Shawnee Rebecca Smith (born July 3, 1969) is an American film and television actress and musician best known for her roles in the Saw franchise, Becker, The Blob, and Anger Management.
She played Amanda Young in Saw, Saw II, Saw III, Saw VI, Saw X, and The Scott Tibbs Documentary.
Early Life[]
Shawnee Rebecca Smith was born at Orangeburg Regional Hospital, Orangeburg, South Carolina, the second child of Patricia Ann, an oncology nurse, and James H. Smith, a financial planner and former US Air Force pilot. When she was one year old, her family relocated from South Carolina to Van Nuys, California. Her parents divorced when Smith was two years old, and her mother remarried when she was eight. Smith attended Ranchito Avenue Elementary School in Panorama City, Los Angeles, and Madison Jr. High in North Hollywood. Afterward, she also attended North Hollywood High School, graduating in 1987.
Career[]
Smith began acting as a child, appeared on stage in A Christmas Carol repertory from age 8 to 11, and starred in a play with Richard Dreyfuss at age 15. She performed in the original stage production of To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday, winning the Dramalogue Critics Award for her performance and becoming the youngest actor up to that time to receive such an honor. Smith made her television debut in McDonald's Best Friends commercial in 1978. She joined the Screen Actors Guild at age 9 and made her feature film debut in John Huston's 1982 adaptation of the Broadway musical Annie as one of Aileen Quinn's fellow orphans. In 1985, she co-starred in two troubled-teen melodramas, Not My Kid and Crime of Innocence. In 1987, Smith co-starred in Summer School as a pregnant student named Rhonda Altobello. The following year, she starred in a 1988 remake of the Steve McQueen classic horror film The Blob as Meg Penny.
Smith played a wealthy teen who helps John Candy locate her kidnapped sister in 1989's Who's Harry Crumb? That same year, she co-starred with Jennie Garth and Barbara Eden in the short-lived TV series Brand New Life. The following year, Smith co-starred as the daughter of Anthony Hopkins and Mimi Rogers in the remake of Michael Cimino's thriller The Desperate Hours. Afterward, she took a three-year break from acting in the early 1990s, primarily because she had outgrown teenage roles and had difficulties finding work. However, she finally landed a small role in the film Leaving Las Vegas and has had steady work ever since.
Smith's best-known television role was that of Linda in the CBS sitcom Becker. She was a regular cast member in all 129 episodes from 1998 to 2004. She also played Julie Lawry in the 1994 miniseries The Stand, based on the novel by Stephen King. She also appeared as a waitress in the miniseries The Shining and made several guest appearances on several television shows, such as Cagney & Lacey, Married... with Children, Murder, She Wrote, The X-Files, Players, and Law & Order: Los Angeles. In 2003, she lent her voice to an episode of the Disney cartoon Kim Possible as Vivian Porter.
Smith has become well-known to a bigger audience for her role as Amanda Young in the Saw films. She has been called a "scream queen" due to the number of horror films in her résumé. In the DVD commentary of the first Saw film, the producers revealed that her scenes were filmed while Smith was battling a terrible case of the flu. The DVD commentary of Saw II revealed that she was four months pregnant with her second child during filming. Her pregnancy was kept a secret from everyone except director Darren Lynn Bousman. He mentioned in the commentary that Smith's daughter Verve accidentally told him about the pregnancy during filming. Although she is briefly shown in Saw IV and Saw V, Smith has said she was never on the set for those two installments. Any scenes featuring her were dubbed from file footage. On March 20, 2009, producer Mark Burg released a statement confirming that Smith would be in Saw VI. She arrived in Toronto on March 31, 2009, to begin filming brand-new flashback sequences.
She admitted she has a hard time watching horror movies. Initially, she turned the role of Amanda Young down because it upset her. After doing so, she was shown the eight-minute short film by Leigh Whannell and James Wan and changed her mind when she was offered the role a second time. In 2006, Smith appeared in the ten-minute short film trailer Repo! The Genetic Opera, also directed by Bousman. Smith's character was Heather Sweet, the surgery-addicted daughter of GeneCo president Rotti Largo. The trailer was filmed in Toronto, Ontario, and was an adaptation of the stage version. Bousman shot the trailer after completing Saw III to pitch the idea to film producers. Smith did not reprise her role as Heather Sweet when Lionsgate and Twisted Pictures picked up the film in 2007 and was replaced by Paris Hilton. Additionally, the character's name was changed to Amber.
In 2008, Smith played Detective Gina Harcourt in the FEARnet original series 30 Days of Night: Dust to Dust. On July 17, 2008, the series premiered on FEARnet.com in six webisodes alongside behind-the-scenes clips. It continued the first webisode series, 30 Days of Night: Blood Trails, and served as Smith's producing debut.
She was also the host and one of three mentors on the VH1 reality program Scream Queens, in which ten unknown actresses competed for a role in Saw VI. The show aired from October 20, 2008, to December 8, 2008. In January 2010, it was announced that Smith would not return as host and mentor for Season 2 due to scheduling conflicts, resulting in Jaime King replacing her.
In 2009, Smith played the role of Dr. Ann Sullivan, a child psychiatrist, in The Grudge 3. The film was a direct-to-DVD release in May 2009. She appeared as a guest star on The Secret Life of the American Teenager on August 30, 2010. It was her first television appearance since Scream Queens aired in 2008. Shortly afterward, she appeared in the series premiere of Law & Order: Los Angeles on September 29, 2010. Smith also starred as Jennifer Goodson, the ex-wife of Charlie Sheen's character on Anger Management, which ended in 2014 after 100 episodes.
Smith co-starred with Dean Winters in the 2021 indie comedy film Christmas vs. the Walters. In 2023, she reprised her role as Amanda Young in Saw X. The following year, she starred as Moira Cole in Bloodline Killer.
Music Career[]
Aside from acting, Smith is also a musician. She plays the guitar, piano, drums, and sings. She contributed to the soundtrack of Saw III with vocals on Hydrovibe's song Killer Inside and to the soundtrack for Catacombs as a solo vocalist with the song Please Myself. Her voice was also featured in Carnival of Souls, where her character Sandra performed a jazz song titled I Fear. Smith fronted the punk/metal band Fydolla Ho in the early 2000s. She initially formed the group alongside Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo, Suicidal Tendencies guitarist Rick Battson, and Skindred vocalist Benji Webbe as a small recording project. The band released its debut full-length album, Untied, in December 2001. She balanced the band with being a regular cast member on Becker. The band officially ended in 2004.
Smith began working on a solo album in 2004 with producer Chris Goss, but the project was never completed. In an interview with Radio Free in October 2005, she stated: "Between being a mom and working and growing another baby, I have not had time to give attention to music for a while."
She also participated in a country music group with actress Missi Pyle called Smith & Pyle. The two actresses met while filming an ABC comedy pilot titled Traveling in Packs. The band started after Smith invited Pyle to attend the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival together. Their first album, It's OK to Be Happy, was released digitally through iTunes and Amazon.com in July 2008. The debut album was recorded in Joshua Tree, California, and produced by Chris Goss. Smith and Pyle became business partners and formed their record label, Urban Prairie Records. In 2011, the two disbanded before a second album was completed. While promoting Anger Management in 2013, Smith stated that she reached a point where she wanted to focus on her children and television work.
Personal Life[]
Smith has three children: a daughter from her marriage to photographer Jason Reposar, a son from her brief marriage to musician Kai Mattoon, and a second son born in March 2010. Her two elder children were featured in the debut album of Smith & Pyle, It's OK to be Happy. The kids were listed in the album credits as having vocals and spoken narrative tracks for two songs. Additionally, an article published on October 28, 2009, highlighting Smith & Pyle's small tour in West Virginia, stated that Shawnee was pregnant with her third child.
Smith and Jason Reposar eloped in 1998 while on vacation in Scotland. After her divorce from Reposar, Smith wrote the song Sugar. She described it as her break-up song, which was performed by Smith & Pyle.
In June 2001, she was featured in Maxim magazine. She expressed regret about the two Maxim photoshoots and guessed that 80% of her presence on the internet came from those two shoots alone.
Smith converted to the Orthodox Church and made a documentary about her conversion and other aspects of Orthodoxy, entitled Orthodoxy: A Love Story.
Discography[]
Fydolla Ho[]
| Title |
|---|
| Oh Yeah |
| No Matter |
| Pieces |
| Behave |
| Afraid |
Smith & Pyle[]
| Title |
|---|
| One Night Stand |
| Rafael |
Filmography[]
Films[]
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Annie | Dancer |
| 1986 | Iron Eagle | Joenie |
| 1987 | Summer School | Rhonda Altobello |
| 1988 | The Blob | Meg Penny |
| 1989 | Who's Harry Crumb? | Nikki Downing |
| 1990 | Desperate Hours | May Cornell |
| 1995 | The Low Life | 'Little Tramp' Woman |
| Leaving Las Vegas | Biker Girl | |
| 1996 | Female Perversions | Make-Up Salesgirl |
| 1997 | Dead Men Can't Dance | Sgt. Addy Cooper |
| Greater Than a Tiger | Alice | |
| Men | Clara | |
| Dogtown | Tammy Hayes | |
| Bombshell | Shelly | |
| Eat Your Heart Out | Nicole | |
| 1998 | Every Dog Has Its Day | RedHead |
| Armageddon | Redhead | |
| Carnival of Souls | Sandra Grant | |
| The Party Crashers | Carolyn | |
| 1999 | A Slipping-Down Life | Faye-Jean Lindsay |
| Breakfast of Champions | Bonnie MacMahon | |
| 2002 | Never Get Outta the Boat | Dawn |
| 2004 | Saw | Amanda Young |
| The Almost Guys | Bigger | |
| 2005 | The Island | Suzie |
| Saw II | Amanda Young | |
| 2006 | The Scott Tibbs Documentary | Amanda Young |
| Saw III | Amanda Young | |
| Repo! The Genetic Opera | Heather Sweet | |
| 2009 | The Grudge 3 | Dr. Ann Sullivan |
| Saw VI | Amanda Young | |
| 2010 | Kill Speed | Honey |
| 2012 | Jayne Mansfield's Car | Vicky Caldwell |
| 2013 | Grace Unplugged | Michelle Trey |
| 2016 | Savannah Sunrise | Joy |
| Believe | Dr. Nancy Wells | |
| 2021 | Christmas vs. the Walters | Diane Walters |
| 2023 | Saw X | Amanda Young |
| 2024 | Bloodline Killer | Moira Cole |
Television Series[]
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Silver Spoons | Tawny |
| 1985 | It's Your Move | Brenda |
| Cagney & Lacey | Mrs. Zal's daughter | |
| 1986 | All Is Forgiven | Sonia Russell |
| 1989-1990 | A Brand New Life | Amanda Gibbons |
| 1990 | Lucky Chances | Olympia Stanislopolous |
| 1993 | Murder, She Wrote | Jill Cleveland |
| 1994 | The Stand | Julie Lawry |
| The X Files | Jessie O'Neil | |
| 1997 | Arsenio | Laura Lauman |
| The Shining | Waitress | |
| 1998 | Players | Lila |
| 1997-1998 | The Tom Show | Florence Madison |
| 2003 | Kim Possible | Vivian Porter |
| 1998-2004 | Becker | Linda |
| 2007 | 30 Days of Night: Dust to Dust | Detective Gina Harcourt |
| 2010 | Law & Order: Los Angeles | Trudy Sennett |
| 2010-2011 | The Secret Life of the American Teenager | Carrie |
| 2012 | Marie | |
| 2012-2014 | Anger Management | Jennifer Goodson |
| 2023 | City on Fire | Ramona |
Television Films[]
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Not My Kid | Carol |
| Crime of Innocence | Jodi Hayward | |
| 1986 | Easy Prey | Tina Marie Risico |
| 1988 | Bluegrass | Alice Gibbs |
| I Saw What You Did | Kim Fielding | |
| 1996 | Face of Evil | Jeanelle Polk |
| 1997 | Something Borrowed, Something Blue | Teri |
| 1998 | Twice Upon a Time | Maggie Fowler |
| 2005 | Washington Street | |
| 2007 | Secrets of an Undercover Wife | Lisa |
| Traveling in Packs | Ivy | |
| 2012 | Reel America | Lisa Slotnik |
Video Games[]
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Grand Theft Auto: Vice City | Fever 105 Female Imaging |
| 2012 | Lollipop Chainsaw | Mariska |
Gallery[]
External Links[]
Shawnee Smith on Wikipedia
Shawnee Smith at the Internet Movie Database
Shawnee Smith on Twitter
Shawnee Smith on Instagram