Samaire Armstrong 

Although her name might not be recognized by many, save her devoted fans, Samaire Armstrong is establishing herself as a talented and versatile actress in both the realms of television and film. She is most renowned, however, for her work on the small screen, portraying Emily on Entourage and Anna on The O.C..

A Halloween baby born on October 31, 1980, Armstrong is of mixed race and has a varied and interesting ancestry—she could, technically, be described as Italian-Scottish-Japanese-Hawaiian-American. She was born in Tokyo, Japan, to an Italian mother and a Scottish father, and after spending a number of her early years in Japan, she and her family moved to Hawaii before settling in Arizona.

After attending the University of Arizona, Armstrong moved to L.A. to pursue acting. She first appeared in guest and recurring roles on Party of Five, starring Neve Campbell, Matthew Fox, Scott Wolf, Lacey Chabert, and Jennifer Love Hewitt; Freaks and Geeks; That’s Life; ER; Judging Amy, starring Amy Brenneman; and The X Files, starring David Duchovny. This was all before her first appearance in a film, the 2001 parody Not Another Teen Movie, as Kara Fratelli, one-half of the conjoined Fratelli sisters, the other half played by Nectar Rose. The film also starred Chris Evans, Chyler Leigh, Jaime Pressly, Eric Christian Olsen, and Mia Kirshner.

However, it wasn’t until she landed the roles of Emily on Entourage, which stars Jeremy Piven, Kevin Connolly, Adrian Grenier, Kevin Dillon, Jerry Ferrara, and Debi Mazar; and of Anna on The O.C., which stars Peter Gallagher, Kelly Rowan, Rachel Bilson, Benjamin McKenzie, Adam Brody, and Mischa Barton—whose character was recently killed off, leading to the show’s ultimate demise, ending in late February, 2007—that Armstrong finally received the recognition she deserved.

Recently, Armstrong can be seen back on the big screen in the films Stay Alive; Just My Luck, which starred Lindsay Lohan; and It’s a Boy Girl Thing, all in 2006, and all in which she played leading roles. In the horror/thriller Stay Alive, Armstrong starred alongside Jon Foster, Frankie Muniz, Jimmi Simpson, Wendell Pierce, Milo Ventimiglia of Gilmore Girls and Heroes, and Sophia Bush of One Tree Hill.

Romantically, Armstrong has been linked with Aaron Paul, a television actor known for guest starring in a number of prominent series, but she is now dating Kevin Banek. She also has her own line of clothing, called NARU, for which she spends time designing new clothes.

YUDDY