Leelee Sobieski is
the animal-loving daughter of Jean Sobieski, a French painter and
writer. Leelee, 17, currently lives between New York and Los Angeles,
along with her parents and younger brother. She attends school
full-time when not acting, and also enjoys painting, ceramics, poetry,
martial arts, and horseback riding. She has a pet bird named Picasso,
a "bright yellow Indian Ringneck parakeet".
She first acted in a play at her school in Miami, Florida, and was
discovered by a casting director in her New York City school cafeteria.
The director suggested she try acting, and shortly thereafter she
landed starring roles in the telefilms "Reunion" (with Marlo
Thomas and Peter Strauss) and "A Horse For Danny" (with
Robert Urich). She then portrayed Mark Harmon's daughter, Jenny Grace,
on the series "Charlie Grace," and landed guest lead roles
on "FX," "Grace Under Fire" and "The Home
Court."
Leelee's feature film debut was the Tim Allen-Disney movie "Jungle
2 Jungle," wherein she played Martin Short's daughter, Karen. Her
on-screen romance in the movie was an Amazonian tribal youth, played
by her real-life friend, Sam Huntington. Leelee's other feature film
credits include "Canadian Bacon Promo" and Stanley Kubrick's
upcoming (and highly anticipated) "Eyes Wide Shut." She
spent last winter in London filming this movie, in which she will star
alongside Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman.
Leelee's mastery over the French language was necessary for the
upcoming Merchant-Ivory production, "A Soldier's Daughter Never
Cries." Shot on location in Paris and scheduled for release later
this year, the movie stars Leelee as the central character, Channe,
alongside Kris Kristofferson and Barbara Hershey.
The new Dreamworks film, Deep Impact, was released on May 8, 1998. In
this blockbuster-event, Leelee plays the part of Sarah Hotchner. She,
along with her on-screen boyfriend (portrayed by the talented young
Elijah Wood), must make mature, profound choices in the face of a
world shaking calamity.
Using her acting gift as a base, Leelee Sobieski aspires to one day
direct movies of her own.
by Ted
