How a magazine hoax launched the career of a Hollywood scream queen
In short: In 1996, Esquire magazine published a cover featuring a woman who didn't actually exist. The prank was so convincing that talent agencies scrambled to sign the fictional Allegra Coleman, inadvertently catapulting a real-life model into the spotlight of American cinema.
The subject of this famous media prank was Ali Larter, an American actress and former model. The hoax, appearing in the November 1996 issue of Esquire, presented Coleman as the industry's next 'dream girl' and fabricated romantic links to stars like David Schwimmer and Quentin Tarantino. The deception was so effective that it triggered hundreds of phone calls to the magazine and prompted various agencies to seek representation for a non-existent person, ultimately bringing significant media attention to Larter herself.
Larter’s transition from modeling to acting was marked by rapid, high-profile shifts. After being discovered at age 14 for a Philadelphia Phillies commercial, she secured a contract with the Ford Modeling Agency. Her early career saw her traveling to Japan, Italy, and Australia, even skipping her senior year of high school to pursue international modeling. This momentum carried into her film debut in the 1999 film Varsity Blues, a role that would later become a media staple due to a specific scene involving whipped cream.
Throughout her career, Larter has navigated diverse genres, earning the title of 'scream queen' through roles in the Final Destination franchise and the Resident Evil series. Her versatility extended to television, most notably in the NBC drama Heroes, where she played dual roles: Niki Sanders and Tracy Strauss. Beyond Hollywood, she has explored international cinema, such as the Bollywood production Marigold, and has expanded her repertoire into cookbook authorship and humanitarian efforts, including participating in the 2010 United Nations Women Deliver conference.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Ali Larter
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