The actress who didn't want to be a movie star
In short: Before becoming a comedy powerhouse with films grossing over $1.5 billion, Anna Faris was a "drama-club dork" who viewed acting as a way to make extra money while pursuing a career in publishing. She nearly moved to London for an ad agency job before choosing Los Angeles at the last minute.
Born in Baltimore and raised in Washington, Faris grew up in a household of academics—her father was a sociology professor and her mother a special education teacher. Despite their encouragement toward the arts, she described her upbringing as "very conservative" and irreligious. Her early training began at age six in community drama classes, where she eventually produced her own material with neighborhood friends while imagining herself on talk shows.
Faris's path to stardom was unconventional. She performed in radio plays and theater productions as a teenager, earning $250 for a role at age nine—a sum she considered "huge." While studying English literature at the University of Washington, she appeared in promotional videos for Microsoft but admitted she never truly intended to be a movie star, hoping instead to write a novel. She only committed to Hollywood after abandoning a planned move to London.
Her breakthrough came in 2000 with "Scary Movie," where she played Cindy Campbell. Faris viewed the franchise as a "great boot camp" for mastering physical comedy and prop work. This success led to a diverse filmography, ranging from indie dramas like "Lost in Translation" (2003), which she called her best experience, to mainstream hits like "The House Bunny" (2008). Beyond the screen, she has become a successful author and podcaster, penning a New York Times Best Seller memoir in 2017.
Her career highlights include roles in "Brokeback Mountain," where she appeared in just one scene for two days, and various voice-over roles for franchises like "Alvin and the Chipmunks." From her roots as a student of literature to becoming a global comedy icon, Faris's trajectory illustrates a shift from academic ambition to commercial success.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Anna Faris
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