Alicia
Silverstone was born October 4, 1976 in San Francisco, California.
Although her heart was really in acting, Silverstone landed several modeling gigs
for companies such as Levi's Dockers and Marshall's. The modeling jobs led to
television commercials which eventually led to appearances on sitcoms, most notably
as a "dream girl" in The Wonder Years.
Before
hitting it big with the sleeper hit of 1995, Clueless, Silverstone worked on the
films Hideaway, Babysitter, True Crime, and Le Nouveau Monde. It was Silverstone's
role as the spoiled rich girl, Cher Horowitz in Clueless, that launched her career.
Clueless, a 90's version of Emma, earned Silverstone many awards, including the
American Comedy Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture, The National Board
of Review of Motion Picture Awards for Best Breakthrough Performance, the 2nd
Annual Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Best Female Newcomer Theatrical, as
well as the 5th Annual MTV Movie Award for Best Female Performance and Most Desirable
Female.
After
the success of Clueless, Barry Josephson of Columbia Pictures signed Silverstone
to a $7 million two-picture deal, the first of which was Excess Baggage. Silverstone
not only starred in the film, it was also the first film produced by Silverstone's
First Kiss Production Company. Unfortunately, Excess Baggage did not enjoy the
same box office numbers as Clueless.
