Linda Edna Cardellini (born June 25, 1975) is an American television and film actress. She is perhaps best known for her roles as high school student Lindsay Weir on Freaks and Geeks, as Velma Dinkley in the live-action Scooby-Doo films, and as Samantha Taggart on ER.

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Cardellini was born in Redwood City, California, the daughter of Lorraine (née Hernan) and Wayne David Cardellini. She made her first public appearance at age 10, when she sang in a school play. After the performance, she acted in several school productions and started attending drama lessons.^[1] She graduated from nearby Mountain View's Catholic St. Francis High School in 1993.

[edit] Career

Cardellini received her first big break in 1996 when she landed a starring role as Sarah on ABC's Saturday morning live-action children's series, Bone Chillers. Following this, she made guest appearances on prime-time programs such as Step by Step, Clueless, 3rd Rock from the Sun, and Boy Meets World as Lauren, a girl that came between the show's star couple. Cardellini spent the summer of 1999 in Europe as part of a touring production of Lancelot, a 14th century Dutch tragedy.^[2]

Cardellini had her first major success when she landed one of the starring roles in the NBC series Freaks and Geeks, which debuted during the 1999-2000 season. As Lindsay Weir, an honor student in the midst of an identity crisis, the actress earned positive response that subsequently catapulted her to fame. In 2002, Cardellini starred in the live-action adaption of Scooby-Doo, in which she brought to life the cartoon character of Velma Dinkley. She would later reprise the role of Velma in 2004's Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed. In 2003, she joined the cast of the hospital drama ER as Samantha Taggart, a free-spirited nurse. Cardellini acted for six seasons on ER, till the series finale And in the End and, of the final season cast, was the second longest residing cast member, second only to Parminder Nagra.

Her other film work includes roles in Dead Man on Campus, Legally Blonde, Brokeback Mountain, and a starring role in Happy Madison's Grandma's Boy as Samantha. She was also the voice of Ursula in the role-playing video game, Gladius. She also plays the voice of Bliss Goode on The Goode Family. In 2007, Cardellini was chosen to play lovelorn Clara in CBS' miniseries Comanche Moon, a prequel to 1989's Lonesome Dove.^[3]

[edit] Personal life

Cardellini attended Loyola Marymount University's College of Communication and Fine Arts, graduating in 2001 with a degree in theatre arts.

Cardellini dated her Freaks and Geeks co-star Jason Segel for a few years following the show's cancellation.^[4][5][6] She enjoys art (especially that of Margaret Keane) and takes martial arts classes.^[7]

[edit] Television

• The Price Is Right (1993) - Herself (she won a fireplace as verified on Chelsea Lately)^{[citation needed]}
• Bone Chillers (1996) - Sarah
• Boy Meets World (1998-1999) - Lauren
• Guys Like Us (1998-1999) - Jude
• The Lot (1999) - June Parker
• Freaks and Geeks (1999) - Lindsay Weir
• ER (2003-2009) - Nurse Samantha Taggart
• Comanche Moon (2008) - Clara Forsythe
• The Goode Family ( 2009 - ) - Bliss Goode ( voice )

[edit] Guest roles

• 3rd Rock from the Sun (1997) - Lorna
• Good Burger (1997) - Heather
• Pacific Palisades (TV series) (1997) - Sara
• Clueless (TV series) (1997) - Audrey
• Step by Step (1997) - Casey
• Boy Meets World (1998-1999) - Lauren
• Promised Land (1998) - Amber
• Kenan & Kel (1998) - Becky
• The Rosie O'Donnell Show (2002) - Herself
• The Twilight Zone (2003) - Allison "Ally" Warner
• Player$ (2003) - Herself
• On Air with Ryan Seacrest - Herself
• Jimmy Kimmel Live (2004) - Herself
• HBO First Look (2004) - Herself
• Fridays (2004) - Herself
• The Sharon Osbourne Show (2004) - Herself
• Last Call with Carson Daly (2004) - Herself
• Robot Chicken (2005) - Velma (voice)
• The Ellen DeGeneres Show (2005) - Herself
• Human Giant (2007) - Melanie Richards ("Mother & Son Moving Co.")
• Sing Along - Virginia Coalition (2008) (Music Video)
• Robot Chicken (2005 and 2008 ) - Velma Dinkley/Asian Massager/Blueberry Muffin/Condoleezza Rice/Girl's Mother (voice)
• The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (2009) - Herself (interview)
• Chelsea Lately (2009) - Herself (interview)
• The Bonnie Hunt Show (2009) - Herself (interview)

[edit] Filmography

• Good Burger (1997) - Heather
• Dead Man on Campus (1998) - Kelly
• Strangeland (1998) - Genevieve Gage
• Dying to Live (1999) - Leslie Chambers
• The Prince and the Surfer (1999) - Melissa
• Legally Blonde (2001) - Chutney Windham
• The Unsaid (2001) - Shelly Hunter
• Scooby-Doo (2002) - Velma Dinkley
• Gladius (2003) - Ursula (voice)
• Certainly Not a Fairytale (2003) - Adelle/Writer
• Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004) - Velma Dinkley
• LolliLove (2004) - Linda
• Jiminy Glick in Lalawood (2004) - Natalie Coolidge
• Brokeback Mountain (2005) - Cassie Cartwright
• American Gun (2005) - Mary-Anne
• Grandma's Boy (2006) - Samantha
• The Lazarus Project (2008) - Julie Ingram
• The Irishman (2010) - Joan Madigan

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Linda Cardellini at the Internet Movie Database
• Linda Cardellini at TV.com