Kristin Kreuk

Kristin Laura Kreuk (/kruːk/;[1] born December 30, 1982) is a Canadian actress. Debuting on Canadian teen drama Edgemont, she became most known for her roles as Lana Lang in the superhero television series Smallville (2001–2011), also as Catherine Chandler-Keller in The CW sci-fi series Beauty & the Beast (2012–2016) and as Joanna Hanley in the CBC legal drama series Burden of Truth.

Kristin Kreuk
Kreuk in 2013
Born
Kristin Laura Kreuk

(1982-12-30) December 30, 1982
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
NationalityCanadian
OccupationActress, producer
Years active2000–present

She has also starred in movies such as Snow White: The Fairest of Them All (2001), Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li (2009) and Irvine Welsh's Ecstasy (2011).

Early life

Kreuk was born in Vancouver, British Columbia,[2] to Deanna Che and Peter Kreuk, two landscape architects.[3] Her father is of Dutch descent, her mother is of Chinese descent, born in Indonesia and her maternal grandmother was Chinese Jamaican.[4] Her mother and grandmother lived in Singapore and the Solomon Islands before settling in Vancouver.[5] She has a younger sister, Justine Kreuk.[6][7]

Kreuk trained in karate[3][8] and gymnastics at the national level until high school, but quit in grade 11 due to scoliosis.[8] Kreuk was planning to study forensic science or psychology at Simon Fraser University and was surprised when a casting director for the CBC television series Edgemont contacted her at her high school.[3]

In 2020, Kreuk discussed her Chinese heritage in an Instagram post during Asian Pacific American Heritage Month:

I am deeply proud of my heritage and have found strength in learning about the journeys my family took to find prosperity. My mom came to Canada when she was starting high school—her family’s story is complex, but, in its most simple telling, they left Indonesia (the Chinese have a difficult history there) and lived in Singapore and the Solomon Islands before coming to Vancouver. For my mom Vancouver was a welcoming and positive home. Neither my mom nor my grandmother spoke Chinese. Both grew up outside of China (my grandmother was from Jamaica). My mom never cooked Chinese food. She didn’t know much about the culture. But none of this seemed strange to me growing up. I still don’t know why. Perhaps much of it had to do with the fact that my high school was populated by 85% Asian peeps from all different backgrounds. Perhaps that allowed me to see that my family was simply one version of Asian.[5]

Career

Television
Kreuk in 2011

After filming the first season of Edgemont (a teenage soap opera set at a Vancouver-area high school) and getting herself an agent, Kreuk landed the lead role of Snow White in a TV movie, Snow White: The Fairest of Them All, which aired on ABC, and later released on DVD, in 2002. In mid-2004, Kreuk took the role of Tenar for the Sci-Fi Channel two-part miniseries Earthsea. The miniseries was filmed in Vancouver, directed by Robert Lieberman and broadcast on December 13, 2004.

After Snow White, Kreuk's agent sent an audition tape to screenwriters Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, who at the time were putting together the cast of a show they had created for the WB Network entitled Smallville. The series, which was slated to be shot in Vancouver, revolves around the life of teenager Clark Kent before he becomes Superman. Gough and Millar called Kreuk to WB's studios in Burbank, California to audition for the role of Clark Kent's first love, Lana Lang, and she was cast in the part. For a while, Kreuk was starring on both Smallville and Edgemont, although her role on Edgemont slightly diminished over time. Edgemont ended its run in 2005. After seven seasons, Kreuk left Smallville in the beginning of 2008, when her character leaves town. She returned as a guest star in the show's 8th season for five episodes to conclude her storyline.

In 2009, Kreuk signed on for a multi-episode arc in season three of Chuck.[9] She played Hannah, a computer troubleshooter who joins the Buy More Nerd Herd after being laid off from her previous job.

In 2010, she portrayed Judah Ben-Hur's sister Tirzah in the TV movie Ben Hur, which aired in Canada and later on ABC in the United States.

Kreuk was involved with two pilots that did not get picked up: a 2010 CBS sitcom entitled Hitched (which was co-created by Josh Schwartz, who was also the creator of Chuck)[10] and a 2011 NBC drama series called 17th Precinct, which was developed by Ronald D. Moore.[11]

In February 2012, Kreuk was announced as the lead female character in The CW's reboot of Beauty & the Beast,[12] which was picked up on May 11, 2012, and started airing in Fall 2012.[13] The CW announced in October 2015 that the show's upcoming fourth season, scheduled to air over the summer of 2016, would be its final season.[14] The series finale aired on August 25, 2016.

Kreuk at ComicCon 2013

In 2018, Kreuk played the lead role in Burden of Truth, a CBC Television production in which she portrays a "big-city lawyer who takes on a case for a group of sick girls in her hometown". The show premiered on January 10, 2018.[15][16] On April 5, 2018, The CW announced that they had acquired the rights to air the show beginning in Summer 2018.[17] CBC has also renewed Burden of Truth for a second season and is set to start filming in June 2018.[18]

Films

Kreuk appeared in the comedy film EuroTrip (2004), playing the girlfriend who cheats on the protagonist with a musician (played by Matt Damon).

In early 2005, Kreuk signed on to the Canadian independent film Partition (2007), playing Naseem, a vulnerable 17-year-old whose world is shattered by the trauma of the Partition of India in 1947; the character also falls in love with an ex-British Indian Army officer. In the summer of 2006, Kreuk starred in the short film, Dream Princess by comic book writer/artist Kaare Andrews. The film is a modern sci-punk retelling of the tale of Sleeping Beauty, with a twist. However, it never aired.[19] Kreuk starred in the film Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li (2009), in which she played the title character, Chun-Li.[20] She tested for the sequel Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011), with the role going to Paula Patton.

In early 2010, Kreuk signed onto the Japanese horror film Vampire (2011).[21] In 2010, Kreuk also starred in the music video "I Heard" by musician Hill Zaini.[22]

Kreuk stars as Heather in the film Irvine Welsh's Ecstasy (2011), based on Irvine Welsh's novel. She also stars as Tilda in the science fiction comedy film Space Milkshake (2012).

Film production

Kreuk, with Rosena Bhura, whom Kreuk met on the set of Partition, started a production company called Parvati Creative Inc, which focuses on "human-centric films as seen through a female lens".[23][24] Parvati's first production was a short film directed by Rick Rosenthal called Blink, of which Kreuk is listed as an executive producer.[25][26] The second project was a comedy web series entitled "Queenie" which featured Kreuk's friend Olivia Cheng.

Advertising work

Neutrogena made her the spokesmodel for their new worldwide advertising campaign. In this role, Kreuk followed in the footsteps of fellow teen stars such as Jennifer Love Hewitt and Mandy Moore. In 2005, she renewed her contract with Neutrogena for another two years, making her the company's longest-serving model spokesperson.[27]

Voice acting

In August 2017, Kreuk provided the voice for Princess Shuyan in Shuyan Saga, a graphic novel series set in an ancient Chinese martial arts fantasy universe.[28][29] She also reprised her role as Catherine Chandler from Beauty & the Beast on Robot Chicken.[30]

Personal life

Kreuk currently resides in Toronto, Ontario.[31] She stated on Live! with Kelly and Michael in October 2012 that she is a pescetarian.[32][33][34]

NXIVM controversy

In November 2017, Kreuk and her Smallville co-star Allison Mack were linked to a supposed multi-level marketing organization known as NXIVM, which was founded by Keith Raniere. In March 2018, following Raniere's arrest, Kreuk disclosed on her Twitter account that she had joined NXIVM believing it was a "self-help" group but left in 2013, and was in minimal contact with any members of the group, nor had she witnessed any illegal or nefarious activities during her time in the group. Kreuk's version of events was backed by actress Sarah Edmondson, who had participated in exposing NXIVM's activities.[35]

Filmography

Television
Year Title Role Notes
2001 Snow White: The Fairest of Them All Snow White Television film
The Weekenders Gina Episode: "My Punky Valentine"; voice role
2001–2005 Edgemont Laurel Yeung Main role; 70 episodes
2001–2009 Smallville Lana Lang Main role (seasons 1–7, guest season 8); 154 episodes
Louise McCallum Episode: "Relic"
Margaret Isobel Thoreaux 3 episodes
2004 Earthsea Tenar Television miniseries
2010 Ben Hur Tirzah Television mini-series
Chuck Hannah Recurring role; 4 episodes
2012–2016 Beauty & the Beast Catherine Chandler Main role; 70 episodes, also producer
2015 Robot Chicken Oblina / Catherine Chandler Episode: "Ants on a Hamburger"; voice role
2018–present Burden of Truth Joanna Hanley Main role,[16] also executive producer

Film
Year Title Role Notes
2004 EuroTrip Fiona
2006 Dream Princess Princess Short film
2007 Partition Naseem Khan
2009 Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li Chun-Li
2011 Vampire Maria Lucas
Irvine Welsh's Ecstasy Heather Thompson
2012 Space Milkshake Tilda also executive producer
2017 The Emissary The Emissary Short film

Video games
Year Title Role Notes
2017 Shuyan Saga Shuyan voice role

Producer
Year Title Notes
2011 Blink Short film; also executive producer
TBA Phoolan Documentary film; post-production, also executive producer

Awards and nominations

In 2014 and 2015, Kreuk won a People's Choice Award for Favourite Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV Actress for her role in Beauty & the Beast.[36][37] In 2015, she was ranked as Canada's most beautiful person in an online poll organized by ET Canada.[38]

Year Association Category Work Result
2002 Saturn Awards Best Actress in a Television Series Smallville Nominated
2003 Nominated
Teen Choice Awards Choice TV Actress: Action Nominated
2004 Saturn Awards Best Actress in a Television Series Nominated
Teen Choice Awards Choice TV Actress: Action Nominated
2005 Leo Awards Best Actress in Feature Length Drama Earthsea Nominated
Best Performance in Youth's Series Edgemont Nominated
2006 Teen Choice Awards Choice TV Actress: Action/Drama Smallville Nominated
Saturn Awards Best Actress in a Television Series Nominated
2008 Teen Choice Awards Choice TV Actress: Action Nominated
2009 Nominated
2013 Teen Choice Awards Choice TV Actress: Fantasy/Sci-Fi Beauty & the Beast Nominated
2014 Nominated
2014 People's Choice Awards Favorite Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV Actress Won
2015 Won
2019 Canadian Screen Awards Best Lead Actress, Drama Series Burden of Truth Nominated
Rockie Awards Canadian Award of Distinction Burden of Truth, EuroTrip, Smallville Won
gollark: The tapes are compatible with OC, and it has chatboxes and nice lamps too.
gollark: There's an addon, Computronics.
gollark: I don't have a very good internet connection.
gollark: I wrote a player for them which supports seeking to specific tracks via ontape metadata.
gollark: They can play DFPWM audio but also work as big sequential disks.

See also

References
  1. "NLS/BPH: Other Writings, Say How? A Pronunciation Guide to Names of Public Figures". Loc.gov. Retrieved July 24, 2010.
  2. "Kristen Kreuk". TV Guide.com. Retrieved November 4, 2009.
  3. "Kristin Kreuk biography and filmography". Tribute. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
  4. E Talk Daily, 58 seconds into referenced clip (Aired Tuesday January 30, 2007 on CTV). Retrieved February, 2007.
  5. "Kristin Kreuk on Instagram: "I love this so much. I am deeply proud of my heritage and have found strength in learning about the journeys my family took to find…"". Instagram. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  6. "Actress Kristin Kreuk is returning to the big screen - Chatelaine". Chatelaine. December 2, 2011.
  7. "Kristin Kreuk Biography". TV Guide. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
  8. "Six questions with Chun-Li (Kristin Kreuk)". Los Angeles Times. February 27, 2009.
  9. Ausiello, Michael (August 27, 2009). "Exclusive: 'Smallville' heroine Kristin Kreuk joins 'Chuck'". Entertainment Weekly. New York City: Meredith Corporation. Archived from the original on October 28, 2010. Retrieved July 24, 2010.
  10. Porter, Rick (April 15, 2010). "Kristin Kreuk gets un-'Hitched'". Zap2it. Chicago, Illinois: Tribune Media Services. Archived from the original on April 11, 2012. Retrieved April 29, 2012.
  11. "Kristin Kreuk Joins '17th Precinct' -- This Pilot Keeps Getting Better!". AOL TV. Retrieved April 29, 2012.
  12. Andreeva, Nellie (February 16, 2012). "The CW Finds Its Beauty: 'Smallville's Kristin Kreuk To Star In 'Beauty & The Beast' Pilot". Deadline Hollywood. Los Angeles, California: Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved February 19, 2012.
  13. Andreeva, Nellie (May 11, 2012). "CW Picks Up 'Carrie Diaries', 'Arrow', 'Cult', 'Beauty and the Beast', 'First Cut' To Series". Deadline Hollywood. Los Angeles, California: Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved May 11, 2012.
  14. Friedlander, Whitney (October 13, 2015). "CW's 'Beauty and the Beast' Ending After Season 4". Retrieved July 2, 2016.
  15. Ahearn, Victoria (May 24, 2017). "New CBC lineup includes dramas with Kristin Kreuk, Allan Hawco". The Globe and Mail. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: The Woodbridge Company. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
  16. "Burden of Truth". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
  17. "CW Acquires Kristin Kreuk Legal Drama 'Burden of Truth'". Variety. April 5, 2018. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  18. "CBC's Burden of Truth is back in session: Season two filming now in Winnipeg". cbc.ca (Press release). July 9, 2018.
  19. "A Foundation To Assist Canadian Talent". Bravo!FACT. Archived from the original on July 8, 2011. Retrieved July 24, 2010.
  20. "Kristin Kreuk is Chun-Li in Street Fighter!". ComingSoon.net. December 21, 2007. Retrieved December 21, 2007.
  21. "A Set Visit With the Vampire". Dreadcentral.com. Retrieved July 24, 2010.
  22. "Hill - I Heard - Official Music Video". YouTube. Retrieved June 17, 2011.
  23. "Kristin Kreuk talks "Smallville" and "Chuck" - February 1, 2010". Fancast. Retrieved June 25, 2011.
  24. "Smallville's Kristin Kreuk, Allison Mack to emcee Beyond Pink gala dinner". Straight.com. Retrieved June 25, 2011.
  25. "INFO ON SHORT FILM BLINK". allisonmackweb.com. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
  26. "Blink - Full Video". Vimeo. Retrieved April 29, 2012.
  27. Kristin Kreuk bio on "Partition" web site
  28. "And the voice of Shuyan is...Kristin Kreuk!". Steam. August 8, 2017.
  29. Kristin Kreuk [@MsKristinKreuk] (July 27, 2017). "This was so much fun! Voice work is so specific and challenging. And the story of Shuyan is intelligent and empowering. Also. Yelling" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  30. The Nerd on the CW | Robot Chicken | Adult Swim. Adult Swim. November 3, 2015.
  31. "What Are You Reading on Set: Kristin Kreuk on "Homegoing" by Yaa Gyasi". The Next Chapter. May 8, 2017. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
  32. "Kelly & Michael: Kristin Kreuk New Series "Beauty and the Beast"". recapo.com. Retrieved October 11, 2012.
  33. "Tagline and Camels- Kristin Kreuk's blog". girlsbydesign.com. Retrieved June 18, 2011.
  34. "Kristin Kreuk LIVE interview talking Beauty and the Beast". YouTube. Retrieved October 9, 2012.
  35. Furdyk, Brent (March 30, 2018). "Kristin Kreuk breaks silence on involvement in 'Smallville' co-star's alleged sex trafficking cult". Global News. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada: Global Television Network. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
  36. "Kristin Kreuk: My life in books".
  37. Staff, By CNN. "People's Choice Awards 2014: The winners list - CNN.com".
  38. "In Canada, beauty is in the eye of the cable conglomerate".
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