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Biographies

Updated 08-15-00

Katherine Moennig preferred climbing trees and skateboarding to playing with tea sets as a tomboy growing up in Philadelphia, PA. Hence, she relishes the chance to make her television debut as the elusive Jake Pratt in "Young Americans," a girl masquerading as a boy at the all-male Rawley Academy.

The daughter of a Broadway dancer mother and a violin maker father, Moennig was primed to perform at an early age. She first stepped on stage at 10 years old in a Children's Theatre Workshop production of "Winnie the Pooh" and opted to expand the experience by writing and directing an improvised version of "Pooh" with a friend. The duo performed their original production at Philadelphia's Free Library.

She continued doing school productions before moving to New York and entering the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Within two months of graduation, she landed an apprenticeship at the prestigious Williamstown Theatre Festival and acquired a wealth of experience working behind the scenes. This year, during a second stint at Williamstown, she appeared in a production of Shakespeare's "As You Like It."

Moennig recently spent Thanksgiving in Toronto, having won a central role in a music video for the Canadian band "Our Lady Peace" just prior to landing her first television series with "Young Americans."

In her leisure time, the young actress enjoys sleeping late, spending time with friends and walking around New York City.

Bio from Columbia Tristar Television's Young American's Site

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Marking his network series debut with "Young Americans," Ian Somerhalder comes to The WB from the world of modeling.

The son of a massage therapist and a building contractor, Somerhalder was born and raised in the small southern town of Covington, LA. Boating, swimming, fishing and training horses filled much of his recreational time growing up, as did the school drama club and performing with the local theater group. With his mother's encouragement, at age 10 he began a modeling career that took him to New York each summer.

By junior high, he opted to put modeling on the back burner and focus more on sports and school. A few years later, when the opportunity to model in Europe arose, Somerhalder grabbed it, embarking on an enriching path of work, travel and study that took him to cities including Paris, Milan and London.

At 17, he began studying acting in New York, and by 19 had committed himself to the craft, working with preeminent acting coach William Esper. His fate was sealed while working as an extra in a club scene in the feature film "Black & White." A talent manager visiting a client on the set spotted Somerhalder's amazing look in a crowd scene of 400 and immediately signed him for representation.

Happy to be anchored in New York, Somerhalder spends much of his time studying acting, writing and practicing yoga. His recreational interests include water and snow skiing and horseback riding.

Bio from Columbia Tristar Television's Young American's Site

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Rodney Scott makes his television starring debut as a series regular on "Young Americans."

Born in Washington, D.C., Rodney cherished his childhood in the beach resort town of Ocean City, MD. An athletic teenager, he enjoyed playing basketball, football and especially golf. A cousin got him hooked on the latter, and he honed his skills and competed in the state finals during his sophomore year in high school. However, his attention was diverted by drama in his senior year, when he took a class on a lark and wound up starring in three school plays, including "Romeo and Juliet."

Upon graduation, he enrolled in a community college, but after one semester, he set his sights on a show business career. At 19, to his mother's dismay, he decided to take the scenic cross-country trip to Hollywood with three friends.

Soon after his arrival, Rodney found representation and began auditioning for roles, while working as an usher at the Mann's Chinese Theater. When funds ran low, he went home to Maryland for the summer and worked as a waiter. With untarnished optimism and money in his pocket, he returned to Los Angeles in the fall of 1998, and immediately was cast as a runaway teen on the series "Promised Land." Several months later, he landed "Young Americans."

In his leisure time, Rodney enjoys playing golf and attending baseball and football games. An avid traveler, he has visited most major U.S. cities and hopes to venture to Egypt one day to see the pyramids.

Bio from Columbia Tristar Television's Young American's Site

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It almost seemed too good to be true when Kate Bosworth, a champion equestrian, learned they were casting a movie about horses. Then 14, she heard of an open audition in New York for Robert Redford's film "The Horse Whisperer" and decided to try her luck.

Casting executives were amused when Kate handed them a family Christmas card photo in lieu of a standard head shot, and later were impressed by her talent. While her previous performing experience consisted of singing at county fairs in California and acting in a community theater production of "Annie," she won the role of the female lead's best friend and the chance to work with director/star Redford.

Bosworth was born in Los Angeles and moved with her parents to San Francisco at age 6, to Connecticut at 9, and to Cohasset, MA, at 14. Since landing the movie role, she has frequented more sound stages than ranches. Fearful that an early career would rob her of her childhood, she took 18 months off to live a normal life before opting to plunge into acting again. Last year, she landed the role of the bratty sister in the upcoming feature film "The Newcomers" and the part of a football co-captain's girlfriend in the upcoming Denzel Washington movie "Remember the Titans."

Currently a high school junior, she has maintained academic excellence and is an honor roll student and a member of the National Honor Society. Bosworth has volunteered her spare time with various non-profit organizations, including a Los Angeles program for physically challenged children who learn to ride horses with assistance, and is a Veteran member of the Appalachia Program.

In her off-hours, she enjoys spending time with her friends and family, as well as her cats, Louise and Dusty. She also plays Varsity soccer and lacrosse and hopes soon to "get back in the saddle again."

Bio from Columbia Tristar Television's Young American's Site

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Promising new talent Mark Famiglietti makes his primetime series debut with "Young Americans."

The son of a pharmaceutical executive and an office manager, Famiglietti was born in Providence, RI, and raised in Clinton, CT, where frequent family trips to the Goodspeed Opera House sparked his interest in performing. However, it wasn't until his teen years that he shifted to the other side of the footlights in Goodspeed's "An Evening with Max Showalter and Friends" and won the Goodspeed Guild Musical Theatre Award for his performance.

In high school, he was class president in his junior and senior years, captain of the baseball team, a member of the band and chorus and co-announcer of school football and basketball games. On winning a small part in his school's production of "Guys & Dolls," he added drama classes to his curriculum and began to exercise acting and singing muscles. Leading roles followed in local theater productions of "Bye, Bye Birdie" and "The Music Man" and school plays including "Kiss Me Kate" and "Once upon a Mattress."

Now bent on an acting career, he began attending auditions in New York while studying at New York University as a drama major, where he studied with the Atlantic Theatre Company. During his second semester, he put college on hold and headed for Hollywood after being cast as Deering High's resident heartthrob, Nick Hammer, on the Saturday morning teen show "Hangtime." He also guest-starred on The WB comedy "Zoe, Duncan, Jack & Jane" and co-stars as a friendly bartender in the February-slated TV movie "Bunny Girls" starring Marilu Henner and Rhea Perlman.

Famiglietti, who loves the stock market, aims to go back to school someday to study economics or marketing, but he's aiming towards show business success as an actor, writer and producer. Offstage, he devotes considerable time to writing and has completed two screenplays and stays fit by working out daily and running 35-40 miles a week.

Bio from Columbia Tristar Television's Young American's Site

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