Actress and model Alison Elizabeth Larter was born in the United States on February 28, 1976. In a 1996 Esquire magazine hoax, she played fictitious model Allegra Coleman, and in the 1990s, she appeared in guest spots on a number of television programmes. Varsity Blues (1999), which was followed by House on Haunted Hill (1999), marked her acting debut. She developed a reputation as a scream queen thanks to her work as Clear Rivers in the first two installments of the Final Destination series.
In addition to starring in the Bollywood film Marigold (2007) and the thriller Obsessed (2009), Larter has appeared in minor roles in the comedies Legally Blonde (2001) and A Lot Like Love (2005). She portrayed both Niki Sanders and Tracy Strauss on the NBC science fiction drama Heroes from 2006 to 2010, but she gained more notoriety for her portrayal of Claire Redfield in the Resident Evil video games Resident Evil: Extinction (2007), Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010), and Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016).
The worldwide box office total for Larter's films as of April 2017 was over US$1.31 billion. Her inclusion in lists prepared by Maxim, FHM, and Stuff as well as People magazine's "Best Dressed List" in 2007 serve to further establish her prominence in the media. In September 2013, she published Kitchen Revelry: A Year of Festive Menus from My Home to Yours.
Larter, the daughter of Margaret Larter, a realtor, and Danforth Larter, a trucking businessman, was born in the New Jersey suburb of Cherry Hill. During her time as a model, she attended Carusi Middle School and eventually graduated from Cherry Hill High School West, but she didn't complete her senior year of high school due to modelling. Up until the age of 18, her mother travelled with her everywhere. Since then, her parents have relocated to Allentown in Pennsylvania. Larter claimed that up until the age of 13, she was a tomboy.
Career
Initial modelling (1990–1998)
At the age of 14, a modelling scout spotted her on the street and invited her to appear in a Phillies ad. This led to a modelling contract with the famed Ford Modelling Agency in New York, where she started her modelling career. Later, Larter skipped her final year to model in countries including Australia, Italy, and Japan, where she eventually decided to temporarily relocate at the age of seventeen. Amy Smart, a fellow model and aspiring actress, and Larter "became instant friends" while modelling in Italy, according to Larter.
Larter took on the role of fictitious actress Allegra Coleman in a November 1996 joke published in Esquire. Larter, who is currently represented by IMG Models, said of the cover and her subsequent success, "When the door opens for you in Hollywood, you need to run with it. You know?" When she made multiple television appearances in 1997, she received her first professional acting roles. She made an appearance in an episode of the Brooke Shields show Suddenly Susan as well as the ephemeral Chicago Sons. A number of further appearances on Dawson's Creek, Chicago Hope, and Just Shoot Me! followed these roles.
Début and Breakthrough in acting (1999–2005)
In the coming-of-age dramedy Varsity Blues, which reconnected her with Dawson's Creek actor James Van Der Beek and close friend Amy Smart, Larter made her acting debut in 1999. Larter was cast as Darcy Sears, a love interest for one of the major characters, in the film after Smart convinced her to try out. 53 million US dollars were made at the domestic box office by Varsity Blues. She also acted in the remake of House the Haunted Hill, which cost over $20 million, and made guest roles in the teen comedies Giving It Up and Drive Me Crazy. Despite being derided by reviewers, the horror movie, which follows a group of strangers invited to a party at an abandoned asylum, made US$15 million on its first weekend and more over US$40 million total.
In the teen supernatural horror movie Final Destination (2000), Larter played Clear Rivers, one of the major protagonists. The movie's theme followed several teens who survive an aircraft disaster but are chased and slain by Death itself. Devon Sawa and Kerr Smith were also featured in the film. By the time Final Destination's theatrical run was over, it had earned US$112 million. She co-starred with Reese Witherspoon in the comedy Legally Blonde in 2001. She portrayed Brooke Taylor Windham, a widow charged with her husband's murder. The movie debuted at number one with US$20 million and went on to take $141 million globally. Legally Blonde is Larter's highest-grossing domestic film, with US$96 million of its total revenue coming from home markets.
Later, Larter starred in the western comedy American Outlaws as Zerelda Mimms. The Les Mayfield-directed movie, which also starred Colin Farrell and Scott Caan, garnered negative reviews from reviewers and performed poorly at the box office, bringing in only US$13 million at the end of its theatrical run. She appeared in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back by Kevin Smith as well. Larter performed in the stage piece The Vagina Monologues in New York City that same year and was featured on the cover of Maxim. Larter relocated from Los Angeles to New York in the spring of 2002. Larter said in an interview that she was "too young and impressionable to handle the pressures of L.A." she added, "I'm a woman now. I am no longer the little girl who could be easily influenced."
Her initial assignment there was to repeat her role as Clear Rivers in the Final Destination 2 sequel. Larter spoke on her return to the franchise in an interview with IGN, saying, "When New Line asked me to come back, I thought it was great. They showed me the script and let me have some input, and it was really terrific." The movie received mixed reviews and made US$90 million worldwide. A year later, Larter both starred in and worked as an associate producer on the suspenseful film Three Way. After that, Larter said in an interview for Resident Evil: Extinction, "I definitely have many ideas and different avenues that I want to take as my career goes on." In 2005, she acted in the romantic comedy A Lot Like Love, starring Amanda Peet and Ashton Kutcher, and the independent political thriller Confess.
Gaining notoriety and taking a break (2006–2011)
In 2005, Larter returned to Los Angeles. Her very first TV show audition was for the NBC science fiction drama Heroes. On the Tim Kring-produced programme, Larter portrayed Tracy Strauss and the DID-suffering Niki Sanders. The original version of Larter's character, Niki Sanders, was a Las Vegas-based former online dancer who was a wife, mother, and possessed superhuman strength. She also had alternate selves that she went by the names of Jessica and Niki. As of the third season, Larter started to play the new character of Tracy Strauss, who had the ability to freeze objects and later turn her body into water. "Ali read for the part and just owned it from the second she walked in," Kring told the Chicago Tribune. "It was a very impressive audition."
Alongside Salman Khan, Larter played the titular role in Marigold (2007). The movie, which was released in August 2007, centred on an American actress (Larter) who travelled to India and became involved in the fascinating Bollywood industry. Beginning in June 2004, filming took done in North India and London. She received a seven-figure salary for her work in the movie, which Larter said in an interview with the BBC was "an opportunity to overcome my fear of singing and dancing because I have no professional training [...] I really focused on the character and loved this journey she went on and the experiences she had."
She played Claire Redfield in Resident Evil: Extinction in 2007, starring alongside Milla Jovovich as the leader of a group of zombie apocalypse survivors travelling to Alaska in quest of safety. She was obliged to have her hair dyed a pale red for her role, which sent her to Mexicali, Mexico for filming from May until late July. Despite unfavourable reviews, the movie brought in a total of US$147 million worldwide. Larter described her character Claire this way: "She became the leader of this convoy. She's incredibly strong, patient. I think she serves a role for everyone within this convoy, let it be a mother to someone, a buddy, or a best friend." Additionally that year, she co-starred in the comedy Homo Erectus with Hayes McArthur and as Evelyn Garland in the biographical drama Crazy, which was based on guitarist Hank Garland.
In the 2009 thriller Obsessed, which was made by Screen Gems, Larter played the lead opposite Beyoncé and Idris Elba. In the movie, Larter's pushy workplace ambitions threaten Elba's character, an office executive whose marriage to Knowles' character is jeopardised. While the movie received mixed reviews upon its release, Larter was praised for her performance. She stated in an interview with Glam that she "was excited to get the chance to play a femme fatale. I love playing women that are dark and vulnerable and sort of filled with a little bit of crazy emotion." Obsessed made a total domestic gross of US$68 million, making Larter's second highest-grossing film in North America. Derek Malcolm of The London Evening Standard felt that the film was a "dim reworking of Fatal Attraction" and noted: "Larter as the pathological minx is the best thing about it." Larter received his third Teen Choice Award nomination as well as an MTV Movie Award for Best Fight with Beyonce as a result of it.
In Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010), which was shot in 3D and featured Claire Redfield being ambushed and subjected to mental manipulation by the fictional Umbrella Corporation before being saved by Alice (Milla Jovovich), Larter resumed her role as Claire Redfield. Similar to earlier Resident Evil films, this one also garnered negative reviews yet went on to become a huge economic success, grossing US$296 million worldwide. I guess people liked me as her [...] I'm excited that they brought me back [...] To work with the man [Paul W. S. Anderson] who really created this world and this vision was what excited me about joining this next installment," she said in an interview with JoBlo.com about taking on the role of Claire again. In the Absolut Vodka promotional short "Lemon Drop" from 2010, Larter played the title role. Larter took a career break after the publication of Afterlife in order to put her family first.
Resuming acting (as of now)
In the 2014 comedy Lovesick, Larter made her big-screen comeback as the love interest of a wealthy but disturbed man (Matt LeBlanc). The movie was released on VOD and in a few limited theatres after it screened at the 15th annual Newport Beach Film Festival. She played the "fair-weather" buddy of an ALS patient in George C. Wolfe's independent drama You're Not You (2014), which also starred Josh Duhamel, Emmy Rossum, and Hilary Swank.
In 2014, Larter was cast as Crystal Quest, an agent with the FBI's Deep Cover Operations, in a regular role in the first season of TNT's drama series Legends. Larter played Madison, a single mother battling evil forces in her home, in the supernatural suspense film The Diabolical. It was distributed for a limited release in specific regions of the United States and debuted the following year at South by Southwest. The movie garnered mostly negative reviews, and Gary Goldstein of the Los Angeles Times said that her "fraught, more seemingly complex [character] remains underdeveloped" in the "weak horror-thriller" he called the movie.
In Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016), Larter played Claire, a character who joins forces with Alice (Jovovich) and the Red Queen to defend what's left of humanity. With a worldwide revenue of almost US$312 million, the movie became her largest box office hit despite a generally poor reception from critics. She portrayed Amelia Slater in the Fox television drama Pitch, which was about a young black woman who becomes the first to play Major League Baseball. One season of the show, which concluded in 2016, was made available. In the crime drama The Rookie from 2019 to 2020, Larter portrayed Grace Sawyer on a regular basis.
In the press
In the November 1996 issue of Esquire, Larter made her first appearance in the media as the made-up persona Allegra Coleman. Coleman was described in the magazine as the "next dream girl" of Hollywood, and there were stories about her romance with David Schwimmer, how Quentin Tarantino dumped Mira Sorvino for her, and how Woody Allen changed the script of a movie to give her a lead role. Numerous talent agencies wanted to represent the fake Coleman even after the fraud was exposed, and Esquire received hundreds of phone calls about her after the article was published. After the cover, Larter herself attracted a lot of interest; she was contacted by morning TV shows and other outlets for interviews.
Larter got a part on Varsity Blues as a result of the Esquire cover. The media has taken a special liking to a scene in which Larter's character, Darcy Sears, covers herself entirely in whipped cream. The MTV show Jersey Shore, where one character refers to it as the "Varsity Blues outfit," has also made reference to it. Larter's roles in horror and thriller films have earned her the title of "Scream queen," according to MSN. Larter made an appearance as "The Newcomer" on People's "Ten Best Dressed List" in 2007 following the success of Heroes. At a gala held in Beverly Hills in 2009, Larter was named the Fun Fearless Female of the year by Cosmopolitan magazine.
In addition to Cosmopolitan (published in France, Indonesia, Ecuador, Germany, Greece, Turkey, and the United States), Glamour, Health, Seventeen, Self, Shape, Maxim, Esquire, Lucky, Allure, and Philadelphia Style, Larter has also graced the covers of countless other publications. Throughout her career, she has appeared in print ads and commercials. She appeared in print advertisements for Estee Lauder cosmetics in 2004. She has appeared in advertisements for Stolichnaya vodka and Parfums de Coeur Designer Imposter Body Sprays.
Larter and her husband Hayes MacArthur hosted The Art of Elysium Gala in 2013 and will receive the Spirit of Elysium Award at the ceremony in January 2014. Larter was one of thousands of delegates from 130 countries who attended the United Nations conference "Women Deliver" in Washington, D.C. in June 2010. The covers of Shape, Cosmopolitan, Allure, Glamour, Lucky, InStyle, Maxim, and Entertainment Weekly have all featured her.
Private life
Larter relocated to Los Angeles when she was still a model in order to pursue acting. She relocated to New York in 2002 and lived there for three years. In a conversation with Phillymag, Larter explained the decision to relocate:
I took some time off to establish my identity away from the demands of the business. I had to decide for myself if this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
She returned to Los Angeles in January 2005 to film a scene for Heroes. Larter and Hayes MacArthur, who had been dating at the time, announced their engagement in December 2007. On the set of National Lampoon's Homo Erectus, they had become friends. On August 1, 2009, Larter married MacArthur at MacArthur's parents' estate in Kennebunkport, Maine; Larter's close friend Amy Smart was among the guests. In a 2007 interview with Cosmo, Larter said: "I told my boyfriend after three weeks that I wanted to marry him and that we could do it tomorrow." Later, the couple paid $2.9 million for a three-story house in the Hollywood Hills.
Larter first revealed that she and MacArthur were expecting their first child on July 20, 2010, and then revealed that they were expecting a son on the September 10 broadcast of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. On December 20, 2010, Larter gave birth to the couple's son, Theodore Hayes MacArthur. Larter announced in August 2014 that she and MacArthur will be welcoming a second child that winter. On January 15, 2015, she gave birth to a child they named Vivienne Margaret. Jackpot and Ella are two of Larter's canines.
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
1997 | Sharpheroes | Sandy Fernandes | Hindi film |
1999 | Giving It Up | Amber | Also known as Casanova Falling |
Drive Me Crazy | Dulcie | ||
Varsity Blues | Darcy Sears | ||
House on Haunted Hill | Sara Wolfe | ||
2000 | Final Destination | Clear Rivers | Young Hollywood Award for Breakthrough Performance Female |
2001 | Legally Blonde | Brooke Taylor Windham | |
American Outlaws | Zerelda "Zee" Mimms | ||
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back | Chrissy | ||
2003 | Final Destination 2 | Clear Rivers | |
2004 | Three Way | Isobel Delano | Also known as 3-Way; also associate producer |
2005 | A Lot Like Love | Gina | |
Confess | Olivia Averill | ||
2007 | Homo Erectus | Fardart | Also known as National Lampoon's The Stoned Age |
Marigold | Marigold Lexton | With Bollywood actor Salman Khan | |
Resident Evil: Extinction | Claire Redfield | ||
Crazy | Evelyn Garland | ||
2009 | Obsessed | Lisa Sheridan | MTV Movie Award for Best Fight shared with Beyoncé Knowles |
2010 | Resident Evil: Afterlife | Claire Redfield | |
2014 | Lovesick | Molly | |
You're Not You | Keely | ||
2015 | The Diabolical | Madison | |
2016 | Resident Evil: The Final Chapter | Claire Redfield | |
2021 | The Last Victim | Susan | |
2022 | The Hater | Victoria |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
1997 | Suddenly Susan | Maddie | Episode: "The Ways and Means" |
Chicago Sons | Angela | Episode: "Beauty and the Butt" | |
1998 | Chicago Hope | Samantha | Episode: "Memento Mori" |
Just Shoot Me! | Karey Burke | Episode: "College or Collagen" | |
Dawson's Creek | Kristy Livingstone | Episodes: "The Dance" and "The Kiss" | |
2004 | Entourage | Herself | Episode: "Pilot" |
2006–2010 | Heroes | Niki Sanders / Jessica Sanders / Gina Sanders | Main role; 54 episodes |
2012 | The Asset | Anna King | Main role; pilot |
2013 | The League | Georgia Thompson | Episode: "The Credit Card Alert" (Season 5) |
2014 | Legends | Crystal McGuire | Main role; 10 episodes |
2016 | Pitch | Amelia Slater | Main role; 10 episodes |
2017 | Curb Your Enthusiasm | TV Detective #1 | Episode: "The Shucker" |
2018–2019 | Splitting Up Together | Paige | Episodes: "Paige Turner", "Messy" and "Contact High" |
2019–2020 | The Rookie | Dr. Grace Sawyer | Recurring role; 13 episodes |
2020 | Top Secret Videos | NSA Agent Daniels | 3 episodes |
2021 | Creepshow | Pam Spinster | Episode: "Dead and Breakfast/Pesticide" |
Awards and nominations
Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
2001 | Blockbuster Entertainment Awards | Favorite Horror Actress | Final Destination | Nominated |
2001 | Young Hollywood Awards | Best Breakthrough Performance by a Female | Won | |
2007 | Saturn Awards | Best Supporting Actress on Television | Heroes | Nominated |
2007 | Scream Awards | Scream Queen | Nominated | |
Sexiest Superhero | Nominated | |||
2008 | Gracie Allen Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series | Won | |
2008 | Teen Choice Awards | Choice Action TV Actress | Nominated | |
2009 | Teen Choice Awards | Choice Movie Rumble (shared with Beyoncé Knowles) | Obsessed | Nominated |
2010 | MTV Movie & TV Awards | Best Fight (shared with Beyoncé Knowles) | Won |
Quick Bio
Nickname | Ali, Allegra Coleman |
Gender | Female |
Age | 47 years old (in 2023) |
Date of Birth | February 28, 1976 |
Full Name | Alison Elizabeth Larter |
Profession | Actress, Model |
Nationality | American |
Birthplace | Cherry Hill, New Jersey, United States |
Religion | Not Known |
Zodiac Sign | Pisces |
Profession | Actress, Model |
Net Worth: | USD $8 million approx |
Body Measurements | 35-25-35 inches |
Body type | Hourglass |
Height | 5 feet 8 inches (1.73 m) |
Weight | 56 kg (124 lbs) |
Waist | 25 inches |
Hair Color | Blonde |
Eye Color | Blue |
Shoe Size | 8 (US) |
Dress Size | 4 (US) |
Father | Danforth Larter |
Mother | Margaret Larter |
Brother | None |
Sister | Eliza Taylor |
Marital Status | Married |
Husband | Hayes MacArthur (m. 2009) |
No. of Children | 2 |
Son | Theodore Hayes MacArthur |
Daughter | Vivienne Margaret MacArthur |
Past Relationships | Joshua Jackson (1999), Azazel Jacobs (2005) |
Hobbies | Cooking |
Favorite Movie | Forest Gump |
Favorite TV shows | Top Chef |
Favorite Food | Meatballs, bouillabaisse, Oysters with a Glass of White Wine, Blueberry |
Favorite Color | Blue |
Favorite Sport | Horseback Riding |
Favorite Books | The Giving Tree |
FACTS
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