Date of Birth

17 December 1988, West Los Angeles, California, USA

Birth Name

Nicole Houston Reed

Nickname

Nik
Nikki

Height

5' 4" (1.63 m)

Mini Biography

Actress and screenwriter Nicole Houston Reed was born in Los Angeles, California. She is the daughter of Cheryl Houston, a hairdresser and beautician, and Seth Reed, a set designer. She has two brothers. Her ancestry includes Ashkenazi Jewish, German, British Isles, and one eighth Italian. Reed's parents divorced when she was two and she lived with her mother. She attended Alexander Hamilton High School, but dropped out and was home-schooled. As she entered her teenage years, Reed began a difficult period in her life, resulting in her moving out of home at 14 years old.

Reed first met Catherine Hardwicke when Hardwicke was dating her father. They kept in touch and in 2002 began scripting Thirteen (2003), based on Reed's writing from her early teens. When Hardwicke was unable to find the right actress for the character of Evie, a reluctant Reed was persuaded to take the role. She received critical acclaim for the part.

Various roles followed including a stint in the popular TV series The O.C. (2003). She collaborated again with Catherine Hardwicke in 2008 when she appeared as Rosalie in Twilight (2008). Reed also appeared in the film's sequels - The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009), The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010), The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 (2011) and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 (2012).

Nikki is married to actor and model Ian Somerhalder.

Trivia

• Daughter of Seth Reed
• Thirteen (2003), which was written by Reed and the director, is a partially autobiographical film about Reed's rebellious life as a thirteen year old.
• Has an older brother, Nathan August Reed, who was born on November 23, 1986.
• Her parents divorced when she was just two years old
• She grew up in Culver City, California, where her mother still resides.
• Wrote in her journal about her experiences as a young teenager. Catherine Hardwicke, the director of Thirteen (2003), read her journal and the two then decided to turn the experiences into a film. Hardwick would sit at her computer and create a structure for the film and Reed would provide the dialogue.
• She moved out on her own when she was 14.
• Close friends with Thirteen (2003) co-star Evan Rachel Wood and director Catherine Hardwicke.
• Lived in Ruma, IL, for 1 year. Did not live in Illinois at any other time, but does visit once a year if possible.
• Close friends with Twilight co-stars Kellan Lutz, Taylor Lautner, Peter Facinelli, Elizabeth Reaser, Kristen Stewart, Ashley Greene, and Jackson Rathbone.
• Her brother is a professional photographer.
• [June 5, 2011] Engaged to Paul McDonald.
• Ranked #42 in the 2009 Maxim "Hot 100 Women" list.
• A fan of Liam Neeson, she once visited the theatre and sat in the row behind him, spending the entire show looking at the back of his head. When she confessed this on Ellen, she talked about Liam's visit to Ellen's splash tank. Ellen then presented Nikki with the bathing briefs that Liam wore.
• Filming The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009) (aka "The Twilight Saga: New Moon") in Canada. [March 2009]
• A high school junior in West Los Angeles, California. [October 2004]
• Filming The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 (2011) in Vancouver, Canada. [March 2011]
• Godmother of Monroe Jackson Rathbone VI (b. July 5, 2012), a son of her friend and Twilight (2008) co-star Jackson Rathbone and his wife Sheila Hafsadi.
• (April 26, 2015) Married her boyfriend of a year Ian Somerhalder at Topanga Canyon in Malibu, California following a 2-month-long engagement.
• Attended Alexander Hamilton High School in Los Angeles, California.
• Teamed up with Staples and Do Something for their 3rd Annual School Supply Drive in the summer of 2011.
• Earned her high school diploma through homeschooling.
• Endorsed Bernie Sanders in the 2016 presidential election of the United States.
• Both she and husband, Ian Somerhalder are best known for playing vampires. Reed in the "Twilight Saga" and Somerhalder in The Vampire Diaries (2009).
• Has a daughter: Bodhi Soleil Reed Somerhalder (b. July 25, 2017) with husband, Ian Somerhalder.

Trademarks:

• Often plays characters that have grown up too fast, are very adventurous and somewhat damaged.
  
• Chapstick - she uses it for everything
  
• Beauty mark above her lip
  
• Braided hair styles
  

Quotes

• Part of being young is making mistakes.
• Some of the greatest moments in life come from moments that are incomplete.
• I'm going to school actually while we're shooting. I'm talking five, but I was just told that two are unavailable so I'm waiting to see. I'm taking a language course, I'm taking a writing course, I'm really trying to take a Greek mythology course and a psychology course. There's so many prerequisites for this psychology. I always try to stay productive and do things that I feel nourish the brain.
• I've fallen on my ass I don't know how many times because I refused to listen to anyone.
• Most teen movies are fantasies, like The Princess Diaries (2001). But my movie is coming from a completely different angle, which is truth. This is what really happens.
• People tend to get nervous when they're working with first-time writer-directors. Because we've all had our share of bad experiences when you work with someone who is too close to the material and can't really pull themselves away.
• Last year, I was like, hyperventilating. I don't want to say I've gotten used to it, but my palms aren't sweating as much . . . I love walking up to my fans and saying, "Thank you for coming". It's more real.
• I think my mother is my biggest influence. There are so many things I hate about her but at the same time I'm thankful for her. All I know is that when I'm a parent I want to be just like my mom. I can talk to my mom more than any of my friends could talk to their parents.
• I went through what I went through too young. Emotionally, it was really hard juggling all these things I was going through.
• To read what the general public thinks and to put it together with your real life, it's amazing how wrong people can be.