Emily Irene VanCamp (born May 12, 1986) is a Canadian actress, best known for her lead roles as Amy Abbott on the WB series Everwood (2002–06), Rebecca Harper on the ABC series Brothers & Sisters (2007–10) and Emily Thorne/Amanda Clarke in the ABC drama series Revenge (2011–present).
Emily was born in Port Perry, Ontario on May 12, 1986 to Peyton, a swimming instructor,[3] and Robert VanCamp, an animal nutritionist.
The third in a family of four girls, her first job as a child was
working for her father, delivering feed to clients in and around her
hometown.[4] She started studying dance at age 3[5]
and, wanting to become a professional dancer, at the age of 11 she
convinced her parents to let her attend a summer training program in Montreal and at 12 she was accepted at the École supérieure de ballet du Québec, the training program of Les Grands Ballets Canadiens,[6][7] and moved in with a local French Canadian family.[3] The very same year however, she became interested in acting after visiting her sister Katie on the set of the film Ladies Room.[5][6] She started taking acting classes on Saturdays,[3][8] found an agent and after working on a couple of commercials,[9] was cast in the second part of the three-part season 7 premiere of the Canadian children's horror anthology television series Are You Afraid of the Dark?.[10] Her character Peggy Gregory was present in one scene and spoke no dialogue but saw her act opposite a 17-year-old Elisha Cuthbert. She followed this with a turn as a teenage Jackie Bouvier in the Emmy-nominated CBS TV movie Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Onassis and a guest spot on the YTV sitcom Radio Active's season 3 episode Bully for You, where her character Becky, a new student from Saskatoon, bullies and terrifies series regular Blair Resnicky (Andrew Walker).
The following year saw the release of her first theatrical feature, the lesbian-themed drama Lost and Delirious, in which she played a supporting role as lead actress Jessica Paré's sister, and another television guest spot, on the second episode of the short-lived medical horror series All Souls, where she played a hit and run victim with spinal trauma. She also had a role in the miniseries Dice, directed by Rachel Talalay and in the TV film Redeemer, directed by Graeme Clifford, which aired in early 2002.
Career
VanCamp experienced her big break at 15 when she was cast as regular Sam Dolan in the WB mid-season show Glory Days (known in Europe as Demontown), the third TV series from Dawson's Creek creator Kevin Williamson. The horror mystery
received mildly positive reviews but was a ratings disappointment, and
was cancelled after nine episodes. Her performance as the lead
character's younger sister, however, caught the eye of former Dawson's Creek writer Greg Berlanti,[7] her performance reminding him of Katie Holmes and making him "[desperate] wanted to work with her".[11] He cast her in his own forthcoming first show, Everwood, also for The WB, on the very same day Glory Days was cancelled.[6] VanCamp plays Amy, Dr. Abbott's daughter, who immediately forms a friendship with Dr. Brown's son Ephram, played by Gregory Smith.
A significant portion of the show is devoted to the relationship of the
two families, and in particular Amy and Ephram. VanCamp gained a
certain amount of recognition for the role, in which she was confronted
with storylines involving drugs, depression and an alienation from her
family, receiving four Teen Choice Awards nominations and one from the Young Artist Awards during the course of the show's run.
While on breaks from Everwood, VanCamp starred in a few film projects, including the thrillers No Good Deed and A Different Loyalty as well as Rings, a horror short film that bridges the events between The Ring and The Ring Two and ties directly into her appearance in the opening scene of the latter film.
VanCamp filmed the post-apocalyptic horror film Carriers in the summer of 2006. Early 2007 saw the broadcast of the season 8 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode Dependent,
where her drug addict character Charlotte Truex can't recall her
actions on the night her mother was murdered, and the premiere of the independent drama Black Irish, where her character Kathleen McKay, the sister of lead actor Michael Angarano's character Cole, has to deal with teenage pregnancy.
Her next big role however came at 20 when Everwood creator Greg Berlanti cast her as a regular mid-way into the first season of the ABC drama Brothers & Sisters, which he was showrunning, offering her the part directly without an audition.[12] The Jon Robin Baitz-created
series chronicles the lives of the Walkers, a wealthy family who own a
food company, after their patriarch dies and it is revealed he has a
secret child from a long-standing affair, Rebecca Harper, whom VanCamp plays from the episode Love Is Difficult onwards.
VanCamp remained a regular on Brothers & Sisters during
the show's first four seasons and returned as a guest for a couple of
episodes in the fifth and final season to wrap up her character's
storyline.[13] In between working on the show, she found the time to star in the independent dramedy Norman in mid-2008, which has earned her her only award wins to date, from the San Diego Film Festival and the Breckenridge Festival of Film. The film sees her playing Emily Harris, the girlfriend of main character Norman Long, played by Dan Byrd, who pretends he's dying of cancer. VanCamp also starred in the two-part TV film Ben Hur, the latest adaptation of Lew Wallace's 1880 novel.
Revenge and other works
She starred in Hallmark Hall of Fame film Beyond the Blackboard,[14] based on the true story of teacher Stacey Bess, whom VanCamp portrays. The film, which aired on CBS on April 24, 2011, marks the reunion between VanCamp and Everwood headliner Treat Williams.
She was then cast as Amanda Clarke/Emily Thorne in the ABC soap opera Revenge,[15] which was given a series order in May 2011.[16] As the first TV show VanCamp has truly headlined, Revenge has garnered her a significant amount of recognition, including a couple of Teen Choice Awards nominations.
In March 2013, VanCamp was cast in Captain America: The Winter Soldier as Sharon Carter,[17] a potential love interest for Chris Evans' titular hero and the niece of the previous film's love interest Peggy Carter, played by Hayley Atwell, beating out numerous other actresses such as Alison Brie, Anna Kendrick and Teresa Palmer for the highly sought-after part.[18][19] The film was shot from April 1[20] to June 27, 2013[21] and is scheduled to be released on April 4, 2014. As Marvel Studios is notorious for always contracting their actors for multiple films[22] and her character is an important one in the original comics, it is highly likely that VanCamp will appear in potential sequels and possibly other films set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Coincidentally, her former boyfriend and Everwood co-star Chris Pratt was cast the month before in Guardians of the Galaxy,[23] another film set in the same shared universe.
VanCamp's latest project, the independent drama The Girl in the Book, started filming mid-June 2013 in New York City.[24]
Based on a true story, the film centers on VanCamp's character Alice, a
28 year-old assistant book editor and aspiring writer. In order to fund
its post-production, the film's producers launched a crowdfunding Kickstarter campaign on June 17, 2013 which successfully surpassed its $65,000 goal on July 1.[25] The Girl in the Book is expected to premiere sometime in 2014.
Personal life
Emily VanCamp has two older sisters, Katie and Alison, and a younger one, Molly.[7] Her eldest sister Katie, who lives in Tokyo with her husband, is also a former dancer and now a writer of children's books.[26]
VanCamp speaks French fluently[27] though with a Quebec accent and says she "feels at home" when she hears the language.[28] She has also studied Spanish[6] and is an accomplished dancer, having studied ballet, jazz, hip hop and tap as a child,[5] which she credits with helping her through her fight scenes on Revenge.[29]
She believes that if she hadn't gone into acting, she'd have probably
either continued dancing or done something related to cooking.[29]
As of late 2011 VanCamp is dating her co-star and on-screen love interest from Revenge, Josh Bowman.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Lost and Delirious | Allison Moller | |
| 2002 | No Good Deed | Connie | |
| 2004 | A Different Loyalty | Jen Tyler | |
| 2005 | Rings | Emily | Video short |
| 2005 | The Ring Two | Emily | |
| 2007 | Black Irish | Kathleen McKay | |
| 2009 | Carriers | Kate | |
| 2010 | Norman | Emily Parris | |
| 2014 | Captain America: The Winter Soldier | Agent 13 / Sharon Carter[30] | Post-production |
| 2014 | The Girl in the Book | Alice | Filming |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Are You Afraid of the Dark? | Peggy Gregory | Episode: "The Tale of the Silver Sight" |
| 2000 | Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Onassis | Jackie Bouvier - age 13 | TV film |
| 2000 | Radio Active | Becky Sue Drummond | Episode: "Bully for You" |
| 2001 | All Souls | Kirstin Caine | Episode: "Spineless" |
| 2001 | Dice | Johanna Wilson | TV miniseries |
| 2002 | Redeemer | Alana | TV film |
| 2002 | Glory Days | Sam Dolan | Main Role |
| 2002–2006 | Everwood | Amy Abbott | Main Role |
| 2007 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Charlotte | Episode: "Dependent" |
| 2007–2010 | Brothers & Sisters | Rebecca Harper | Main Role (Seasons 1–4) / Guest (Season 5); 75 episodes |
| 2010 | Ben Hur | Esther | TV miniseries |
| 2011 | Beyond the Blackboard | Stacey Bess | TV film |
| 2011–present | Revenge | Emily Thorne/Amanda Clarke | Lead Role |
Awards/Nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Production | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Teen Choice Awards | Choice TV Actress - Drama / Action Adventure | Everwood | Nominated |
| 2004 | Teen Choice Awards | Choice TV Actress - Drama / Action Adventure | Everwood | Nominated |
| 2004 | Young Artist Awards | Best Performance in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama) - Supporting Young Actress | Everwood | Nominated |
| 2005 | Teen Choice Awards | Choice TV Actress: Drama | Everwood | Nominated |
| 2005 | Teen Choice Awards | Choice TV Chemistry | Everwood | Nominated |
| 2010 | San Diego Film Festival | Best Actress | Norman | Won |
| 2012 | Teen Choice Awards | Choice TV Actress: Drama | Revenge | Nominated |
| 2013 | Teen Choice Awards | Choice TV Actress: Drama | Revenge | Nominated |
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