Erica Leerhsen
- Actress
- Producer
Erica Leerhsen was born February 14, 1976 in New York City, New York,
where she was raised along with her two sisters, Nora and Debbie. She is the daughter of Barbara and Charles Leerhsen, a longtime editor of celebrity
publication US Magazine (which became US Weekly in March 2000). She
attended St. Augustine's School and Ossining High School (where she
sang in the choir) and graduated from Boston University College of Fine
Arts in 1998. She earned B.F.A (summa cum laude) in acting the same
year.
After graduation, Erica's first role was as Sarah in a 1999 short film
Junior Creative (2000), which
received several good reviews. During its production, she got the lead
role of a practicing witch in the controversial Horror sequel
Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (2000),
though she originally auditioned for the part that eventually went to
Kim Director. She went to the audition with
short blond hair, and, as director
Joe Berlinger described it, "completely
Gothed-out", but ultimately was given the role of Erica. It was
Berlinger who decided to make her character a long-haired redhead.
Following Blair Witch 2, she appeared in the third season of
The Sopranos (1999), where she
played a lesbian tennis instructor who falls for
Drea de Matteo's character. She would
also have part in the well-acclaimed TV show
The Guardian (2001), where her
character got written out after several episodes. In the same year she
had a supporting role in Woody Allen's
Hollywood Ending (2002). Erica
was honored with the title "Arrow in the Head's Mistress of the Year
2003". That year saw the release of the very successful Horror remake
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003),
in which she had a prominent role as one of the doomed teens. During
her screen test for the film, her screams were so loud that people on
other floors of the building called the police to report that a young
woman was being attacked. The same year she returned to acting on
television with a guest appearance on
Alias (2001), and then reunited with
Allen in his new film,
Anything Else (2003). In 2004,
Erica starred in an independent Thriller
The Warrior Class (2007),
where she played Anson Mount's love
interest. Months later, she started acting in theaters, and appeared in
Allen's 'A Second Hand Memory', which attracted attention from a wider
adult audience and received good reviews. A year later, Erica starred
in an independently-made Toronto Film Festival-smash
Little Athens (2005), had a guest
appearance on
Jennifer Love Hewitt's television
show Ghost Whisperer (2005),
and starred in
Mozart and the Whale (2005).
The year 2006 opened with Erica's guest appearance on
CSI: Miami (2002). Shortly after
she was landed a starring role in the well-acclaimed sequel
Wrong Turn 2: Dead End (2007),
where she did a lot of her own stunts. Before filming Wrong Turn 2, she
shot a Horror/Thriller
Living Hell (2008), and starred in an
independent Thriller film
Haunted Traxxs (2009), as well as a lead
in a Horror film Slaughter (2009/I),
which is set to film in late 2008.
She lives in Los Angeles.
where she was raised along with her two sisters, Nora and Debbie. She is the daughter of Barbara and Charles Leerhsen, a longtime editor of celebrity
publication US Magazine (which became US Weekly in March 2000). She
attended St. Augustine's School and Ossining High School (where she
sang in the choir) and graduated from Boston University College of Fine
Arts in 1998. She earned B.F.A (summa cum laude) in acting the same
year.
After graduation, Erica's first role was as Sarah in a 1999 short film
Junior Creative (2000), which
received several good reviews. During its production, she got the lead
role of a practicing witch in the controversial Horror sequel
Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (2000),
though she originally auditioned for the part that eventually went to
Kim Director. She went to the audition with
short blond hair, and, as director
Joe Berlinger described it, "completely
Gothed-out", but ultimately was given the role of Erica. It was
Berlinger who decided to make her character a long-haired redhead.
Following Blair Witch 2, she appeared in the third season of
The Sopranos (1999), where she
played a lesbian tennis instructor who falls for
Drea de Matteo's character. She would
also have part in the well-acclaimed TV show
The Guardian (2001), where her
character got written out after several episodes. In the same year she
had a supporting role in Woody Allen's
Hollywood Ending (2002). Erica
was honored with the title "Arrow in the Head's Mistress of the Year
2003". That year saw the release of the very successful Horror remake
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003),
in which she had a prominent role as one of the doomed teens. During
her screen test for the film, her screams were so loud that people on
other floors of the building called the police to report that a young
woman was being attacked. The same year she returned to acting on
television with a guest appearance on
Alias (2001), and then reunited with
Allen in his new film,
Anything Else (2003). In 2004,
Erica starred in an independent Thriller
The Warrior Class (2007),
where she played Anson Mount's love
interest. Months later, she started acting in theaters, and appeared in
Allen's 'A Second Hand Memory', which attracted attention from a wider
adult audience and received good reviews. A year later, Erica starred
in an independently-made Toronto Film Festival-smash
Little Athens (2005), had a guest
appearance on
Jennifer Love Hewitt's television
show Ghost Whisperer (2005),
and starred in
Mozart and the Whale (2005).
The year 2006 opened with Erica's guest appearance on
CSI: Miami (2002). Shortly after
she was landed a starring role in the well-acclaimed sequel
Wrong Turn 2: Dead End (2007),
where she did a lot of her own stunts. Before filming Wrong Turn 2, she
shot a Horror/Thriller
Living Hell (2008), and starred in an
independent Thriller film
Haunted Traxxs (2009), as well as a lead
in a Horror film Slaughter (2009/I),
which is set to film in late 2008.
She lives in Los Angeles.