Vanessa Lee Chester
Vanessa Lee Chester | |
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![]() Chester in 2007 | |
Born | |
Alma mater | University of Southern California |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1992–present |
Vanessa Lee Chester (born July 2, 1984) is an American actress.[1] She began her career as a child actor in the films A Little Princess (1995) and Harriet the Spy (1996), before her breakthrough role in Steven Spielberg's The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997).
Biography
[edit]Chester was born on July 2, 1984, at Brooklyn, New York City,[2] to Guyanese parents who immigrated to the United States. In her early childhood, she relocated with her mother to Los Angeles, California, where she began auditioning for and appearing in commercials.[2]
Chester made her film debut in the comedy CB4 (1993) starring Chris Rock. The following year, she appeared in a supporting role in Alfonso Cuarón's A Little Princess (1995).[1] In 1996, she appeared opposite Michelle Trachtenberg as Janie in the Nickelodeon film Harriet the Spy, which was a moderate box office success.[3] The following year, she was cast in a lead role as Kelly in Steven Spielberg's The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997),[4] playing the daughter of Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum). The film was a box office hit, grossing over $600 million worldwide.[5] Chester later worked mostly in television, most notably appearing in Malcolm in the Middle and The West Wing. She was nominated for a Saturn Award (The Lost World: Jurassic Park), Image Award (The Lost World: Jurassic Park), Young Artist Award (A Little Princess) and took home the Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film – Supporting Young Actress (Harriet The Spy).[6] In early 2012, Chester began work on an unnamed film by Ty Hodges.[6]
Filmography
[edit]Film
[edit]Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1993 | CB4 | Talona | |
1995 | A Little Princess | Becky | |
1996 | Harriet the Spy | Janie Gibbs | |
1997 | The Lost World: Jurassic Park | Kelly Curtis | |
1999 | She's All That | Melissa's Friend | |
2000 | Stepsister from Planet Weird | Michelle | TV movie |
Dreams in the Attic | Angel | TV movie | |
2006 | The Shift | Daughter | Short |
2008 | Extreme Movie | Charlotte | |
2009 | 17 Again | Cheerleader | |
2011 | Reconstruction | Eleanor | TV movie |
2014 | The Costume Shop | Young Janie | |
The Arrangement | Emily Myers-Stanley | Short | |
2015 | Fated | Eliza | Short |
Television
[edit]Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1992 | Hangin' with Mr. Cooper | Stephanie | Episode: "Miracle in Oaktown" |
1994 | Me and the Boys | Renee | Episode: "Every Good Boy Does Fine" & "Talent Show" |
1997 | Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child | School Child #3 | Episode: "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" |
Promised Land | Emily Dixon | Episode: "Stealing Home: Part 1 & 2" | |
1999 | Get Real | Rude Girl | Episode: "Anatomy of a Rumor" |
1999-2000 | Once and Again | Annie | Recurring cast: season 1, guest: season 2 |
2002 | Family Law | Girl #1 | Episode: "Celano v. Foster" |
Malcolm in the Middle | Student #3 | Episode: "Humilithon" | |
2004 | Crossing Jordan | Andrea | Episode: "Most Likely" |
2005 | Without a Trace | Dori | Episode: "Lost Time" |
2006 | The West Wing | Youth Voter #2 | Episode: "Duck and Cover" |
Veronica Mars | Maureen | Episode: "I Am God" | |
Justice | 2nd Mock Juror | Episode: "Filicide" | |
2010 | Lone Star | Tamar Wilson | Episode: "Small Time" |
2011 | 9ine | Candace | Episode: "May" |
Switched at Birth | Lizzy | Episode: "The Stag Hunt" | |
2012 | How I Met Your Mother | Mia | Episode: "The Autumn of Break-Ups" |
2013 | Welcome to Sanditon | Letitia "Griff" Griffiths | 4 episodes |
2015 | Scorpion | Secretary | Episode: "Cliffhanger" |
2016 | Ladies Like Us: The Rise of Neighborhood Watch | Natalia | Episode: "In a Matrix" |
2021 | Summer Camp Island | Nancy (voice) | Episode: "Betsy and the Ghost Chapter 3: There's a Racket In My Hope Chest" |
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Vanessa Lee Chester". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-06-20.
- ^ a b Chester, Vanessa Lee (June 19, 2018). "Crystals and Jeff Goldblum (with Vanessa Chester)" (Interview). Interviewed by Povitsky, Esther; Goldfarb, Caroline. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
- ^ Box Office Mojo: Harriet the Spy
- ^ Holden, Stephen (May 23, 1997). "The Lost World Jurassic Park (1997) A Jurassic Romp of Parental Mayhem". The New York Times.
- ^ "The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
- ^ a b "Natural Hair Talk with Vanessa Lee Chester". Mz Mahogany Chic. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
External links
[edit]- Actresses from Brooklyn
- Actresses from Los Angeles
- American child actresses
- American film actresses
- American people of Guyanese descent
- American television actresses
- Living people
- 20th-century African-American actresses
- 20th-century American actresses
- 21st-century American actresses
- University of Southern California alumni
- 1984 births
- 21st-century African-American actresses
- African-American child actresses