Brittany
Ann Daniel was born five minutes before the birth of her
twin sister Cynthia. Mr.
Daniel was a member of the Florida State University Systems
Board of Regents as well as a
devout Catholic, as was mom Carolyn, making for a rather
strict upbringing for the Daniel
twins and their older brother Brad. Nevertheless, whatever
parameters their parents imposed
on them did not conflict with the sisters' shared aspirations,
and by the age of 11, both
girls had begun working professionally as print models.
By their 14th birthdays, Brittany and Cynthia both
boasted rather lengthy modeling resumes
having appeared together in such teenybopper magazines
as Seventeen, YM and Sassy. They had
also made their first foray into the acting world in
tandem, taking on the guest part of a
double-headed dragon in a 1987 episode of The New Leave
It to Beaver. While this first bit
part may have seemed trivial at the time, the experience
that accompanied it later proved
fruitful.
It was Brittany who first capitalized on the opportunities
that her experience afforded her,
taking on a guest role on the television series Burke's
Law performing alongside other young
aspiring actresses Mira Sorvino and Sarah Michelle Gellar.
In 1993, Brittany was nominated
for a Youth in Film Award for Best Young Actress in
an Off-Primetime Series, upping her
visibility in the industry.
As it turned out, acting work not only awaited Brittany.
Their first feature film appearance,
alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in 1995's The Basketball
Diaries was very memorable. In 2002,
after a guest spot on That '70s Show, Brittany was cast
as the bisexual Sophia in That '80s
Show. A cameo from her sister Cynthia on the program
marked the first professional reunion
for the Daniel twins in a number of years.
While Brittany's acting talents and rapid rise to celebrity
status have caught more than a
few eyes, her off-screen exploits have also garnered
her quite a bit of attention. A 1999
relationship with Dawson's Creek star Joshua Jackson
landed Brittany on every gossip column
in the country, as well as the on hit list of every
13-year-old girl in the Western
hemisphere. Recent sightings of Brittany alongside Late
Late Show host Craig Kilborn at
Sacramento Kings basketball games have set teeth chattering
again.
