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Nikki Reed

Born 1988-05-17 in Los Angeles, California
A Producer
An Actor
A Writer

Discuss Nikki Reed here...

In Brief:

Nicole Houston Reed (born May 17, 1988) is an American film actress, producer and writer. She became known as an actress and screenwriter in 2003, after the release of the film Thirteen, and has since appeared in several low-budget films, including Lords of Dogtown and Mini's First Time.

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Bio:

Reed was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Seth Reed, a set designer, and Cheryl Houston, a hairdresser; she has an older brother, Nathan. Reed's father is Jewish and her mother has Cherokee Native American and Italian ancestry. Reed grew up with the Jewish religion, as her brother had a Bar Mitzvah, although it has been noted that she has "questioned religion". She wears contact lenses and glasses.

Reed has described her home life as "complicated". Her parents divorced when she was two, and she grew up with her mother. At the age of fourteen, Reed moved out and began living on her own. She has since noted that during this time, she "grew up very fast", was "mature and responsible", as well as a "shy kid" and a "bookworm" who had no specific desire to become an actress. Director Catherine Hardwicke was Reed's father's ex-girlfriend, and also a close friend of Reed's family. Hardwicke asked Nikki to co-write a teenage comedy script. Reed, however, eventually wrote a serious dramatic script based on the experiences she went through as a teenager.

Reed and Hardwicke finished the script for the semibiographical film, Thirteen, in six days, a relatively fast time for a Hollywood script to be written. Producers asked Reed to play a role in the film because they had trouble casting it, considering it an "uncomfortable" role for most young actresses. The film, also starring Evan Rachel Wood, was filmed and released in 2003 to glowing reviews, giving Reed recognition in Hollywood as both an actress and a screenwriter. Following the film's release, Reed also appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and hosted a number of award shows, including the Young Hollywood Awards (2003), and the Independent Spirits Awards Nomination Show, followed by the West Independent Spirits Awards, both in 2004.

Reed has continued to participate in racy roles that involve the portrayal of sexually promiscuous teenagers, including Lords of Dogtown, also directed by Hardwicke. In early 2006, she appeared on the series The O.C., playing Sadie, a new love interest for the character Ryan Atwood. Reed has noted that she disagrees with what she describes as the "trendy and shallow things" that The O.C. promotes, and that she appeared in the series because of advice from her agents.

Her most recent film role is in Mini's First Time, which received a limited release in the United States on July 14, 2006. In the film, Reed plays a teenager who, through seduction, involves her step-father in a plot to murder her mother. Reed has noted that her character does not "understand the weight of consequence", and that she enjoyed playing someone who she describes as "crass" and having a "trucker's mouth". Reed's character participates in explicit sex scenes, which had to be filmed from the point of view of Reed's back, as she was sixteen at the time and thus legally unable to film her scenes in a more explicit manner.

Reed has written another script, which may soon be produced, set in New Zealand between the 1960s and the 1980s. Reed has noted that she feels she is a versatile actress, but feels typecast in roles of "sexy bad girls", noting that producers often tell her that she is too "sexy" for a particular part.

After Thirteen's success, Reed returned to her Los Angeles high school, but dropped out again after a year. She cited her experiences, involving "mothers [who] were sneaking into the school at lunchtime to confront and harass me about the film" as the reason for her departure. Reed was subsequently home-schooled, and eventually received her high school diploma.

Reed, who resides in New York City and Los Angeles, began dating actor Victor Rasuk after meeting him on the set of Lords of Dogtown. The two have recently split.

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Filmography:

• Pretzels & Pills (2007)
• Cherry Crush (2006)
• Man of God (2006)
• Mini's First Time (2006)
• American Gun (2006)
• Lords of Dogtown (2005)
• Thirteen (2003)

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Television:

• The O.C. (Guest Role - 2006)
• Justice (Guest Role - 2006)

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