Kristin Bauer van Straten
Bauer van Straten at the 2012 Toulouse Game Show
Born
Kristin Neubauer

Racine, Wisconsin, U.S.
Alma materWashington University in St. Louis
Parsons The New School for Design
OccupationActress
Years active1993–present
Spouse
Abri van Straten
​
(m. 2009)​
Websitewww.kristinbauer.com

Kristin Bauer van Straten (née Neubauer) is an American film and television actress, notable for her roles as vampire Pamela Swynford De Beaufort on the HBO television series True Blood, Jerry's girlfriend Gillian ("man hands") on Seinfeld, and as Maleficent in the ABC series Once Upon a Time.

Personal life

Bauer van Straten was born Kristin Neubauer[1][2] in Racine, Wisconsin. She is of German descent.[3] During childhood, she played sports, rode horses, and fired shotguns. She graduated from The Prairie School in Wind Point.[1] Bauer van Straten studied fine arts at Washington University in St. Louis, as well as in Boston and at New York City’s Parsons The New School for Design in her youth, but decided to become an actress and moved to Los Angeles, where she has been living since she began acting in 1994. She continues to draw and paint. Her works include commissioned portraits.

On August 1, 2009, she married musician Abri van Straten.[4][5]

Acting career

Bauer van Straten at the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con International

In 1995, Bauer van Straten had her first regular role in a television series, as Maggie Reynolds on The Crew. Other recurring roles include Geneva Renault in Total Security, Candy Cooper in That's Life, Rebecca Colfax in Dirty Sexy Money, and Belinda Slypich in Hidden Hills. Perhaps her best known film role was in Dancing at the Blue Iguana in 2000. Bauer van Straten played a porn star appearing as the featured act at a Los Angeles strip club and performed an extended nude dance.

In 2001, she starred in the award-winning short film Room 302, and in 2004 she had a minor role in the film 50 First Dates, which starred Adam Sandler. In the animated series Justice League, she supplied the voice of the superhero Mera.

She has also made a number of guest appearances in several television shows, including LA Law, Seinfeld, Everybody Loves Raymond, Dark Angel, Two and a Half Men, Star Trek: Enterprise, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Desperate Housewives, and George Lopez. She famously appeared in a Seinfeld episode (The Bizarro Jerry) as Gillian, Jerry's girlfriend with "man hands",[6] although the actual "man hands", seen only in close-ups, belonged to a member of the production crew.[7]

From 2008 to its conclusion in 2014, Bauer van Straten played the vampire Pamela Swynford De Beaufort on the HBO fantasy drama series, True Blood.[8] On December 8, 2009, TV Guide confirmed she had been promoted from recurring status to a series regular.[9]

In 2011, she was cast in the fantasy television series Once Upon a Time as the evil fairy Maleficent (the wicked fairy godmother, using the name from Disney's Sleeping Beauty), the rival of the Evil Queen of Snow White.[10][11]

Activism

Bauer van Straten carries out conservation work to improve the treatment of animals. In 2011, she teamed with the Animal Legal Defense Fund in an unsuccessful fight to release Tony, a Siberian-Bengal tiger who has been kept as a roadside attraction at the Tiger Truck Stop in Grosse Tête, Louisiana since 2000.[12] She worked with Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine to promote cosmetics that are not tested on animals.[13] She is a vegetarian[6] and has used her platform to support shelter animals by promoting adoption.[14]

Bauer van Straten also encourages people to live more sustainably and be more eco-friendly.[15]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1995 Galaxis Commander
Glory Daze Dina
1997 Romy and Michele's High School Reunion Kelly Possenger
1998 My Little Havana Carmen Short film
2000 Dancing at the Blue Iguana Nico
2001 Hollywood Palms Kathleen
Room 302 Karen Short film
2004 50 First Dates Female Firefighter
Living with Lou Jean Short film
2005 Life of the Party Caroline
2011 Subject: I Love You Sarah Drake
2012 Gotten Mother Video short
The Story of Luke Cindy
2014 Teen Lust Mary
2016 Nocturnal Animals Samantha Van Helsing
2018 Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay Crystal Frost/Killer Frost Voice
Happy Anniversary Willa
Rich Boy, Rich Girl Jessica Debenedetto
2020 The Boy Behind the Door Ms. Burton
2021 Paradise Cove Bree

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1993 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Blond Girl (uncredited) Episode: "If Wishes Were Horses"
1994 L.A. Law Miss English Episode: "McKenzie, Brackman, Barnum & Bailey"
1994 Columbo Suzie Endicott Episode: "Undercover"
1994 Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Mrs. Loomis Episode: "The Prankster"
1994 Silk Stalkings Heather St. Clair Episode: "Red Flag"
1995 Cybill Kirsten Episode: "The Curse of Zoey"
1995 Pointman Ellie Episodes: "That's Amore", "Father Connie" and "Business and Pleasure"
1995–1996 The Crew Maggie Reynolds Main role; 21 episodes
1996 Seinfeld Gillian Episode: "The Bizarro Jerry"
1997 Everybody Loves Raymond Lisa Episode: "The Car"
1997 Men Behaving Badly Robin Episode: "I Am What I Am"
1997 Total Security Geneva Renault Main role; 13 episodes
1998 Fantasy Island Tamara Stevens Episode: "Estrogen"
1998 Chicago Hope Melody Cacaci Episode: "Viagra-Vated Assault"
2000 Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye Katy Scott Television film
2000 Dark Angel Lydia Meyerson Episode: "Pilot"
2000–2001 That's Life Candy Cooper Recurring role; 12 episodes
2001 Dharma & Greg Stephanie Episode: "Dharma Does Dallas"
2001 Just Shoot Me! Allie Episodes: "At Long Last Allie" and "Finch in the Dogg House"
2001–2003 Justice League Mera Voice, 2 episodes
2002 Boomtown Prostitute Episode: "Pilot"
2002 Hidden Hills Belinda Slypich Recurring role; 10 episodes
2003 Gary the Rat Unknown Voice, episode: "Manrattan"
2003 Two and a Half Men Laura 2 episodes
2004 Dr. Vegas Portia Episode: "Pilot"
2004 Commando Nanny Lizzie Winter Television series
2004 Quintuplets Ms. Kilcoyne Episode: "Teacher's Pet"
2004 Crossing Jordan Molly Greene Episode: "Fire in the Sky"
2005 Crazy Unknown Television film
2005 JAG Megan Ransford Episode: "Automatic for the People"
2005 Star Trek: Enterprise Lt. Laneth Episode: "Divergence"
2005 Less than Perfect Kaye Buchinski Episode: "Casey V. Kronsky"
2005 Close to Home Shannon Cooke Episode: "Suburban Prostitution"
2005 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Kenli Johnson Episode: "Secrets & Flies"
2005 Boston Legal Tori Pines Episode: "The Ass Fat Jungle"
2006 Pink Collar Eve Television film
2006 Crossing Jordan Molly Greene Episode: "Death Toll"
2006 Desperate Housewives Veronica Episode: "Could I Leave You?"
2006 Cold Case Paula '04/'06 Episode: "The War at Home"
2007 George Lopez Cris Watson Episode: "George Joins the Neighborhood Wha-tcha and Raises the Vigil-ante"
2007 Dirty Sexy Money Rebecca Colfax Episodes: "The Lions" and "The Italian Banker"
2007 Bones Janelle Stinson Episode: "Boy in the Time Capsule"
2008 Emily's Reasons Why Not Bethany Episode: "Why Not to Cheat on Your Best Friend"
2008–2014 True Blood Pamela Swynford De Beaufort Recurring role (seasons 1-2), Main role (season 3-7); 59 episodes
2009 House Rules Kathy McAdams Television film
2009 Private Practice Susanna Episode: "Pushing the Limits"
2009 Three Rivers Val O'Leary Episode: "Where We Lie"
2010 Justified Shirley Kelso Episode: "Riverbrook"
2010 A Drop of True Blood Pamela Swynford De Beaufort Episode: "Eric & Pam"
2010–2013 The Secret Life of the American Teenager Didi Stone Recurring role; 11 episodes
2011 The Soup Pam the Intern Episode: "8.25"
2011–2015 Once Upon a Time Maleficent Season 1 (2 episodes), season 4 (8 episodes)
2013 Once Upon a Time in Wonderland Maleficent Voice, episode: "Forget Me Not"
2014 Saint George Suzanne Duval Episode: "Rich Girl"
2017 Lore Minnie Otto Episode: "Unboxed"
2019 Adam Ruins Everything TV Network Executive Episode: "Adam Ruins Himself"
2020 Sacred Lies Shannon Main role; 8 episodes

Music videos

Year Title Artist(s) Role Ref.
2012 "Gotten" Slash featuring Adam Levine Joanna's Mother [16]
2018 "Trouble Man" Chris Pierce Herself

Podcasts

Year Title Role Notes
2021 Bridgewater Celeste[17]
2021-present Truest Blood Host With co-host Deborah Ann Woll[18]

References

  1. ^ a b "Racine native flying high in Hollywood". The Journal Times.com. Retrieved September 8, 2010.
  2. ^ "Kristin Neubauer birth reference". FamilySearch.org. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
  3. ^ Bierly, Mandi (September 11, 2009). "True Blood's Pam, Kristin Bauer, talks meeting her maker (and Alexander Skarsgard)". Entertainment Weekly.
  4. ^ Stein, Jennifer (August 18, 2009). "True Blood's Kristin Bauer Marries in Wisconsin". Destination I Do. Archived from the original on September 29, 2018. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  5. ^ Won, Christine (August 1, 2009). "From TV screen to Racine streets". Journal Times. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  6. ^ a b "True Blood's Kristin Bauer: As An Actress I'm Always Hungry". HuffPost. 2010-08-09. Retrieved 2019-11-14.
  7. ^ Mandel, David (2007). Seinfeld Season 8: Audio Commentary - "The Bizarro Jerry" (DVD). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
  8. ^ "Kristin Bauer Becomes a True Blood Regular". Dread Central.
  9. ^ Natalie Abrams. "True Blood's Kristin Bauer Becomes Series Regular". TVGuide.com.
  10. ^ "Kristin Bauer Gets Once Upon a Time". KristinBauer.net. Archived from the original on 2012-04-25. Retrieved 2011-10-24.
  11. ^ Abrams, Natalie (November 19, 2014). "Once Upon a Time casts Alias vet Merrin Dungey". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on January 10, 2015. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  12. ^ "Kristin Bauer Takes a Bite out of Animal Cruelty". aldf.org.
  13. ^ "Expanding Efforts to Keep Cosmetics Testing from Animals". The New York Times. December 28, 2011.
  14. ^ "True Blood Star Speaks Out for Shelter Animals". VegNews.com. Retrieved 2019-11-14.
  15. ^ English, Whitney (2012-07-02). "A Vegan Vampire". SheKnows. Retrieved 2019-11-14.
  16. ^ "Slash Releases 'Gotten' Music Video to Benefit Homeless Youth". Loudwire. March 29, 2012. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  17. ^ "Bridgewater". Grim & Mild. Retrieved 2022-01-19.
  18. ^ White, Peter (2021-10-01). "'True Blood': HBO Max To Launch Podcast With Kristin Bauer & Deborah Ann Woll, Produced By Janina Gavankar's Safe Haven". Deadline. Retrieved 2022-01-19.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kristin Bauer.
True Blood
Authority control databases
Categories