Shiri Appleby was born on December 7, 1978 in Los Angelas California. Shiri (pronounced Sheer-ee) joined by her younger brother Evan and her parents Jerry, a telecommunications executive and her mother, Dena, a school teacher then moved to San Fernando Valley just outside of Los Angelas where she grew up. By the age of four, her career in the entertainment business had already started, and she did her first commercial, for the cereal Raisin Bran (which never aired) Shiri comments that, “It was fun, especially when I was younger, because you would go to sets and there would be donuts and people would just want to play with you and do your hair, so you think it’s a magical place when you’re younger.” She went on to do some more commercials, and among them were commercials for Cheerio’s and M&M’s and Taco Bell.

Shiri attended Calabasas High, located in Los Angeles' West San Fernando Valley, where she then realized that it was going to be the greatest time of her life and she didn’t really want to go to auditions. It came to the point where she would rather go to football games, and it was evident that high school was too important to her. In a recent interview Shiri commented, “It was this time when I was growing up and there w ere new people, and cute boys, and going to auditions seemed so mundane. Spending my high school on a set with a studio teacher just did not compare. So when high school came around, my motivation kind of slipped.” During her high school years, she was the yearbook editor two years in a row, and was a cheerleader for the Calabasas Coyotes her sophomore year. She had a passion for photography and didn’t care if it looked dorky to be on the yearbook. In the meantime she kept busy with other activities, like taking on jobs such as hostess at a gourmet restaurant. Shiri also appeared on the television shows 7th Heaven, ER, and Baywatch, and had small roles in the films I love you to death, and Family Prayers.

After graduating in 1996, Shiri went on to attend the University of Southern California, but is currently on a leave of absence. At first she was accepted for acting, but then changed to English in her second semester of freshman year. Shiri would love the opportunity to study law, or perhaps psychology, mainly because she feels, “ It’s very similar to acting in the way that it’s the breaking down of someone’s psyche, it deals with how the human mind works and why people feel things.” She had been in her sophomore year when her life changed drastically. The science fiction show Roswell, which she had auditioned for got picked up, so she put school on hold. Shiri had auditioned for all three roles, and at first the casting directors wouldn’t even look at her resumé, but after some convincing, Shiri landed the role of Liz Parker. Shiri has plans to go back to school when Roswell finishes.

Roswell, a show about a girl named Liz Parker (Shiri) who is shot while working at her parent’s café and saved by a classmate named Max Evans (played by Jason Behr) who she soon finds out is an alien. The show deals with the adventures that Liz, along with her human friends and the rest of the aliens get in to. The show currently on its third season on the UPN. Shiri is still building up her line of acting jobs. She recently did a film called A Time for Dancing based on the book by Davida Wills Hurwin. It’s about two best friends coping with the fact one of them has cancer, and stars Shiri and Larisa Oleynik. “I had such a great time but it was really hard work learning all of those dance steps. I am not as coordinated as I thought”; Shiri says referring to the film which has not been released yet. Shiri’s next movie to come out is Swimfan85, a thriller that stars Jesse Bradford and Erika Christensen. It is set for a release sometime in 2002.

In her spare time, Shiri enjoys going to the farmers market (on Sundays), practicing playing the guitar, crocheting, knitting, hanging out with friends and she also claims to be a compulsive backgammon player. She likes to visit Santa Barbara quite often because that’s where a lot of her friends went to school. Also, she recently went backpacking through Europe with a friend of hers. Shiri loves to do laundry, and finds it very therapeutic. She has taken part in numerous charities, and community activities, such as reading to children at a local library.

The 22, soon to be 23 year old comments on her favorite part of acting, “The challenge to keep it interesting. I really like acting and auditioning. I like being put under pressure and having to perform. I also like the fact that I’m in different situations, and I have to figure my way out of them. I am also in love with the expression part of it. That’s what really drives me”. Someday Shiri would love to produce, but for now she is sticking with movies, and Roswell. Shiri is one of the best actresses in show business today, and we will definitely be seeing more of her.

Credit: shiriappleby.org