Shawnee Smith

Biography

Shawnee Smith has consistently put to use her versatile talents in the film, television, theater and music arenas with much success. Her impressive career includes a co-starring role on an award-winning television show, which is now strong in syndication, and a variety of memorable roles in hit feature films. She also toured America and the U.K. fronting a rather extreme rock band called Fydolla Ho.

Presently Shawnee portrays "Amanda" in _Saw(2004)_ , a gritty, taught and terrifying film, visually branded by the shocking image of Shawnee's face in a ghastly metal head device.

A native of South Carolina, Shawnee's achievements began early in her career when she appeared in the movie _Annie(1982)_ . As a young actress she was awarded the Youth in Film Award for Best Actress in a television film for her role in the CBS drama _"Crime of Innocence"(1985)_ . She was honored with the Dramalogue Critics Award for her performance in the theatrical production "To Gillian on her 37th Birthday" and that same year received rave reviews for her co-starring role with Richard Dreyfuss in "The Hands of its Enemy" at the Huntington Hartford Theatre. Shawnee then starred in _The Blob(1988)_ for Columbia Pictures, in the hit comedy _Summer School(1987)_ for Paramount Pictures and in _Who's Harry Crumb?(1989)_ also for Columbia Pictures. Those roles would be followed by appearances in such highly-acclaimed films as _Leaving Las Vegas(1995)_ , _Armageddon(1998)_ , _Desperate Hours(1990)_ and _Breakfast of Champions(1999)_ .

Shawnee's television credits are equally as impressive, with a list that includes a regular role on the hit CBS comedy _"Becker"(1998)_ as well as series regular roles on _"The Tom Show"(1997)_ and _"Arsenio"(1997)_ . She appeared in the CBS television movies _"Something Borrowed, Something Blue"(1997)_ , _"I Saw What You Did"(1988)_ , and _"Face of Evil"(1996)_ , as well as the mini series _"The Stand"(1994)_ and _"The Shining(1997)_ .

Satisfied with pushing the extremes in her critically acclaimed punk/metal band Fydolla Ho, Shawnee is currently working on her first solo record with Queens of the Stone Age producer Chris Goss. In addition to her current projects, Shawnee has completed a role in the film _The Almost Guys(2004)_ and the sequel _Saw II(2005)_ .