Shannon Woodward
Woodward in July 2017
Born (1984-12-17) December 17, 1984 (age 39)
Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1991–present

Shannon Woodward (born December 17, 1984) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Sabrina Collins on the FOX sitcom Raising Hope (2010–2014), Elsie Hughes on the HBO science-fiction thriller series Westworld (2016–2018), and the voice and motion capture of Dina in the video game The Last of Us Part II, for which she received a BAFTA Award for Performer in a Supporting Role nomination at the 17th British Academy Games Awards.[1]

Early life

Shannon Woodward was born in Phoenix, Arizona, on December 17, 1984.[2]

Career

Woodward's first on-screen acting job came in 1991 when she played the occasionally recurring role of Missy on Nickelodeon's television series Clarissa Explains It All.[3] She reprised this role twice during the show's five seasons. Woodward next appeared in made-for-television films: Family Reunion: A Relative Nightmare (1995) and Tornado! (1996). In 1997, she played an uncredited role in the CBS miniseries True Women.[4]

Between 2000 and 2007, Woodward played a number of minor roles in various television shows including The Drew Carey Show, Grounded for Life, Malcolm in the Middle, Crossing Jordan, Without a Trace, Psych, and Boston Public.

Woodward's big-screen debut came in 2005, when she played Emma Sharp, the daughter of a Texas Ranger assigned to protect a group of cheerleaders who witnessed a murder in the action comedy Man of the House.

In 2007, Woodward got her big break in the series The Riches, which aired for two seasons (2007–2008) on cable network FX. She played the role of Di Di Malloy, the teen daughter and middle child in an American family of Irish Travellers. After The Riches ended, Woodward played the role of Leah in the film The Haunting of Molly Hartley.

Woodward shot the 2009 pilot Limelight, about a New York City school for performing arts, but the series was not picked up. That same year, Woodward had a recurring role on the final season of NBC's ER, as Kelly Taggart, the younger sister of nurse Samantha "Sam" Taggart. She also starred in another teen thriller, The Shortcut.

In 2010, Woodward starred in the independent drama Girlfriend. She also played the lead character in the 2015 ensemble comedy-drama The Breakup Girl.

From September 2010 to April 2014, Woodward had a starring role in the FOX sitcom Raising Hope, playing Sabrina Collins, a grocery store checkout clerk who is the love interest of the series lead.

Woodward appeared in her friend Katy Perry's music video "Hot n Cold" and had a cameo role in Perry's documentary/concert film Katy Perry: Part of Me. Perry, in turn, guest-starred in a season two episode of Raising Hope.[5]

Woodward played Lois in the 2017 film All Nighter.[6] She was a regular in two seasons of HBO series Westworld as computer programmer Elsie Hughes.[7]

It was announced in April 2017 that Woodward would appear in the video game The Last of Us Part II, which was released on June 19, 2020.[8] Woodward played Dina, the main character Ellie's friend and love interest.[9]

Personal life

Woodward came out as queer in February 2021.[10]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2005 Man of the House Emma Sharp
The Quiet Fiona
2007 Sunny & Share Love You Girl on the Street
The Comebacks Emily
2008 The Haunting of Molly Hartley Leah
2009 The Shortcut Lisa
2010 Girlfriend Candy
2012 Katy Perry: Part of Me Herself
2013 Adult World Candace [citation needed]
2014 Search Party Tracy
You Me & Her Anna Short film
2015 The Breakup Girl Claire Baker
2016 The Veil Jill
2017 All Nighter Lois
Anna & The Asteroid Anna Short film
2019 Jake and Kyle Get Wedding Dates Tania Wilde Voice, direct-to-video
Ode to Joy Liza
2021 Happily Carla
2023 Jagged Mind Alex [11]

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1991–1994 Clarissa Explains It All Missy / Alien 3 3 episodes
1995 Family Reunion: A Relative Nightmare Leigh Dooley Television film
1996 Tornado! Lucy
1997 True Women Young Cherokee Woods (age 13)
2000 The Drew Carey Show Girl in Cafeteria Episode: "Be Drew to Your School"
2001 Crossing Jordan Lucy Episode: Pilot; uncredited
Malcolm in the Middle Tammy Episode: "Houseboat"
2001–2002 Grounded for Life Kristina 3 episodes
2002 Greetings from Tucson Chrissy Episode: "Popularity"
2003 Without a Trace Vicki Johnson Episode: "Sons and Daughters"
Boston Public Allison / Marianne Karr 2 episodes
2004 Medical Investigation Danielle Johnson Episode: "The Unclean"
2005 Quintuplets Bailey Episode: "Chutes and Letters"
2006 Cold Case Raquel Montero (1994) Episode: "Detention"
2007 Psych Alice Bundy Episode: "Scary Sherry: Bianca's Toast"
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Cecilia Strayer Episode: "Svengali"
2007–2008 The Riches Di Di Malloy Main role
2009 Limelight Zoe Green Television film
Criminal Minds Linda Jones Episode: "Zoe's Reprise"
ER Kelly Taggart 2 episodes
2010–2014 Raising Hope Sabrina Collins Main Role
2016–2018 Westworld Elsie Hughes[12] 20 episodes
2017 The Guest Book Marla Episode: "Story Seven"
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver Female Forensic Scientist Episode: "Forensic Science"
2018 Portlandia Shannon Episode: "Open Relationship"
Drunk History Ida Tarbell Episode: "Underdogs"
2018–2019 An Emmy for Megan Herself 2 episodes
2020 Robot Chicken Barbara "Barb" Holland, Ariel Voice, episode: "Gracie Purgatory in: That's How You Get Hemorrhoids"
Animal Talking with Gary Whitta Herself Episode: "Selena Gomez, Cory Barlog, Laura Bailey, Ashley Johnson, Shannon Woodward"
2021 Mr. Corman Elizabeth Corman 2 episodes
2023 The Morning Show Jess Bennett 1 episode
2023 Scott Pilgrim Takes Off Hollie (Voice) Episode: "Ramona Rents a Video"

Music videos

Year Title Artist Role Notes
2008 "Hot n Cold" Katy Perry Bridesmaid
2013 "Kangaroo Court" Capital Cities Poodle

Video games

Year Title Role Notes
2020 The Last of Us Part II Dina Motion capture & voice[9]
Nominated—2020 British Academy Games Awards for Performer in a Supporting Role[13]
2024 Riven Unidentified Character Motion capture[14]
Forthcoming

References

  1. ^ "2021 BAFTA Games Awards: The Winners". March 2021.
  2. ^ "Shannon Woodward - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  3. ^ "Watch 'Westworld' Star Shannon Woodward in Her First TV Role on 'Clarissa Explains It All'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  4. ^ Woodward, Shannon [@shannonwoodward] (July 2, 2020). "@rejectedjokes A TV movie called TRUE WOMEN 💀" (Tweet). Archived from the original on July 2, 2020. Retrieved March 3, 2021 – via Twitter.
  5. ^ Goldberg, Lesley (February 22, 2012). "Katy Perry to Guest Star on Fox's 'Raising Hope'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 24, 2020.
  6. ^ Ford, Rebecca; McClintock, Pamela (April 30, 2015). "Cannes: J.K. Simmons, Emile Hirsch to Star in 'The Runaround' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
  7. ^ Goldberg, Lesley (August 6, 2014). "HBO's 'Westworld' Adds Jeffrey Wright, Shannon Woodward, 4 More". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  8. ^ Wojnar, Zak (April 7, 2017). "Westworld Actor To Be Featured In The Last Of Us Part II". Game Informer. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
  9. ^ a b Steadman, Alex (June 23, 2020). "How Shannon Woodward Went From 'The Last of Us' Fan to Playing New Character Dina in 'Part II'". Variety. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  10. ^ Woodward, Shannon [@shannonwoodward] (February 25, 2021). "my queerness was never something I wanted to talk about with strangers, not because it was literally ever a secret (it was never a secret). it just... is mine" (Tweet). Archived from the original on August 31, 2022. Retrieved December 7, 2022 – via Twitter.
  11. ^ Earl, William (April 20, 2023). "Jagged Mind: First Look at Hulu-Bound Horror (Exclusive)". Variety. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
  12. ^ Wigler, Josh (June 29, 2018). "'Westworld' Star Looks Back on Tragic Finale: 'I Was Really Sad About It'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  13. ^ "2021 BAFTA Games Awards: The Winners". bafta.org. March 1, 2021. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  14. ^ "New! Acting and Character Motion Capture in Riven [Excerpt]". youtube.com. April 25, 2024. Retrieved April 27, 2024.

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