Danneel Harris Biography

Danneel Harris (ne Elta Danneel Graul; March 18, 1979) is an American actress and model. She is best known for her roles as Shannon McBain on One Life to Live and Rachel Gatina on One Tree Hill.

Early life

Elta Danneel Graul was born in Lafayette, Louisiana, and was raised in the small town of Eunice in St. Landry Parish. Her father Edward E.Graul,Jr. is a practicing ophthalmologist and her mother Deborah Graul works as an interior designer. She was named after her great-grandmother. Her first name is Elta, but she goes by her middle name, Danneel, professionally. The name "Danneel" was inspired by Danneel Street in New Orleans. Her cousin is actress Mary Lou. She moved to Los Angeles and continued her acting training.

Career

Modeling and acting

Before she landed her first acting role, Harris worked as a model with such companies as Big Sexy Hair and Juicy Jeans. She first appeared in a television commercial. In 2003 Harris landed her first role on the American Broadcasting Company Soap Opera television series One Life to Live as Shannon McBain a student attending the fictional Llanview University. Harris relocated to New York for the role and left the series in December 2004. Harris has since gone on to appear in shows such as How I Met Your Mother, What I Like About You and CSI: Miami. Harris's first film role was in the short film The Plight of Clownana.

In 2005 Harris was announced to have a major recurring role in the third season of The CW Teen Drama television series One Tree Hill. Harris portrayed the role of Rachel Gattina a bad girl who creates havoc for the residents of Tree Hill and returned to her role as a series regular for the shows fourth season. However, in season five, Harris only reprises the role of Rachel in two episodes due to the seasons format change.

In June 2009 Harris was confirmed to reprise the role of Rachel in the series seventh season over the course of seven episodes. Harris was in-talks to return for the series eighth season but due to scheduling conflicts these plans never materialized.

In January 2007 Harris was cast as the female lead in the New Line Cinema Comedy film Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay the sequel to the 2004 film Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle. Filming took place in Shreveport, Louisiana that same month. The film was released in April 2008 to mixed reviews and went on to gross over $43,439,123 worldwide. Harris reprises the role of Vanessa Fanning in the third and final film of the trilogy A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas which was released in November 2011. In both 2009 and 2010, Harris had major supporting roles in both films Fired Up! and The Back-up Plan.

In May 2009 Harris was announced to have been cast in the Screen Gems Thriller film The Roommate. The film which stars Leighton Meester and Cam Gigandet centers on a college freshman who's roommate has a violent obsession with her. Harris portrays the role of Irene Crew, a high-profile fashion designer. The film was shot on location at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles suffered numerous push-backs due to unknown reasons. Eventually the film was released in February 2011 to a $15.6 million opening weekend despite negative reviews from critics and went on to gross over $40 million worldwide.

In September 2009 Harris appeared in the Sitcom television series pilot Friends with Benefits which was picked up by NBC. It was originally set to air on NBC as a midseason replacement during the 2010-11 television season but was delayed till August 2011. Harris portrayed the role of Sara Maxwell a doctor desperate to find the right guy. The series premiered to a low 2.34 million viewers and mixed reviews from critics. The series was not renewed for a second season due to low ratings.

In June 2012, Harris was announced to have a major recurring role in the second season of the TV Land Sitcom television series Retired at 35. (Johnathan McClain).

Personal life

After seven years of friendship and three years of dating, Harris became engaged to Supernatural actor Jensen Ackles in November 2009. The couple married on May 15, 2010, in Dallas, Texas. It was announced on January 7, 2013, that the couple were expecting their first child together. Their daughter was born in 2013. On August 11, 2016, it was announced that the couple are expecting twins.

Filmography

Film

Year	Film	Role	Notes
2004	The Plight of Clownana	DildoMan's Fan	Short
2005	Rule Number One	April	Short
2007	Ten Inch Hero	Platisha 'Tish' Madison
2008	Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay	Vanessa Fanning
2008	Extreme Movie	Melissa
2009	Still Waiting...	Sherry
2009	Fired Up!	Bianca
2010	The Back-up Plan	Olivia
2011	The Roommate	Irene Crew
2011	A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas	Vanessa Fanning
2012	Mardi Gras: Spring Break	Erica

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2003	One Life to Live	Shannon McBain	Main cast 68 episodes
2004	What I Like About You	Kate	Recurring role Episode 2.14 "Your Cheatin' Heart" Episode 2.16 "Lunar Eclipse of the Heart" Episode 2.19 "The Big Picture" Episode 2.21 "Anti-Prom"
	Joey	London / Katie Harper	Recurring role Episode 1.10 "Joey and the Big Audition" Episode 1.12 "Joey and the Plot Twist" Episode 1.13 "Joey and the Taste Test"
2005	Charmed	"Glamoured" Paige Matthews	Episode 7.22 "Something Wicca this way Goes"
2005	JAG	Cammie Cresswell	Recurring role Episode 10.16 "Straits of Malacca" Episode 10.18 "Death at the Mosque"
2005-10	One Tree Hill	Rachel Gatina	Recurring role (Seasons 3,5,7) Main cast (Season 4) 52 episodes
2007	CSI: Crime Scene Investigation	Shasta McCloud	Episode 8.02 "A La Cart"
2008	Free Radio	Danneel Harris	Episode 1.07 "Lance Gets a Bodyguard"
2008	How I Met Your Mother	Nora Zinman	Episode 4.05 "Shelter Island"
2009	NCIS	Jessica Shore	Episode 6.14 "Love & War"
2009	Trust Me	Jessica	Episode 1.02 "All Hell the Victors"
2009	CSI: Miami	Abby Dawson	Episode 7.16 "Sink or Swim"
2011	Friends with Benefits	Sara Maxwell	Main cast 13 episodes
2012	Retired at 35	Jenn Harris	Recurring role Episode 2.04 "The Grifters" Episode 2.06 "The Apartment" Episode 2.07 "The Break-Up"
2012	Naughty or Nice	Jill Rhodes	Television film
2013	How to Live with Your Parents (For the Rest of Your Life)	Olivia	Recurring role Episode 1.06 "How to Fix Up Your Ex" Episode 1.08 "How to Live with Your Parents for the Rest of Your Life"
2014	Baby Boot Camp	Julia	Television film