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Erika Christensen Biography
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At age 12, Erika Christensen knew she was supposed to be an actress. At a young age, she was fond of singing, dancing and acting. She was determined in winning a spot in the national advertising giant McDonald’s, which she did in 1996.
Erika Christensen then appeared in Michael Jackson’s music video for the song, “Childhood”. However, it was in her lead role in the 1997 Walt Disney movie, Leave it to Beaver, that Erika Christensen became critically acclaimed for her acting talent.
After her debut film, Erika Christensen appeared in several small roles in TV programs including Frasier, The Geena Davis Show, Nothing Sacred, 3rd Rock from the Sun, The Practice and Touched by an Angel. In 2001, she was named as one of the “2001 Breakthrough Stars” of People Magazine. Erika Christensen received a nomination from the Hollywood Reporter as the 1998 Young Star Award for her performance in the 1997 Nothing Sacred.
Erika Christensen appeared in another Disney made-for-TV movie, Can of Worms, in 1999. However, the following year, she was able to show her acting skills in a serious role where she played Caroline Wakefield, in the award-winning Steven Soderbergh movie, Traffic. She researched her role in the film by consulting Narconon, a chain of drug rehab centers run by the Church of Scientology.
Erika Christensen earned critical acclaim for the realism of her role and received numerous awards including Female Standout Performance at the Young Hollywood Awards, Female Breakthrough Performance at the MTV Movie Awards and Outstanding Performance at the Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Just like her parents, Erika Christensen is a member of the Church of Scientology. She and her brothers were raised in the faith and were home-schooled by the Delphi Academy, which is run according to the philosophies of L. Ron Hubbard of the Church of Scientology. Because of this, Erika Christensen always had to research several movie roles where she plays various aspects of school life because she never attended public school.
