Morena Baccarin

Morena Baccarin

Date of Birth: June 2, 1979

Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to actress Vera Setta and journalist Fernando Baccarin, Morena Silva de Vaz Setta Baccarin immigrated at age 10 to New York. She enrolled in the New York City Lab School for Collaborative Studies, where she and Claire Danes were classmates. She later attended LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts and went on to study at the prestigious Juilliard School.

She got her first glimpse at the craft of a top-notch actress when she became Natalie Portman's understudy in an early 2000s Central Park production of Anton Chekhov's The Seagull. She began working in film at around this time, with her first role coming in 2001's Perfume. The picture follows a group of models, photographers, reporters, publicists and agents during a chaotic modeling show in New York.

After Perfume, she took a role in the 2002 indie drama Roger Dodger, which also featured Jesse Eisenberg, Isabella Rossellini and Elizabeth Berkley. Following that film, she packed her bags and moved to Los Angeles, where she caught the eye of Joss Whedon, who cast her in his cult sci-fi show Firefly.

Evidently, Joss liked what Morena brought to the screen. He cast her in the 2005 sci-fi flick Serenity, which he wrote and directed.

Following Serenity, she landed a part in the television series Justice League in 2005, as well a recurring role on The O.C. and a guest appearance on How I Met Your Mother, both in 2006.

In 2008, Morena starred alongside Josh Lucas in the wartime drama Death in Love, and reteamed with the actor, and Jon Hamm, for the 2009 crime drama Stolen.

She began work on the popular television show Homelandstarring her old school mate Claire Danes in 2011, and also appeared in The Good Wife in 2012.

In 2015, Morena appeared with Melissa McCarthy in the Golden Globe-nominated Spy before landing what some consider her breakout role in 2016's highly successful anti-superhero film Deadpool. In the picture, which was inspired by the DC comic of the same name, Morena plays snarky prostitute Vanessa, who falls in love with Ryan Reynolds' lead character, Wade Wilson (who later takes on the alter ego Deadpool). She reprised her role in the sequel, Deadpool 2 (2018).

Morena is lent her voice to Malevolent, an animated horror film that also featured the voice of William Shatner.

At the age of 34, Morena gave birth for the first time to son Julius Chick, whose father, Austin Chick, was her husband of three years. The pair filed for divorce and since March 2015, she's been in a relationship with Ben McKenzie, who also starred in The O.C. The couple have a daughter together named Frances Laiz Setta Schenkkan (Schenkkan is McKenzie's real last name), born March 2, 2016.

Filmography:

Deadpool 2 (2018)
Malevolent (2016)
Deadpool (2016)
Spy (2015)
Back in the Day (2014)
Stolen (2009)
Death in Love (2008)
Serenity (2005)
Roger Dodger (2002)
Way Off Broadway (2001)
Perfume (2001)