MARY ELIZABETH WINSTEAD

BIOGRAPHY AND CAREER

Mary Elizabeth Winstead born November 28, 1984 is an American actress. Winstead has primarily been called a scream queen because of her roles in the horror films Final Destination 3, Black Christmas, Death Proof, and The Thing. She has also branched out into other genre films Sky High, Bobby, Live Free or Die Hard, Make It Happen, and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. She was nominated for a Young Artist Award for her performance in Passions, and received a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination as part of the cast of Bobby.

Winstead was born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, the daughter of Betty Lou (née Knight) and James Ronald Winstead. When she was five, her family moved to Sandy, Utah, a Salt Lake City suburb. Her interest in performing art also began to emerge with interests in ballet and acting. As a girl, Winstead appeared in the Mountain West Ballet's version of The Nutcracker. Hoping to become a ballerina in 1996, she received the opportunity to study dance in a summer program of the prestigious Joffrey Ballet School in Chicago, Illinois. There, she studied ballet and jazz dance, but decided to study acting. Winstead ended up appearing on Broadway during Donny Osmond’s successful run of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. She was also a member of the International Children's Choir during her youth and honed her skills performing at her church.

Winstead is married to Riley Stearns, a film director and television writer from Austin, Texas, whom she met at age 18, while on a cruise. The couple were wed in 2010.In 2008, they worked together in Stop/Eject – a short film he was making with Winstead's Final Destination 3 co-star Ryan Merriman, which is as of yet still in post-production.The project was shot on the weekends during the 2008 writers' strike. Winstead elaborates, "The whole short is 25 minutes long. We're currently working on post sound and music and we hope to show it at festivals."

Winstead had stated that at one point, Final Destination 3 co-star Amanda Crew "stayed with for a while". She has also called Lacey Chabert her "confidant" and in the same interview, says she is good friends with Death Proof co-stars Rosario Dawson and Sydney Tamiia Poitier. "I'm not a really "cliquish" type of person," she says of herself. "There's usually one person that I gravitate to, who I feel I relate to the most, and kind of stick to throughout the whole thing." While filming Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Winstead made good friends with co-star Anna Kendrick. “The two of us, we were just sitting up there watching the first fight in the balcony together for a week and a half, and we were always talking about gossip, film news and just gabbing about everything!”

Winstead has voiced her like for the music of Bat for Lashes, French pop songs (particularly France Gall), mewithoutYou, The Shangri-Las, The Shirelles, Roy Orbison, The xx and Ben E. King's "Stand By Me".

Actress:

• In Production
• 2010s
• 2000s
• 1990s

1. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012) (filming) .... Mary Todd Lincoln
2. The Thing (2011) (post-production) .... Kate Lloyd
   
   
3. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010) .... Ramona Flowers
   
   
4. Make It Happen (2008) .... Lauryn
5. Live Free or Die Hard (2007) .... Lucy Gennaro McClane
   ... aka "Die Hard 4.0" - Australia, South Africa (English title), UK, USA (working title)
   ... aka "Die Hard 4: Live Free or Die Hard" - South Africa (English title) (TV title)
6. Death Proof (2007) .... Lee
   ... aka "Grindhouse Presents: Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof" - USA (DVD title)
   ... aka "Grindhouse: Death Proof" - International (English title)
   ... aka "Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof" - USA (complete title)
   ... aka "Quentin Tarantino's Thunder Bolt" - USA (informal alternative title)
7. Grindhouse (2007) .... Lee (segment "Death Proof")
8. Factory Girl (2006) .... Ingrid Superstar
9. Black Christmas (2006) .... Heather Fitzgerald
   ... aka "Black X-Mas" - Canada (English title) (DVD box title), USA (promotional abbreviation)
10. Bobby (2006) .... Susan
11. Final Destination 3 (2006) .... Wendy Christensen
    ... aka "Final Dead Coaster" - Japan (English title)
12. Sky High (2005) .... Gwen / Royal Pain
13. Checking Out (2005) .... Lisa Apple
14. The Ring Two (2005) .... Young Evelyn
    ... aka "Samara" - Hong Kong (English title), Singapore (English title)
    ... aka "The Ring 2" - International (English title) (alternative spelling), UK
    ... aka "Samara: Ring 2" - Philippines (English title) (informal title)
    ... aka "Samara: The Ring Two" - Asia (English title)
    
    
15. The Long Road Home (1999) .... Annie Jacobs
    

Actress - TV:

• 2000s
• 1990s

1. Monster Island (2004) (TV) .... Maddy
2. "Tru Calling" .... Bridget Elkins (1 episode, 2004)
   - Closure (2004) TV episode .... Bridget Elkins
3. Then Came Jones (2003) (TV) .... Rina
4. "Wolf Lake" .... Sophia Donner / ... (10 episodes, 2001-2002)
   - If These Wolves Could Talk (2002) TV episode .... Sophia Donner
   - Legend of Lost Lenore (2002) TV episode .... Sophia Donner
   - Leader of the Pack (2002) TV episode .... Sophia Donner
   - Four Feet Under (2002) TV episode .... Sophia Donner
   - Excitable Boy (2001) TV episode .... Sophia Donner
   (5 more)
5. Father Can't Cope (2000) (TV) .... Tara
   
   
6. "Passions" .... Jessica Bennett (4 episodes, 1999-2000)
   ... aka "Harmony's Passions" - USA (alternative title)
   ... aka "The Passions Storm" - USA (summer title)
   - Episode #1.20 (1999) TV episode .... Jessica Bennett
   - Episode #1.5 (1999) TV episode .... Jessica Bennett
   - Episode #1.4 (1999) TV episode .... Jessica Bennett
   - Episode #1.1 (1999) TV episode .... Jessica Bennett
7. "Promised Land" .... Chloe (2 episodes, 1998)
   - Denver, Welcome Home (1998) TV episode .... Chloe
   - Recycled (1998) TV episode .... Chloe
8. "Touched by an Angel" .... Kristy (1 episode, 1997)
   - A Delicate Balance (1997) TV episode .... Kristy
   

Self - TV:

• 2010s
• 2000s

1. "Janela Indiscreta" .... Herself (1 episode, 2010)
   - Episode #1.42 (2010) TV episode .... Herself
2. "Today" .... Herself (2 episodes, 2010)
   ... aka "NBC News Today" - USA (promotional title)
   ... aka "The Today Show" - USA (alternative title)
   - Episode dated 11 August 2010 (2010) TV episode .... Herself
   - Episode dated 3 August 2010 (2010) TV episode .... Herself
3. "Made in Hollywood" .... Herself (1 episode, 2010)
   - Episode #5.33 (2010) TV episode .... Herself
4. "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" .... Herself (1 episode, 2010)
   - Episode #8.181 (2010) TV episode .... Herself
   
   
5. "Up Close with Carrie Keagan" .... Herself (2 episodes, 2007)
   - Episode dated 4 October 2007 (2007) TV episode .... Herself
   - Episode dated 4 April 2007 (2007) TV episode .... Herself
6. "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" .... Herself (1 episode, 2007)
   - Episode #4.97 (2007) TV episode .... Herself
7. Guys Choice (2007) (TV) .... Herself
8. What Have You Done?: The Remaking of 'Black Christmas' (2006) (TV) .... Herself/'Heather'
9. Death's Design: Making 'Final Destination 3' (2006) (TV) .... Wendy/Herself
   

Self - video:

1. Analog Hero in a Digital World: Making of 'Live Free or Die Hard' (2007) (V) .... Herself
2. May All Your Christmases Be Black (2007) (V) .... Herself
3. Kill Shot: The Making of 'FD3' (2006) (V) .... Herself
   ... aka "Kill Shot: The Making of 'Final Destination 3'" - USA (DVD box title)
4. Dead Teenager Movie (2006) (V) .... Herself - Final Girl
5. Planned Accidents (2006) (V) .... Herself
   

Self:

• In Production
• 2010s

1. Showing Up (2011) (post-production) .... Herself
   
   
2. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World vs. Funny or Die (2010) .... Herself

refernces