The daughter of an Anglo-German father and a Filipino-Hawaiian mother, Shannon Marie Kahoolani Sossamon was born October 3, 1978, in Honolulu, Hawaii. At age three, Shannon moved with her family to Reno, Nevada. In the mid-1980s, Shannon's mother Sherry split up with her father, Todd Lindberg, and remarried.

Shannyn Sossamon is the classic example of a free spirit willing to go wherever life may take her. That irrepressible attitude has kept her going from Honolulu to Hollywood: So when a one-in-a-million discovery led to her starring role in 2001's A Knight's Tale, the young dancer-turned-actress just took it in stride. In fact, when stardom no longer appealed to her, Sossamon gave it up for a time, until her interest in acting was renewed by more interesting roles, such as her turn in 2002's The Rules of Attraction.

But such an approach to life is in keeping with Shannyn's bohemian personality. A strong interest in the arts, from dancing and acting to photography, writing and music, means that Sossamon finds contentment in any number of media, and can handle just about anything -- just don't expect this party girl to handle punching a timecard.

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