• California native Vinessa Shaw rose to stardom in the Rodney Dangerfield film Ladybugs, co-starring with Jonathan Brandis. She starred as an affable prostitute, opposite Tom Cruise in Eyes Wide Shut, and established herself as a scream queen in The Hills Have Eyes.

  Shaw stars alongside Gwyneth Paltrow and Joaquin Phoenix in the romantic drama Two Lovers, which premieres on February 13, 2009.

• 1. Born: July 19, 1976Yahoo: Vinessa Shaw
  2. Birthplace: Los Angeles, California
  3. Full name: Vinessa Elizabeth Shaw
  4. Original surname was Schwartz
  5. Named after her grandfather Vincent
  6. Signed with Elite Models at age 13Yahoo: Vinessa Shaw
  7. Attended Barnard College but dropped out in her freshman yearYahoo: Vinessa Shaw
  8. Professional actress, model and singer
  9. Ranked #66 in Stuff Magazine's the 100 Sexiest Women in the World in 2002
  10. Romantically linked to Jonathan Brandis and Oliver Hudson

• Early Life and Career

  Shaw was born in Los Angeles, California to actress Susan Damante-Shaw and Larry Shaw. Actress Natalie Shaw is her sister.

  Because her mother and sister were both actresses, Shaw was exposed to acting from a young age. She began acting at the age of ten in a UCLA film titled "My Day at Camp". She toured with the Karamazoff Brothers Circus singing backup for her neighbor Peter Alsop.

  Shaw's career includes modeling and she has been featured on the cover of the magazines Seventeen and British Vogue.

• Personal Life

  Shaw dated Jonathan Brandis from 1991 to 1992. They met while filming Ladybugs. Many years later she was romantically linked with Oliver Hudson, the couple had a two-year relationship.

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