She
was born in Melbourne, Australia and started modelling
at 11 years of age while excelling at school. It continued
into her teenage years as she was accepted into the University
Of Melbourne. There she would major in law, however, Portia
took a sidestep into acting with her role as Giddy (then
20) years old in Sirens.
Her main purpose for auditioning for Sirens was to
meet Sam Neill (Jurassic Park - Dr. Grant) her idol,
even though she had no major acting experience. She
is the younger of two children brought up by her single
mother Margaret (father Barry died when she was 9 from
a heart attack) and had opportunities with acting in
television commercials when she was only 14 years old.
Portia is now in her second season as the ambitious
"Nelle Porter" on FOX's award winning series
"Ally McBeal." Unlike many actresses, Portia
de Rossi did not intentionally pursue a career amidst
the hype and glamour of the entertainment industry Instead,
she was pursued by it. Portia was enrolled in law school
and well on her way to becoming an attorney in her native
Australia when movie stardom beckoned. A local film
producer asked Portia to audtition for an independent
film that he was making before she finally agreed. When
she finally did, it confirmed the producer's intuition
that Portia de Rossi had the makings of a star.
Portia's latest project was in MGM's religious supernatural
thriller "Stigmata," co-starring with Patricia
Arquette and Gabriel Byrne. Other film credits include,
"A Breed Apart" with Andrew McCarthy; "The
Invisibles," a two-person film with Michael Goorjian
and "American Intellectuals," an ensemble
piece about a clique of upper class kids who experiment
with smart drugs; and "Girl" a coming-of-age
story with Dominique Swain, Summer Phoenix and Sean
Patrick Flannery. The film centers around a girl's sexual
awakening as she readies herself for college life. De
Rossi plays her wilder, more experienced friend who
helps her along the way. Intelligent and beautiful,
Portia seems destined for Hollywood stardom. She currently
resides in Los Angeles.
