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Sara Paxton (born April 25, 1988) is an
Emmy Award-nominated American actress and singer. She
grew up in California and began acting at an early age,
appearing in many minor roles in both films and
television shows, before coming to wider renown in 2004,
after playing the title role in the series Darcy's Wild
Life.
Paxton has also starred in the films
Sleepover, Aquamarine and Return to Halloweentown, and
is branching out into music, with a CD, The Ups and
Downs, due for release in 2007.
Early life: Paxton, an only child, was born in
Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California to what she has
described as "a very mixed family". Her
father, Steve Paxton, is a businessman of Irish and
other European descent and is distantly related to actor
Bill Paxton. Her mother is a dentist from Monterrey,
Mexico, and as a result Paxton speaks some Spanish,
although not fluently. Paxton's mother is Jewish and her
father converted to Judaism upon marrying her mother.
During her childhood, Paxton put on
shows and wanted to perform, sometimes dressing up in
costume and coming to school as a particular character.
She grew up in the San Fernando Valley and attended a
public high school (and did not want to be
home-schooled), graduating in June of 2006.
Career: Paxton has said that singing and acting
"went hand in hand" during her early years,
though she initially began working as an actress,
appearing in musical theater and later in television
commercials at a young age. Her first film role was a
small part in the 1997 Jim Carrey comedy, Liar Liar.
During the late 1990s and early 2000s,
she appeared in a number of minor television and film
roles, including a part on the soap opera Passions, a
regular role on the series Greetings from Tucson, and a
guest starring role on the Disney Channel show, Lizzie
McGuire, playing an ex-president of Lizzie's school. In
2003, Paxton starred in R.L. Stine's Haunted Lighthouse,
a short 3-D film attraction that still plays at several
theme parks across the United States.
Paxton's first major role was in the teen-oriented film,
Sleepover, which opened in July 2004 to negative reviews
and low box office revenue; during the same summer
season, she appeared in several episodes of the series,
Summerland, playing Sarah Borden, a mentally troubled
teen who experimented with drugs and sex with Jesse
McCartney's character.
Paxton was subsequently cast in the lead
role of the Discovery Kids television series, Darcy's
Wild Life, playing Darcy Fields, a girl who works at a
rural veterinary; the series was filmed on a farm in
Toronto and aired from 2004 to 2006, often featuring
Paxton's music track, Take A Walk. Paxton received an
Emmy nomination for the role in 2006.
In 2005, Paxton spent three months working on the
Australia-filmed Aquamarine, in which she played a
mermaid, opposite Emma Roberts and JoJo, whom she
befriended while filming. Paxton has said that she felt
a sense of "female empowerment" while on set
because "almost everyone" on set was female.
The film opened on March 3, 2006 and
grossed approximately $7.5 million in its opening
weekend. Reviewers of the film compared Paxton, whose
inspiration is Goldie Hawn, to actress Reese
Witherspoon, saying that she has an "infectious,
nutty energy". Paxton recorded a song for the
film's soundtrack titled Connected.
Paxton hosted The Secret Life of Water, the first
episode of the series Planet H2O, which premiered in
April of 2006 on public television stations. In May of
the same year, she made an appearance on the television
series Pepper Dennis, playing a teen actress.
Paxton, who sees herself as an
"evolving actress", then appeared in Return to
Halloweentown, replacing Kimberly J. Brown in the fourth
installment in Disney Channel's Halloweentown series;
she dyed her hair brown for the role. The film aired on
October 20, 2006. During the summer and early fall of
2006, Paxton filmed The Party Never Stops: Diary of a
Binge Drinker, a Lifetime Television film, in Vancouver
Island.
In the film, she plays Jessie, a college student who
falls victim to binge drinking. Paxton has described it
as "very different" from her previous roles,
and has specified that she was looking for a role that
would be a "challenge"; the film aired in
March of 2007. Paxton's next film role is in Sydney
White, a college-set comedy starring Amanda Bynes and
Matt Long; filming began on February 12, 2007 in
Orlando, Florida.
Paxton was signed to a record deal with Sony during the
time she was cast in Aquamarine. Her debut music CD, The
Ups and Downs, featuring the single Here We Go Again, is
due for release by Epic Records at some point "in
the future"; as of March 2007, Paxton has not
completed work on it. She has described the sound as
"pop/rock".
Personal life: Paxton has said that attending
college is "very important" to her because
"it is important to expand your mind". In
2006, Paxton applied to the University of Southern
California's film studies program, and was not accepted.
She has noted that she would like to major in business
administration with a minor in history (as she is a
"history fanatic") and to start a production
company.
Paxton, who keeps a journal, has a dog named Jenny (who
is eleven years old as of 2007), and a Chihuahua puppy
named Coco Chanel. She is friends with her Aquamarine
co-stars, JoJo and Emma Roberts, and lives "five
minutes apart" from Roberts.
Paxton has credited her Jewish religion
for feeling "very connected" to her family,
who keep her "grounded" and are "always
number one" in her life. She was not Bat Mitzvah
because she was busy filming, though she has said that
she "wanted to so bad". |
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