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The Ultimate Gift
Background:
First hitting the screen with a guest spot on the WB's drama “Felicity” in 1999,
Ali Hillis got her first starring role as an artist in the independent romantic
comedy film All the Wrong Places (2000). Since then, she has starred in a
handful of films, notably Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005), Must Love Dogs (2005) and
the newly-released The Ultimate Gift (2007), in which she played the lead role
of Abigail Breslin's single mother and Drew Fuller's love interest. Hillis has
appeared in "Undressed," "Baywatch” and "JAG" and will soon be seen in the
upcoming films Throwing Stars (with Scott Grimes, Jason London and Scott Michael
Campbell), How I Met My Boyfriend's Dead Fiancée (with Paul Rudd, Eva Longoria
and Jason Biggs), and The Heartbreak Kid (with Ben Stiller and Michelle
Monaghan).
Alisia Deann
Childhood and Family:
Born in Huntington Beach, California, on December 29, 1978, Alisia Deann Hillis
moved to Normal, Illinois, when she was only 6 months old. At age three, she
relocated to Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin, and then to Charlotte, North Carolina,
at age 13. She eventually moved back to Los Angeles after living in New York
City for a while.
All the Wrong Places
Career:
California-born Ali Hillis landed her first acting job with a guest role in two
1999 episodes of WB's drama series starring Keri Russell, "Felicity." The next
year, she was spotted as a guest in an episode of Fox’s horror/mystery/comedy
show "FreakyLinks" and MTV’s anthology series "Undressed." She also made her big
screen debut with a starring role as an artist in writer-director Martin
Edwards' independent romantic comedy film All the Wrong Places.
Following her film debut, Hillis was cast to play the title role in Rex Piano's
romantic comedy The Month of August, opposite Mackenzie Astin, and provided her
voice to the titular character in Randy Bobbitt's black-and-white film Hung Up
on Elena, alongside Matthew Fulchiron. Meanwhile, TV audiences could catch her
in an episode of the NBC syndicated highly popular lifeguard drama "Baywatch,"
the short-lived comedy show "Inside Schwartz," NBC's Emmy-nominated action/drama
series "Boomtown" and ABC's sitcom "Less Than Perfect."
Hillis subsequently appeared in Lee Shallat Chemel's coming-of-age
romantic/family film Greener Mountains (starring Chris Heuisler), co-starred
with Jessica Simpson in ABC's comedy pilot "Jessica," and guest starred in
NBC/CBS’ popular adventure and drama show "JAG" (all in 2004). She then spent
the following year acting in Joshua J. Greene's short film The Commission, Aric
Avelino's directorial debut American Gun (starring Marcia Gay Harden, Linda
Cardellini, Donald Sutherland and Forest Whitaker), and lent her voice in Pete
Michels and Peter Shin's direct-to-DVD animated film Family Guy Presents: Stewie
Griffin: The Untold Story (with Seth Green and Mila Kunis).
2005 also saw Hillis in Shane Black's crime/comedy film Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
(starring Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer) and in Gary David Goldberg's
romantic comedy film inspired by Claire Cook's novel, Must Love Dogs (starring
Diane Lane and John Cusack; Hillis played one of Lane’s sisters). From June
through August that year, she acted on stage in Scott Paulin’s production of
Nicholas Kazan's play, "A Good Soldier," at the Odyssey Theatre in Los Angeles,
California.
In 2006, Hillis co-starred with Susan May Pratt, Richard Speight, Jr., Cameron
Richardson and Eric Dane, playing a group of old high-school friends who reunite
for a weekend cruise on a yacht on the coast of Mexico only to fight for
survival, in Hans Horn's true story-based thriller, Open Water 2: Adrift. The
film was not released theatrically in the United States, but its DVD version was
released on February 20, 2007.
On March 9, 2007, Hillis’ latest film, Michael O. Sajbel's adaptation of Jim
Stovall's bestselling novel, The Ultimate Gift, was released. In the drama film,
also starring James Garner, Drew Fuller and Abigail Breslin, Hillis co-starred
as Breslin's single mother and Fuller's love interest Alexia.
Hillis is currently on set and will soon complete her upcoming films: Todd
Breau's dark comedy Throwing Stars (with Scott Grimes, Jason London and Scott
Michael Campbell) and writer-director Jeff Lowell's sci-fi romantic comedy How I
Met My Boyfriend's Dead Fiancée (alongside Paul Rudd, Eva Longoria, Lake Bell
and Jason Biggs). She will also soon wrap up the Farrelly brothers' romantic
drama comedy film The Heartbreak Kid, starring Ben Stiller and Michelle
Monaghan.
Awards:
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