Grey's Anatomy

Background:

“When you know the audiences not only like what you're doing, but that they're also responding, it's as good as it can get for an actor.” Elizabeth Reaser

A Juilliard graduate, Elizabeth Reaser began her career as a stage actress and has appeared in such productions as "Sweet Bird of Youth," "Closer," "Blackbird," "The Winter’s Tale," and "Top Girls." She received an Emmy and a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for her recurring role as Rebecca Pope or "Ava" (2007-2008) on the ABC primetime medical drama "Grey's Anatomy." She also starred in the TV series "Saved" (2006) and "The Ex List" (2008), and guest starred in the TV series "The Sopranos," "Hack," "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," and "Standoff."

“The drama of 'Saved' comes from the passion, the desire and the fear. It comes from the longing to connect.” Elizabeth Reaser

On the big screen, Reaser could be seen in the films "Stay" (2005), "Sweet Land" (2005), "The Family Stone" (2005), "Puccini for Beginners" (2006), and the hit vampire movie, "Twilight" (2008), in which she plays Esme Cullen. She will reprise her role in its upcoming sequel, "The Twilight Saga: New Moon."

This 5' 2½" talented actress was selected by Interview Magazine as one of the "14 To Be: Emerging Creative Women" in October 2004.

“When it comes to the heart, I tend to be very serious. I don’t fool around. I don’t play the field. It’s one at a time.” Elizabeth Reaser

Vegetarian

Childhood and Family:

Born in Bloomfield, Michigan, on June 15, 1975, Elizabeth Ann Reaser grew up in rural Milford. She is the middle child in a trio of sisters born to Karen Davidson, a homemaker, and John Reaser, an attorney turned restaurateur turned substitute teacher. Elizabeth’s parents divorced and her mother married billionaire businessman William Davidson and became the owner of the Detroit Pistons upon his death.

Reaser attended Bloomfield Hills, Seaholm High in Birmingham, and Avondale High School in Auburn Hills, where she graduated. She attended Oakland University in Rochester Hills, Michigan, for one year before getting her Bachelors of Fine Arts at the prestigious Juilliard School of Drama in May 1999.

“Every day was a struggle for me there. I just didn't fit that program either. But I'm so glad now I did it because it gave me all this technical skill I never thought I'd need. I'd never have been able to do the German phonetically in this movie (Sweet Land) if I hadn't gone to Juilliard.” Elizabeth Reaser (on attending Juilliard)

Reaser is listed as a vegetarian by PETA.

Twilight

Career:

“I always wanted to be an actor, ever since I can remember. I grew up subjecting my family to really bad shows in the living room. It's what I love to do.” Elizabeth Reaser

Elizabeth Reaser studied acting at the prestigious Juilliard School of Drama. After graduating in 1999, she landed a part on the CBS daytime drama “Guiding Light.” She was also cast as Heavenly in La Jolla Playhouse’s revival of Tennessee Williams’ “Sweet Bird of Youth” (1999) and played Mimi in a production of “The Hologram Theory” (2000) with the Blue Lights Theatre Company. In 2001, she portrayed Alice in Portland Center Stage’s production of Patrick Marber’s “Closer” and made her London debut in Adam Rapp's critically acclaimed production of “Blackbird.” In the following years, she played Shaylee Ledbetter/Sharice in the play “Stone Cold Dead Serious” (2002) at the American Repertory Theatre and Perdita in a production of “The Winter’s Tale” (2003) with the Classic Stage Company. Reaser was also spotted as a guest in an episode of the HBO mob drama "The Sopranos." She played small roles in the films "The Believer" (2001; starring Ryan Gosling), "Thirteen Conversations About One Thing" (2001; starring Matthew McConaughey), and "Emmett's Mark" (2002; starring Scott Wolf), a thriller by Keith Snyder.

2004 saw Reaser costar with Alan King in the Showtime movie “Mind the Gap” and guest star in an episode of the CBS crime drama series "Hack." She then appeared in the pilot episode of the short-lived Fox Network drama "The Jury." In October that same year, she was selected by Interview Magazine as one of the "14 To Be: Emerging Creative Women."

In the following year, moviegoers could catch Reaser in Marc Forster’s psychological thriller “Stay” (2005; with Ewan McGregor, Ryan Gosling, Bob Hoskins, and Naomi Watts) and Ali Selim's independent romantic drama film based on Will Weaver's 1989 short story "A Gravestone Made of Wheat," "Sweet Land" (2005; with Tim Guinee, Lois Smith, Ned Beatty, John Heard, Alex Kingston, and Alan Cumming), in which she played the lead role of Inge Altenberg, an orphan from Norway who arrives in America to a very cold reception. For her performance in the latter film, Reaser won a Jury Award for Best Actress - Feature Film at the Newport Beach Film Festival and received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Female Lead.

“It’s great to be in films with names, but you don’t necessarily become friends. I’ve never had the type of career that’s built on whom I know. I’ve never worked that social angle. It takes a special talent and I don’t have it, so I’ve just gone with trying to do a good job.” Elizabeth Reaser (on working with famous actors)

Still in 2005, Reaser portrayed Craig T. Nelson and Diane Keaton’s eldest daughter in Thomas Bezucha's “The Family Stone.” On stage, Reaser costarred in the play “Top Girls” at the Williamstown Theatre Festival.

Reaser continued to add to her resume with roles in Bruce Leddy's musical movie "Shut Up and Sing" (2006) and Maria Maggenti's romantic comedy film "Puccini for Beginners" (2006; with an ensemble cast that include Gretchen Mol, Justin Kirk, and Julianne Nicholson), in which she starred as Allegra.

“Humor is the only way to make it through these intense, frightening situations that our characters face. I hung out in an ER when I was researching for this role [on “Saved”] and I found that the doctors were really funny. They were always finding the humor within these frightening situations. Humor is real. Within any drama in anyone's life, there's always a way to find humor in it. Without humor no one cares about whatever drama is going on.” Elizabeth Reaser

Meanwhile, she was also cast as Alice Alden, M.D., opposite Tom Everett Scott, in the short-lived TNT medical drama “Saved” (2006). On why she accepted her role in “Saved,” Reaser explained, “I like that everyone is so flawed, especially Wyatt and Alice. Their struggle is fascinating to me because it's so real.”

During this time, Elizabeth was also spotted as a guest in the NBC/USA Network's cop drama series "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" and FOX’s FBI drama "Standoff."

From 2007 to 2008, Reaser played the recurring role of Rebecca Pope or "Ava," an unidentified pregnant woman suffering from amnesia, on the ABC primetime medical drama “Grey's Anatomy.” For her work on the show, Reaser received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series, a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series, and a Prism Award nomination for Best Performance in a Drama Multi-Episode Storyline.

On being a part of “Grey's Anatomy,” Reaser said, “I really am not allowed to say anything about it. I've filmed my first two episodes, but even I don't know what happens after that. All I know is that I love the show and I've loved working with the people on it. So I'm ready for whatever happens. I hope the fans are too.”

Reaser subsequently guest starred in an episode of David Wain's internet video series "Wainy Days" and starred as Bella Bloom on the short-lived CBS series based on the Israeli series "The Mythological X," "The Ex List." She was also cast as Esme Cullen, Carlisle Cullen's wife and the adoptive mother of Edward, Rosalie, Emmett, Alice, and Jasper, in the hit feature adaptation of Stephenie Meyer’s bestselling vampire novel, “Twilight” (2008). She will reprise her role in its upcoming sequel, "The Twilight Saga: New Moon," which is tentatively scheduled to be release on November 20, 2009.

Meanwhile, Reaser also costarred with Joseph Fiennes, Justin Kirk, Mary Tyler Moore, and Michelle Trachtenberg in Peter Callahan's Sundance-premiered film, "Against the Current" (2009).

“I feel so blessed that I've been able to achieve what I have without a lot of pain and struggle. There are so many actors out there who are immensely talented and some I know are pretty close to starving.” Elizabeth Reaser

Awards:

• Newport Beach Film Festival: Jury Award - Best Actress - Feature Film, "Sweet Land," 2006