Anna Faris

Anna Faris is an American actress, comedian, producer, writer and podcaster best known for her work in screen comedy. Born Anna Kay Faris on 29 November 1976 in Baltimore, Maryland, she grew up mainly in Washington state and became widely recognized for playing Cindy Campbell in the Scary Movie film series before moving into broader film, television, voice acting and podcast work.

Faris was born to Jack Faris, a sociologist and academic administrator, and Karen Faris, a special education teacher. Her family moved to Edmonds, Washington, when she was a child. Encouraged by her parents, she took drama classes and began acting at a young age. She performed professionally as a child at Seattle-area theatres, including work with Seattle Repertory Theater and Village Theatre, and continued acting while attending Edmonds Woodway High School. Faris later studied English literature at the University of Washington, graduating in 1999.

After college, Faris moved to Los Angeles and soon secured the role that made her nationally visible. In 2000 she starred as Cindy Campbell in Scary Movie, a parody of contemporary horror and teen films. The film was a major commercial success and Faris' performance established her as a comic lead willing to use physical comedy, deadpan reactions and exaggerated genre conventions. She reprised the role in Scary Movie 2, Scary Movie 3 and Scary Movie 4, making the character central to one of the best-known comedy franchises of the 2000s.

Faris also used the early 2000s to take supporting and more offbeat roles. She appeared in the psychological horror film May, the comedy The Hot Chick and Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation. In 2005 she appeared in both Brokeback Mountain and Just Friends, showing a range that extended beyond broad parody. She later starred in Smiley Face, a stoner comedy that developed a cult following, and The House Bunny, in which she played a former Playboy Bunny who becomes a sorority house mother. She also appeared in My Super Ex-Girlfriend, Observe and Report, What's Your Number?, The Dictator and the 2018 remake of Overboard.