Jacinda Barrett Biography
Although Jacinda Barrett was born in Australia, her all-American good looks and convincing accent have paved the way for numerous acting roles in the USA. Tall and slim, with long honey blonde hair and a freckled, fresh-faced appearance that belied her sophisticated poise, Barrett left her home of Brisbane, Queensland at age 17 to pursue a modeling career on an international level. She hit the big time several years later in 1995 when she was chosen to be one of the seven strangers making up the cast of the fourth installment of MTV’s “The Real World”, set in London. This proved a major coup, offering the up and comer enviable exposure while the series showcased the ups and downs of her career and personal life. She was named one of People’s “The 50 Most Beautiful People in the World” list, and her visibility led to acting work beginning in 1998 when she had a guest role as sorceress Medea on the syndicated series “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys”.
Barrett was subsequently cast in a regular role on NBC’s “Wind on Water”, marking her network series debut. While the surf-loving actress proved a natural for this beach-set series, low ratings led to its early demise. Later that same year, she had a guest role on the UPN series “Guys Like Us”, starring her boyfriend and fellow MTV series vet, former “Singled Out” host Chris Hardwick. In 1999 the actress guest starred on an episode of Fox’s acclaimed sci-fi series “Millennium” and had a recurring role as the fetching older woman who takes a liking to awkward Duncan (David Moscow) after seeing through the facade of womanizer Jack (David Rosenbaum) on The WB’s teen sitcom “Zoe, Duncan, Jack and Jane” (1999). When the series returned from hiatus in 2000, revamped as the college-age sitcom “Zoe…”, Barrett had been dropped from the cast, but soon reemerged on the network as a regular on the midseason drama “D.C.” (2000) playing the impulsive and ambitious Finley Scott, a young woman who ditches graduate school and heads to the nation’s capital to pursue her dreams. She added another short-lived political-minded drama to her resume, appearing as one of James Cromwell’s three daughters in “Citizen Baines” (CBS, 2001).
In addition to her modeling and television credits, Barrett began an entry into film with a featured role in the independent horror thriller “Campfire Tales” (1998). She honed her craft in indie fare while occasionally landing higher-profile gigs in films such as “Urban Legend: Final Cut” (2000) and the Sam Shepherd-penned telepic “See You In My Dreams” (2000). Barrett’s film career took a quantum leap forward when she was cast by director Robert Benton in his adaptation of Phillip Roth’s bestseller “The Human Stain” (2003). In a flashback sequence, Barrett delivered a touching performance as Steena Paulsson, the unsuspecting blonde, Midwestern girlfriend of young Coleman Silk, a man of mixed race passing as white, whose revelation to Steena is both surprising, cowardly and cruel. With her star on the rise, Barrett next garnered starring roles in high visibility projects, including the firefighting drama “Ladder 49″ (2004) as Joaquin Phoenix’s love interest, and the comedy seequel “Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason” (lensed 2003).
- Born:
on 08/02/72 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia - Job Titles:
Actor, Model
Significant Others
- Companion: Chris Hardwick. hosted MTV’s “Singled Out” at the same time that Barrett was featured on “The Real World”
Milestones
- — Cast opposite Barry Pepper, Willem Dafoe and Tom Wilkinson in “Mr. Ripley Return” directed by Roger Spottiswoode from the novel by Patricia Highsmith (lensed 2004)
- — Will star in the dramedy “The Last Kiss” an American remake of Italy’s 2001 film “L’Ultimo Bacio,” co-starring Zach Braff (lensed 2005)
- 1989 At age 17, left Brisbane to work as an international model (date approximate)
- 1995 Was cast in the London installment of MTV’s “The Real World”
- 1997 Featured in People’s “The 50 Most Beautiful People in the World” issue
- 1998 Made a guest appearance on an episode of UPN’s “Guys Like Us”, playing opposite series star and real-life boyfriend Chris Hardwick
- 1998 Made film debut in the anthology horror thriller “Campfire Tales”
- 1998 Played Medea in an episode of the syndicated fantasy series “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys”
- 1998 Starred on the short-lived NBC drama “Wind on Water”
- 1999 Appeared on an episode of “Millennium” (Fox)
- 1999 Had a recurring role on The WB’s “Zoe…” (then titled “Zoe, Duncan, Jack and Jane”) as the beautiful senior dating unlikely suitor Duncan
- 2000 Cast in regular starring role in The WB’s ensemble drama “D.C.”
- 2001 Co-starred in CBS drama series “Citizen Baines”
- 2003 Co-starred with Anthony Hopkins and Nicole Kidman in “The Human Stain”
- 2004 Cast in the comedy “Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason,” starring Renée Zellweger
- 2004 Portrayed the wife of Joaquin Phoenix’s character in “Ladder 49″ which centers around Baltimore firefighters
- Cast in the remake of the disaster film “The Poseidon Adventure,” directed by Wolfgang Petersen (lensed 2005)
- Raised in Brisbane, Australia