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Natasha Henstridge

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Natasha Henstridge
Henstridge at Canadian Film Centre in March 2012
Born
Natasha Tonya Henstridge

(1974-08-15) August 15, 1974 (age 50)
OccupationActress
Years active1989–present
Spouses
  • (m. 1995; div. 1996)
  • (m. 2011; div. 2018)
PartnerLiam Waite (1996–2004)
Children2

Natasha Tonya Henstridge (born August 15, 1974) is a Canadian actress. In 1995, she rose to prominence with her debut role in the science-fiction horror film Species, followed by performances in Species II and Species III. She has since starred in a string of films and television series, including Maximum Risk (1996), The Whole Nine Yards (2000), The Whole Ten Yards (2004), Ghosts of Mars (2001), She Spies (2002–2004), Eli Stone (2008–2009), and Would Be Kings (2008). For the latter, she won the Gemini Award for Best Actress.[1] From 2019 until 2022, she starred in the CBC Television series Diggstown.[2]

Early life

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Henstridge was born in Springdale, Newfoundland and Labrador, on August 15, 1974, to Helen Henstridge, a homemaker, and Brian Henstridge, a construction manager and business owner.[3][4] She was raised in Fort McMurray, Alberta, with her younger brother, Shane.[3][4]

At age 14, Henstridge entered the Casablanca Modelling Agency's Look of the Year contest and was chosen first runner-up. The following year, she went to Paris to pursue her modelling ambitions. At age 15, she was featured on her first magazine cover, the French edition of Cosmopolitan. Several more magazine covers followed and Henstridge went on to do television commercials for products such as Olay, Old Spice, and Lady Stetson. With her modelling career established, Henstridge started doing commercials and decided she preferred acting. One of her first roles was as Foxy Fox in the Missoula Children's Theatre production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs staged in Fort McMurray.[5]

Career

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Film

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In her film debut Species (1995), Henstridge played Sil, a genetically engineered alien/human hybrid created from a message received by SETI, who breaks free from the captivity of a laboratory. Pursued by a team of experts who band together to stop her, she embarks on a killing spree while also discovering her powerful instinct to mate, which would result in her offspring being a threat to mankind.[5] Species was an instant hit, making US$113 million at the box office.[6] Notable for its sexual content, the film won Henstridge the MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss for a scene in which her character, while kissing an abusive date, impales his head with her tongue. In 1998, she played Eve, a more ambiguous genetic duplicate of Sil, in Species II, which was a failure at the box office. Between Species films, Henstridge starred in two low-budget action films in 1996, Adrenalin: Fear the Rush with Christopher Lambert and Maximum Risk opposite Jean-Claude Van Damme.[5]

A few smaller independent movies followed, including Bela Donna and Dog Park, with varied box-office returns. Henstridge starred in the film The Whole Nine Yards (2000) and its sequel The Whole Ten Yards (2004). Despite having some reservations about the science-fiction genre, she signed up for John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars (2001) in the lead role of Lieutenant Melanie Ballard. The film was not well received, with a 20% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.[7] In 2004, she briefly appeared as Eve in Species III.

In 2007, Henstridge was a festival judge at the first annual Noor Iranian Film Festival.

Television

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Henstridge has played a number of roles on television, for example in Caracara and The Outer Limits. From 2005 to 2006, she had a recurring role as the speaker's chief of staff on the ABC drama Commander in Chief, which starred Geena Davis as a fictional female U.S. president. She also hosted Mostly True Stories: Urban Legends Revealed on TLC, a show about urban legends. She guest-starred as a substitute teacher in the first-season South Park episode "Tom's Rhinoplasty", and was credited as "the chick from Species".

Henstridge was working on the television series She Spies, prior to its cancellation. She has also completed a television movie for the Lifetime channel titled Widow on the Hill. In 2006, she filmed the CTV original miniseries Would Be Kings in Hamilton, Ontario,[8] for which she won a Gemini Award.[9] She also starred in the expansion set to the video game Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars, entitled Kane's Wrath.[10]

In 2008, Henstridge played a role on the ABC comedy-drama series Eli Stone. She has also been involved with two other productions, joining the cast of Dave Rodriguez's Anytown, an indie drama that examines a racist high-school attack and its aftermath. She has also been involved with the production of Should've Been Romeo from American Independent Pictures.

In 2009, Henstridge did a guest spot on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien. During this, she demonstrated a Newfoundland custom called "screeching in", which involved getting O'Brien to drink Newfoundland Screech rum and kiss a large fish.[11]

In 2011, she appeared on the season-9 finale and season-10 premiere of CSI: Miami as Renee Locklear. She then starred in the CW television series The Secret Circle as Dawn Chamberlain.

From 2019 to 2022, she starred in the CBC Television/BET+ drama series Diggstown.[2]

Personal life

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Henstridge married American actor Damian Chapa in 1995 and they divorced in 1996.

She dated American actor Liam Waite from 1996 to 2004, and they have two sons together.[12]

She began a relationship with Scottish singer Darius Campbell in 2004.[13] They became engaged, but broke it off in early 2010,[14] then married on Valentine's Day 2011. They filed for divorce in July 2013. The divorce was finalized in February 2018.[15]

In June 2009, Henstridge spoke of her past use of diet pills in combination with extreme diets for weight loss; she said this damaged her metabolism and led to subsequent weight gain.[16]

In November 2017, during the height of the #MeToo movement, Henstridge joined six other actresses in accusing director Brett Ratner of sexual assault and harassment; she maintains that he forced her to perform oral sex on him in the early 1990s.[17] She also accused producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment.[18]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1995 Species Sil
1996 Adrenalin: Fear the Rush Delon
1996 Maximum Risk Alex Bartlett
1998 Standoff Mary
1998 Species II Eve
1998 Bela Donna Donna
1998 Dog Park Lorna
2000 It Had to Be You Anna Penn
2000 The Whole Nine Yards Cynthia Tudeski
2000 A Girl, Three Guys, and a Gun 5 O'Clock Girl
2000 A Better Way to Die Kelly
2000 Bounce Mimi Prager
2000 Second Skin Crystal Ball
2001 Ghosts of Mars Lt. Melanie Ballard
2001 Kevin of the North Bonnie Livengood also known as Chilly Dogs
2002 Steal Karen
2004 The Whole Ten Yards Cynthia Ozeransky
2008 Deception Simone Wilkinson
2009 Anytown Carol Mills also known as American Bully
2010 Let the Game Begin Angela
2013 Against the Wild Susan Wade Direct-to-video
2014 Anatomy of Deception Det. Alison Briggs
2014 The Bronx Bull Sally
2014 Nowhere Safe Julie Johnson
2014 Badge of Honor Rebecca Miles
2014 The Christmas Gamble Susan Wells
2016 Home Invasion Chloe Direct-to-video
2016 The Bronx Bull Sally Carlton
2016 Inconceivable Valerie also known as Deadly Ex
2017 The Black Room Jennifer
2019 House Red Mary
2021 The Unhealer Bernice Mason
2021 Night of the Sicario Taylor Ward also known as Blindsided
2021 Hero Dog: The Journey Home Susan Wade
2021 This Game's Called Murder Mrs. Wallendorf
2021 Why? Nina
2024 Cinderella's Revenge Fairy Godmother

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1997 The Outer Limits Emma Episode: "Bits of Love"
1997 Homeboys in Outer Space Zima Episode: "Happy Happy, Droid Droid, or Amma Sees Red"
1998 South Park Ms. Ellen (voice) Episode: "Tom's Rhinoplasty" (credited as "The Chick from Species")
1999 The Last Witness Rachel Sutherland Television film
2000 Jason and the Argonauts Hypsipyle TV miniseries
2002 Power and Beauty Judy Exner Television film
2002–2004 She Spies Cassie McBain Main role (40 episodes)
2002–2004 Mostly True Stories?: Urban Legends Revealed Herself/host Documentary television series
2004 Species III Eve Television film
2005 Widow on the Hill Linda Dupree Cavanaugh Television film
2005–2006 Commander in Chief Jayne Murray Recurring role (16 episodes)
2007 Shark Nicolette Ross Episode: "Fall from Grace"
2008 Would Be Kings TV Mini-Series (2 episodes)
2008–2009 Eli Stone Taylor Wethersby Main role (26 episodes)
2009 Impact Dr. Maddie Rhodes TV miniseries
2009–2010 Time Jumper Charity Vyle (voice) Main role (10 episodes)
2010 You Lucky Dog Lisa Rayborn Television film
2010 The Devil's Teardrop Margaret Lukas Television film
2010 Drop Dead Diva Claire Harrison Episodes: "Bad Girls", "Freeze the Day"
2011 The Perfect Student Nicole Johnson Television film
2011 CSI: Miami Agent Renee Locklear Episodes: "Mayday", "Countermeasures"
2011–2012 The Secret Circle Dawn Chamberlain Main role (21 episodes)
2012 A Christmas Song Diana Television film
2013 Cold Spring Sara Television film
2013 Against the Wild Susan Wade Television film
2013 A Sister's Nightmare Cassidy Ryder Television film
2014 Republic of Doyle Inspector Valerie O'Brien Episodes: "Expansion", "Buried", "True Lies"
2014 Selfie Mrs. Saperstein Episodes: "Pilot", "Never Block Cookies", "- Even Hell Has Two Bars"
2014 Hawaii Five-0 Caroline Porter Episode: "Ka Makuakane (Family Man)"
2015 Beauty & the Beast Carol Hall 3 episodes
2016 Ice Girls Rose TV movie
2016 Summer in the City Kendall TV movie
2017 Medinah Salma 6 episodes
2019–2022 Diggstown Colleen 11 episodes

References

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  1. ^ "Natasha Henstridge - CBC Media Centre". Retrieved May 16, 2021.
  2. ^ a b Petski, Denise (July 18, 2018). "Natasha Henstridge Joins CBC Drama Series 'Diggstown'". Deadline. Retrieved May 16, 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Natasha Henstridge Biography (1974–)". Film Reference.
  4. ^ a b "Newfoundlander Abroad Tana Adams catches up with actress Natasha Henstridge in Fort McMurray". Archived from the original on September 8, 2007.
  5. ^ a b c Scapperotti, Dan (June 1996). "Natasha Henstridge – Species' Sexy Seductress" (PDF). Femme Fatales. Vol. 4, no. 8. Retrieved January 27, 2018.
  6. ^ "Species (1995)". boxofficemojo.com.
  7. ^ "Ghosts of Mars". rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved February 6, 2011.
  8. ^ "Corruption Tears a Police Family Apart as Production Begins on Gripping CTV Original Mini-Series Would Be Kings". Archived from the original on February 8, 2007.
  9. ^ "23rd Annual Gemini Awards".
  10. ^ "EA – Action, Fantasy, Sports, and Strategy Videogames". Archived from the original on November 5, 2007.
  11. ^ "Conan O'Brien Screeched In". youtube.com. November 16, 2009.
  12. ^ Lipton, Michael A. (July 29, 2002). "Natasha Henstridge Plays for Laughs on She Spies but Takes Love Seriously". People. Retrieved May 1, 2013.
  13. ^ "Loved-Up Stars Toast Cavalli's Romantic Spirit". Hello!. London, England. May 12, 2006. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  14. ^ Dingwall, John (February 5, 2010). "Popstar to Operastar Darius: Love split with Natasha Henstridge was down to distance". The Daily Record. Glasgow, Scotland: Reach plc. Retrieved April 28, 2010.
  15. ^ "Natasha Henstridge reaches divorce settlement after four long years". Montreal Gazette. February 27, 2018. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  16. ^ "Natasha Henstridge: Diets and Pills Damaged My Body". People.
  17. ^ Kaufman, Amy; Miller, Daniel (November 1, 2017). "Six women accuse filmmaker Brett Ratner of sexual harassment or misconduct". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
  18. ^ Guglielmi, Jodi (November 15, 2017). "Natasha Henstridge Says Harvey Weinstein Sexually Harassed Her After Brett Ratner Did". People.
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