Background:

American child actress Alyssa Shafer first came to the attention of public for playing the role of Juel on the popular comedy film “Daddy Day Care” (2003), from which she also jointly received a Young Artist nomination. She has since worked on such films as “Fat Albert” (2004), “Just Like Heaven” (2005),  “Happy Feet” (2006) and “Aussie and Ted's Great Adventure” (2009). Shafer was cast as Serena Brown in the CBS television series “The Unit” (2006-2009). She has guest starred in a number of TV shows, including “The Practice,” “House M.D.,” “Knight Rider,” “Desperate Housewives” and “The Defenders.” Shafer has also done over 30 commercials.         


Aly

Childhood and Family:

Alyssa Jordan Shafer was born on July 10, 1998, in Los Angeles, California. She has two younger brothers, Nicholas Gregory (also an actor) and Carter Allen. Alyssa began acting at age nine months old and was in a Nutcracker ballet when she was seven years old. Her nicknames are Al or Aly. She is part Italian.


The Unit

Career:

Alyssa Shafer had her first taste in front of the film cameras when she was four years old, as Juel in “Daddy Day Care” (2003), a comedy starring Eddie Murphy. She received a Young Artist nomination in the category of Best Young Ensemble in a Feature Film for her work, sharing with Felix Achille, Shane Baumel, Jimmy Bennett and Max Burkholder, among other young actors. Helmed by Steve Car, “Daddy Day Care” was a box office success with total earnings of over $164 million worldwide on a budget of $60 million.

In 2004, Shafer hit the small screen with guest spots in “The Practice” and “Medical Investigation.” The same year, she was featured in the comedy film “Fat Albert,” starring Kenan Thompson. She continued to portray Lily in “Just Like Heaven” (2005), a comedy/fantasy film directed by Mark Waters and starring Reese Witherspoon, Mark Ruffalo and Donal Logue, and provide the voice of the character Baby Gloria in the Academy Award winning animated movie “Happy Feet” (2006), directed by George Miller.   

Meanwhile, on television, Shafer made a guest appearance in “Related” before landing the role of Serena Brown in “The Unit,” an action/drama television series that ran on CBS from March 2006 to May 2009. The show was created by David Mamet and starred Dennis Haysbert, Regina Taylor and Scott Foley. Shafer also guest starred in television series such as “How I Met Your Mother” (2006), “House M.D” (2006), “Las Vegas” (2006), “Knight Rider” (2009), “Private Practice” (2009) and “Desperate Housewives” (2009). During 2008/2009, she appeared in three episodes of the reality television comedy series “Scare Tactics.”
Shafer revisited the wide screen with the leading role of Laney Brooks in the family film “Aussie and Ted's Great Adventure” (2009), directed and co-written by Shuki Levy.  

In 2010, Shafer appeared in episodes of “Make It or Break It,” “Grey's Anatomy” (as Kelly Temple), “Miami Medical” and “The Defenders.” She played the role of Lauren Burkiss in an episode of “Parks and Recreation” called “Road Trip” (2011). In the NBC telefilm “Field of Vision” (2011), Shafer landed the supporting role of Lucy McFarland. Her co-stars in the film included Faith Ford, Tony Oller, Joe Adler and Philip Casnoff.


Awards:

---
Show Less