Date of Birth

18 December 1979, Palm Springs, California, USA

Birth Name

Alison Marion Lohman

Height

5' 2" (1.57 m)

Mini Biography

Alison Lohman was born in Palm Springs, California, to Diane (Dunham), a patisserie owner, and Gary Lohman, an architect. She grew up in a family with no showbiz connections but she always wanted to perform. By age 9, she had landed her first professional, theatrical role playing "Gretyl" in "The Sound of Music" at Palm Desert's McCallum Theater. At 11, Alison won the Desert Theater League's award for "Most Outstanding Actress in a Musical" for the title role in "Annie" and, by age 17, she had appeared in 12 different productions. An accomplished singer, she performed as a featured solo vocalist for Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope and the Desert Symphony. As a senior in high school, Alison was an awardee of the National Foundation of the Advancement of the Arts. The offer of a scholarship to NYU's Tisch School soon followed but, instead, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in film. She attended a session of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London.

Trivia

• She played an older teen pretending to be a 14-year-old girl in Matchstick Men (2003). In real life, she was 23 at the time and turned 24 when the film was released.
• Had a small role in Kevin Costner's Dragonfly (2002) as a cancer patient, though her scenes were cut. Since she shaved her head for the role she had to wear wigs throughout her next movie White Oleander (2002).
• She studied acting, ballet, and dance, and she eventually won awards and scholarships for her talent.
• Is an environmentalist and supports many charities which improve and protect the environment.
• Her father Gary Lohman is an architect and her mother Diane Dunham owned a French bakery.
• She has Irish, German, English, Scottish, and more distant French-Canadian, ancestry.
• One of Esquire Magazine's "Women We Love".
• She went to the audition for Matchstick Men (2003) in 2002, dressed as and acting like a 14-year-old girl. Ridley Scott only realized her real age when she told him. She was 24 at the time.
• Likes to listen to Nirvana and Paramore.
• Was cast as "Christine Brown" in the film Drag Me to Hell (2009) after Elliot Page dropped out due to scheduling problems.
• Plays a character eleven years younger than herself in Flicka (2006).
• Has 2 children with her husband Mark Neveldine including a son named Billy Neveldine (b.2010). Billy's birth was not revealed until August 2011. She has since given birth to a 2nd child.
• Alison runs a coaching business.
• Retired from acting in 2009 to focus on being a mother to her children. She only occasionally does a film role every few years, usually a cameo appearance.

Quotes

• I can cry on cue to get out of a traffic ticket. That's happened at least three times.
• I love to travel. The last place I went was Amsterdam. I love Amsterdam. There is great art and cafes and the people are cool. They seem so free to enjoy themselves and live uninhibited.
• I've always wanted to be tall. In high school I'd wear longer pants and platform shoes. I have to wear heels so people don't see how short I am.