Summer Bishil
| Summer Bishil | |
|---|---|
|
Bishil in 2005 | |
| Born |
Summer Yasmine Bishil July 17, 1988 Pasadena, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 2005–present |
Summer Yasmine Bishil (born July 17, 1988) is an American actress. She first came to prominence for her role as Jasira in the 2007 film Towelhead.
Early life
Bishil was born in Pasadena, California and is the youngest of three children. Her American mother is half Mexican and her father is of Indian descent.[1][2] In 1991, when Bishil was three years old, the family moved to Saudi Arabia and then to Bahrain, where she and her brother attended British and American Schools.[2][3]
The 2001 terrorist attacks on U.S. soil prompted her family to return to the United States.[2] They moved to a Mormon community in San Diego where she attended a regular public high school for a week.[2][4] Because of the post-9/11 tension in the US, her schoolmates did not welcome her.[2] She stated that the return was not easy: "I hated it. I was called a whore on the first day of school, and somebody said they thought my dad funded terrorism. I just knew that nobody was ever going to want to be my friend there. I had panic attacks the first year of my life here." [4] The family later moved to Arcadia, where her mom home schooled her.[2][4]
Career
Bishil started acting lessons at age 14. Within a year, she was signed to a contract with a manager and agency. Bishil's first role was on the short-lived Nickelodeon television show Just for Kicks, followed by appearances in several other children's shows before her break-through performance as the lead in Alan Ball's film, Towelhead in 2006, an adaptation of the novel of the same name.
Slate critic Dana Stevens said that "Her performance is the truest thing in a movie that, for all its good intentions, feels thoroughly phony and mildly embarrassing, like an extended PSA about inappropriate touching."[5] Bob Strauss, who writes for several Los Angeles newspapers, states that Bishil, "...is one of the finest natural film actresses to emerge in years." Gary Goldstein of the Los Angeles Times in a September 12 review of the movie Towelhead, stated that, "...newcomer Summer Bishil turns in a gutsy, quietly riveting performance as Jasira."
In 2009, she filmed Wayne Kramer's project, Crossing Over, starring Harrison Ford, Ray Liotta and Ashley Judd.
She was chosen to portray Azula in M. Night Shyamalan's film The Last Airbender.[6]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Towelhead | Jasira Maroun | |
| 2009 | Crossing Over | Taslima Jahangir | |
| 2010 | Mooz-lum | Iman | |
| 2010 | Public Relations | Sara | |
| 2010 | Last Airbender, TheThe Last Airbender | Azula | |
| 2011 | Pop Star | Priscilla | |
| 2012 | Blast Vegas | Serena | |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Days of Our Lives | Stacey | Episode #1.10164 |
| 2006 | Just for Kicks | Stacey | Episode: "Premiere Episode: Part 2" |
| 2006 | Drake & Josh | Tabitha | Episode: "Josh Runs Into Oprah" |
| 2006 | Hannah Montana | Rachel | Episode: "Good Golly, Miss Dolly" |
| 2006 | Return to Halloweentown | Aneesa | TV film |
| 2009 | Three Rivers | Karen Rollins | Episode: "Good Intentions" |
| 2010 | Whole Truth, TheThe Whole Truth | Michelle Penner | Episode: "Young Love" |
| 2011 | 90210 | Leila Shirazi | 4 episodes |
| 2013 | Lucky 7 | Samira | Cancelled TV series (8 Epi.) |
| 2014 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Heba Salim | 1 episode |
| 2015 | IZombie | Eliza Marquette | Episode: "Live Until You Die" |
| 2015 | The Magicians | Margo | TV Series |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Young Hollywood Awards | One to Watch | Towelhead[7] | Won |
| 2008 | Independent Spirit Awards | Best Actress | Towelhead[8] | Nominated |
References
- ↑ Summer Bishil Aims to Play Against Type
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Summer Bishil- Biography
- ↑ Jones, Michael, "Summer Bishil; 'Nothing is Private' starlet living the dream", Daily Variety, October 19, 2007
- 1 2 3 http://articles.latimes.com/2008/sep/03/entertainment/et-brief3/2 In suburbia, a world of woes
- ↑ Stevens, Dana (September 12, 2008). "Towelhead; It's no fun being a sexually curious, biracial teenager in Houston.". Slate. Retrieved September 14, 2008.
- ↑ Princess Azula Revealed At Last
- ↑ Hollywood Life, Volume XIX, No. 1 Spring 2008. Retrieved July 21, 2008.
- ↑ "Salon.com". Retrieved 2008-12-08.
External links
- Summer Bishil at the Internet Movie Database
- Summer Bishil at AllMovie
- Summer Bishil at the TCM Movie Database
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