Isla Fisher

Australian actress Isla Fisher was a teen sensation in the nighttime soaps of her native land before heading to the U.S. shores, determined to become a big screen comedienne. The vivacious redhead did her duty with a number of underwritten “object of desire” roles in low-brow comedies but established her name with a scene-stealing supporting role as a wanton bridesmaid in the mega blockbuster “Wedding Crashers” (2005). Her charming turn opposite Ryan Reynolds in the surprise low-budget romantic comedy hit “Definitely, Maybe” (2008) led to the actress’ headlining role in the chick-lit based “Confessions of a Shopaholic” (2009), where her energy, sass and laser quick comic timing heralded the arrival of a fresh new leading lady.

Of Scottish heritage, Fisher was born on Feb. 3, 1976 in Muscat, Oman where her father worked for the United Nations. When she was seven years old, the Fisher family moved to Perth, Australia, and by nine years of age, Fisher – a natural performer who always craved attention – began appearing in commercials and on Australian television. She was working consistently by the time she was 11 and left home at 16 to take a role on the short-lived syndicated teen drama, “Paradise Beach” (1993), about a group of young people from different parts of the world who settle in Australia in search of love, excitement and success. From there, Fisher joined the cast of the popular nighttime Australian soap and launching pad of many an Aussie star, “Home and Away” (Seven, 1988- ), where her three-year stint playing teenage Shannon Reed found her character involved with an adopted brother, suffering from anorexia, questioning her sexuality, and revealing childhood abuse.

When Fisher’s character left the show in 1997 to move to Paris, the actress actually did leave Australia for Paris where she studied mime, juggling, and Commedia dell’Arte at the prestigious Jacques Lecoq School. Emerging from the school as a fully qualified clown, Fisher moved on to London where she toured with the British musical “Summer Holiday” and performed pantomime shows. She resumed her screen career with the TV miniseries “Oliver Twist” (1999) alongside Keira Knightley, and the BBC’s “Hearts and Bones” (2000), introducing herself to American audiences in the television movie, “Attila” (USA, 2001) where she played the marauding heathen’s bride-to-be. Her first U.S. theatrical release came with the live-action adaptation of the cartoon classic “Scooby Doo” (2002), a box office success that gave Fisher considerable exposure with her role as Shaggy’s girlfriend, Mary Jane. She followed up with an appearance alongside Jeff Goldblum in the independent coming-of-age drama “Dallas 362” (2003), but found a wider audience for her supporting role in David O. Russell’s existential comedy, “I Heart Huckabees” (2004).

Her real breakthrough came thanks to a scene-stealing supporting performance as a loony, sex-starved bridesmaid in “Wedding Crashers” (2005), where Fisher nearly pulled the rug out from under comedy heavyweights Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn in the top-grossing comedy of the year. In the wake of her hilarious performance, Fisher landed supporting roles in a pair of little seen indies — the grating and self-important “London” (2005) and the “The Lookout” (2007), a crime drama that was awarded Best First Feature (for debuting director Scott Frank) at the Sundance Film Festival. However, her arrival as a big screen comedienne able to open films on her name alone continued to elude the actress. Her next two releases were the direct-to-DVD romantic comedy “Wedding Daze” (2007), in which she co-starred opposite Jason Biggs, and “Hot Rod” (2007), a vehicle for “Saturday Night Live” (NBC, 1975- ) player Andy Samberg that also utilized Fisher as a one-dimensional object of desire. The actress was finally given a more developed character to sink her teeth into in the wildly popular independent romantic comedy “Definitely, Maybe” (2008), in which she shared an excellent comic chemistry with co-star Ryan Reynolds.

Fisher lent her voice to the blockbuster animated feature "Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!" (2008) and off-screen, the fiancée of comedian and actor Sacha Baron Cohen – Best known for his edgy Borat and Ali G characterizations – gave birth to the couple’s first child the same year. She resumed her career by successfully tackling the biggest role of her career, the lead in P.J. Hogan’s “Confessions of a Shopaholic” (2009), based on the novels of Sophie Kinsella. Fisher sparkled at the center of this madcap Manhattan comedy, playing a cash-strapped fashionista with dreams of life in the publishing world.