Home      Celebrity Gallery      Celebrity Ecards     Celebrity Birthdays    Movies     Jokes

As a talented but troubled young gymnast in “Stick It,” actress Missy Peregrym is poised to somersault her way from supporting roles to stardom.

Born June 15, 1982 in Montreal, Canada, Peregrym grew up in Surrey, British Columbia, with her minister father, mother and two sisters. As a youngster, Peregrym had little interest in movies or television. She considered herself a tomboy, playing soccer, field hockey and basketball competitively. However, her original career plan to become a gym teacher or coach – she even coached basketball for a while – faded away when, at age 18, she discovered the glamorous world of modeling. A beautiful girl, she was soon featured in print advertisements for Mercedes Benz, Sprint and the Olympic games.

Soon enough, Hollywood offers started to roll in. In 2002, Peregrym landed her first acting gig on the hit sci-fi series, “Dark Angel” (Fox, 2000-02) starring a then-unknown Jessica Alba, followed that same year with the guest role of Julia on “The Chris Isaac Show” (Showtime, 2001-04). From there, it was the usual slew of supporting or guest spots, in such unremarkable TV shows as “Black Sash,” (WB, 2003), “Jake 2.0” (UPN, 2003-04) and “Tru Calling” (Fox, 2003-05).

Her career now rolling, the year 2004 was especially busy. She appeared in several higher profile projects including, “Andromeda” (Sci-Fi Channel, 2000-05), “Smallville” (2001- ) (as Molly Griggs, a role she reprised two years later) She also landed a part in her first TV movie, “Call Me: The Rise and Fall of Heidi Fleiss” (USA, 2004), followed by her first big screen role, as a mercifully uncredited test subject in the Halle Berry stinker, “Catwoman” (2004).,p>Better than all the guest spots – Peregrym landed her first regular starring role – that of Jessie Bradford – on the short-lived but critically lauded teen TV series, “Life as We Know It” (2004-05). The ABC drama series seen through the eyes of three hormone-charged high school boys lasted only one season, but developed a cult following among younger viewers.

Peregrym’s biggest break yet came with the gymnastics teen-flick, “Stick It” in 2006. Playing the lead role of Haley Graham, a former gymnastics prodigy who had abruptly left the sport and starting running with the wrong crowd, Peregrym drew upon her athletic background to better essay the part. With four months of intensive training, she was able to pull off many gymnastic feats on her own, leaving the difficult work to a trained double. The film was also Peregrym’s first opportunity to act with a high-caliber A-list star like Jeff Bridges, who played the part of her tough and exacting coach.

While continuing to look forward to role in both film and television, Peregrym also remained loyal to athletics, with plans to coach basketball for Los Angeles-based youth programs.