's revisit to "Planet of the Apes" as a scantily-clad fighter in the human rebellion force. Additional supporting roles in the romantic thriller "Tangled" (lensed 2000) and the action comedy "Kangaroo Jack" (2003) would give her further opportunities to prove her skills.
- Born:
December 23, 1978 in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
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Job Titles:
Actor, Model, Synchronized swimmer
Family
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Father: Don Warren. managed Warren s modeling career
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Mother: Esther Warren.
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Sister: Elaine Warren. born c. 1968; married and the mother of two; as of 2001 was living in Pennsylvania
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Sister: Julia Warren. born c. 1976
Significant Others
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Companion: JD Fortune. front man for the band INXS; met in 2005 when she appeared in INXS Afterglow video
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Companion: Jerry O Connell. appeared together in Kangaroo Jack ; reportedly dating in early 2002; no longer together
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Companion: Michael Burns. born c. 1959; worked for Lions Gate Entertainment; involved c. 2000 to 2001; Warren claims they broke up because of their age difference
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Companion: Peter Berg. dating as January 2003
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Companion: . born c. 1974; had relationship c. 1995 to c. 1998
Milestones
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1991 Moved to Etobicoke, Ontario at age twelve to train with the national swim team at Olympium Synchro Club (date approximate)
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1996 Photos taken at her high school fashion show caught the attention of a New York City modeling agency
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1996 Pursued a career in modeling, leaving behind a possible spot in Olympic competition
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1998 Replaced Vanessa Paradis as the face of Chanel No. 5 with a Red Riding Hood-inspired commercial directed by Luc Besson
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2001 Acted in the fashion industry-set feature Perfume ; premiered at Sundance
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2001 Co-starred in Tim Burton s Planet of the Apes
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2001 Played the woman who adds fuel to the rivalry between two top race car drivers (Kip Pardue and Til Schweiger) in Renny Harlin s Driven
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2003 Co-starred in the romantic thriller Tangled
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2003 Featured in Kangaroo Jack , an action comedy set in Australia
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2003 Featured in The Cooler , with William H. Macy
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Began synchronized swimming at age eight
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Competed in national and world levels as a synchronized swimmer
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Will play a trial attorney and potential love interest opposite Jon Bon Jovi in National Lampoon s The Trouble With Frank (lensed 2005)