Spotlight On: Shiri Appleby

Debuting as a young child actor in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Shiri Appleby established herself as the “it” girl for young ingénue roles with a comedic flair. She was precocious and her infectious smile lit up the screen. Then, as she took on more advanced roles in her teens and 20s, that same engaging smile and sparkling persona kept her steadily employed as a working actor. By the time she was 18 years old, she had made appearances on Santa Barbara, thirtysomething, Who’s the Boss, Knots Landing, Baywatch, 7th Heaven and Xena: Warrior Princess. Then, after brief appearances in the films Deal of a Lifetime and The Thirteenth Floor, Shiri scored the plum role as the lead in the teen sci-fi series Roswell.

Shiri Appleby co-starred with Jason Behr in Roswell, which ran from 1999-2002.

In Roswell, Shiri played Liz Parker, a young woman whose life was changed forever after discovering aliens lived among us and who found herself irresistibly drawn to one of them. The series ran three tumultuous seasons, garnering rave reviews and a loyal fan base. During that same time period, Shiri continued to pursue film projects and co-starred in the acclaimed independent film A Time for Dancing, along side Larisa Oleynik.

After the cancellation of Roswell, Shiri was in constant demand working on 18 films over an 8 year period. Her film credits ranged from Swimfan with Erika Christensen to The Battle of Shaker Heights with Shia LaBeof and Charlie Wilson’s War with Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts. She also did a series of made for television films such as Darklight with Richard Burgi, Everything You Want with Nick Spano, Pizza My Heart with Eyal Podell (recently seen in the ABC sci-fi series Defying Gravity), Thrill of the Kill with Chris Potter, and To Love and Die with Ivan Sergei and Tim Matheson. Astoundingly, Shiri also found the time to squish in roles on two televisions series during the same time period. She appeared as the mistress of Campbell Scott in the little known J.J. Abrams series Six Degrees and as a young medical intern in the final season of ER.

In addition to her long film and television resume, Shiri appeared in three music videos for Gavin DeGraw’s “I Don’t Want To Be,” Sense Field’s “Save Yourself” and Bon Jovi’s “It’s My Life,” along side Will Estes. Clearly, Shiri is a favorite in all celluloid arenas of entertainment for she has conquered television, film and music video!

Shiri co-stars in Life UneXpected with Britt Robertson, Kristoffer Polaha and Kerr Smith, debuting January 18th on the CW.

Shiri is now appearing on the new CW series Life Unexpected which co-stars Britt Robertson, Kristoffer Polaha and Kerr Smith. Despite having not yet debuted, Life Unexpected is already a critical favorite, dubbed the next big hit series on the CW. Shiri plays Cate Cassidy, who finds herself reunited with her daughter who she had given up for adoption 15 years before. The show is a poignant look at a young woman who went in search of her birth parents and found an unexpected family. Playing to Shiri’s natural talents of an incandescent joy for life and a heart-warming enthusiasm that brings out the best of those around her, Life Unexpected will surely touch our hearts and remind us of the wonder of a family in search of love.

Life Unexpected debuts on the CW on Monday, January 18 at 9/8c, and then moves to Mondays at 8/7c on March 8, 2010.