Erika Eleniak

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Erika Maya Eleniak (Glendale, 29 settembre 1969) è una modella e attrice statunitense.

Nata da padre canadese (con discendenze ucraine) e madre con antenati estoni e tedeschi^[1] è la maggiore di 5 figli e deve affrontare prestissimo la separazione dei genitori. Alla fine del 1970 il padre la introduce nel mondo dello spettacolo facendole prendere parte ad una pubblicità televisiva di abiti per bambina. Ma la sua prima vera e propria apparizione in un film come attrice arriva nel 1982 in E.T. l'extra-terrestre in cui ricopre il ruolo della bambina baciata da Elliott a scuola.

Si iscrive alla scuola Robert Fulton Junior High e diventa assidua frequentatrice dei party che si tengono nella valle di San Fernando, a nord di Los Angeles, cominciando così a fare uso di alcolici e sostanze stupefacenti^[2]. In questo difficilissimo periodo riceve l'aiuto di Steve Ferguson, un ragazzo tetraplegico, che l'aiuta a disintossicarsi e la convince ad entrare negli alcolisti anonimi nel 1988^[3]. Erika si fidanza con lui ed il loro rapporto dura fino al matrimonio della madre con il padre di Ferguson^[4].

Erika nel settembre 2005

[modifica] Carriera

[modifica] Televisione

Eleniak went on to have several small roles in television. She played Stephanie Curtis, Scott Baio's on-screen girlfriend in Charles in Charge (and was also his off-screen girlfriend), and Jamie Coburn in Broken Angel. In 1989 Eleniak decided that appearing in Playboy would help boost her career, and Ferguson put her in contact with a Playboy photographer. Playboy featured her on two covers and later as the centerfold in the July 1989 issue. After an audition and three call backs, Eleniak won a role in Baywatch as Shauni McClain. She was the lead female character for three seasons until Pamela Anderson replaced her in 1992. While working on the series, Eleniak became romantically involved with Billy Warlock, who played Eddie Kramer, her character's boyfriend. He was the reason why Eleniak ended up leaving the show after only two seasons.^[5] The two announced their engagement in 1993, but the relationship didn't last due to Warlock's jealous nature - he later confessed in an interview, "I can't bear anyone else to see her body".^[6]

[modifica] Film

In 1992, Eleniak returned to film acting, playing Jordan Tate, a Playboy Playmate hired to do a striptease for the captain of a U.S. Navy ship, in Under Siege, a film that was one of the year's biggest hits. In the film, she is described as "Jordan Tate, Miss July 1989"—which is the month that Eleniak was Playmate of the Month. She plays a character that is supposed to be purely decorative but is actually intelligent, brave, and resourceful.

She attempted to capitalize on this success by starring as Elly May Clampett in the screen adaptation of The Beverly Hillbillies in 1993, but the film flopped. The next year she starred in the Dennis Hopper-directed romantic comedy Chasers. William McNamara, one of her costars in this film, also became her partner in life. Eleniak went on to shoot another movie with McNamara, Girl in the Cadillac (1995). The two were engaged but never married. Eleniak also starred in an interactive game during 1995; she played identical twins in Panic in the Park (1995). She continued to make more independent films including A Pyromaniac's Love Story (1995), Bordello of Blood (1996) and Ed McBain's 87th Precinct: Heatwave (1997). Eleniak has starred in a host of films, including The Pandora Project (1998) with Daniel Baldwin, One Hot Summer Night (1998) with Barry Bostwick, Final Voyage (1999) with Ice-T, Stealth Fighter (1999) also with Ice-T, The Opponent (2000), Vegas, City of Dreams (2001) with Angelica Bridges, Second to Die (2002), Snowbound (2001), Betrayal (2003) and Shakedown (2002).

[modifica] Reality

Eleniak continues to act. She appeared as one of the cast members of the reality television series The Real Gilligan's Island for its second season which started in June 2005.^[7]

Eleniak has exhibited various weight issues throughout her life. At one point, she was underweight due to eating disorder and was once hospitalized because of laxative abuse^[8]. In recent years she had become overweight, and in 2006 was a participant on the fourth season of VH1's reality television series Celebrity Fit Club, on which overweight celebrities lose weight as part of a competition. She lost 31 pounds over the course of the show.

[modifica] The '80s Movie and Music Fest Cafe

In 2006, she was given much credit for appearing on a British Comedy Podcast on iTunes: The '80s Movie and Music Fest Cafe, in which she discussed her career with presenters, Ross Dyer and Julian Bayes. She gave a light-hearted view of Baywatch and her challenge during filming of Celebrity Fit Club. [1]

[modifica] Vita privata

Eleniak has dated some of Hollywood's most famous bachelors, including Scott Baio, and was engaged for a time to William McNamara. In 1997 she met her future husband, Philip Goglia. They were married on May 22, 1998, and she was Erika Eleniak-Goglia during their brief relationship. They resided together in Marina del Rey, California, until their divorce.

After filming Snowbound in 2001 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Eleniak fell in love with the city and with Roch Daigle, a key grip who worked on the set. Having wanted to leave Los Angeles for years (and feeling that commuting to and from her other choice, Telluride, Colorado, was prohibitively difficult), Eleniak purchased a home in Calgary, in part because Daigle lived there.^[9] The two eventually married. Eleniak became pregnant in 2005, but six and a half weeks into her term, the pregnancy was discovered to be ectopic, which required emergency surgery days later. As is the case with classical ectopic pregnancies, it ended in miscarriage,^[10] but Eleniak soon became pregnant again, and bore a daughter.^[11]

Her favorite authors include James Patterson, and her favorite books include Memoirs of a Geisha and In the Meantime by Iyanla Vanzant. Her favorite movies include The Godfather trilogy, Goodfellas, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and The Blue Bird.

[modifica] Filmografia

• E.T. l'extraterrestre (1982)
• Il mio amico Ricky (1987) (telefilm - 1 episodio)
• Broken Angel (1988)
• Blob, il fluido che uccide (1988)
• Baby Sitter (1989) (telefilm - 3 episodi)
• Ragazza di strada (1990)
• Gli amici di papà (1990) (telefilm - 1 episodio)
• Baywatch (1989-1992) (telefilm - 47 episodi)
• Trappola in alto mare (1992)
• A Beverly Hills signori si diventa (1993)
• Una bionda sotto scorta (1994)
• Girl in the Cadillac (1995)
• Panic in the Park (1995)
• Giorni di fuoco (1995)
• I Racconti della Cripta: il Piacere del Sangue (1996)
• Ed McBain's 87th Precinct: Heatwave (1997)
• La gabbia di cristallo (1998)
• Brooklyn South (1998) (telefilm - 3 episodi)
• 2 X 1 Omicidio (1998)
• The Pandora Project (1998)
• Charades (1998)
• Fantasy Island (1999) (telefilm - 1 episodio)
• Stealth Fighter (1999)
• Final Voyage (1999)
• Aftershock - Terremoto A New York (1999)
• The Opponent (2000)
• Vegas, City of Dreams (2001)
• Snowbound (2001)
• Second to Die (2002)
• Breakaway (2002)
• He Sees You When You're Sleeping (2002)
• Shakedown (2002)
• Betrayal (2003)
• The Librarians (2003)
• Caught in the Headlights (2004)
• Brilliant (2004)
• Fatal Lessons (2004)
• Van Helsing - Dracula's Revenge (2004)
• Fatal Reunion - Una donna in pericolo (2005)
• Absolute Zero (2005)

[modifica] Apparizioni nelle edizioni speciali di "Playboy"

• Playboy's Great Playmate Hunt, febbraio 1989 - pagina 55.
• Playboy's Playmate Review (vol. 6), luglio 1990.
• Playboy's Girls of Summer '90, agosto 1990 - pagine 28-29, 67.
• Playboy's Wet & Wild Women, dicembre 1990.
• Playboy's Book of Lingerie vol. 25, maggio 1992.
• Playboy's Book of Lingerie vol. 26, luglio 1992.
• Playboy's Girls of Summer '93, giugno 1993 - pagine 54-55, 93.
• Playboy's Book of Lingerie vol. 33, settembre 1993.
• Playboy's Nudes, dicembre 1993 - pagina 9.
• Playboy's Playmates in Paradise, marzo 1994 - pagine 24--29.
• Playboy's Girls of Summer '94, giugno 1994.
• Playboy's Nudes, novembre 1994.
• Playboy's Playmates in Bed vol. 1, gennaio 1995.
• Playboy's Book of Lingerie vol. 43, maggio 1995.
• Playboy's Nude Celebrities, giugno 1995.

[modifica] Note

[modifica] Collegamenti esterni

• (EN) Sito ufficiale
• (EN) Erika Eleniak - Playboy.com
• (EN) Erika Eleniak - Internet Movie Database
• (EN) Erika Eleniak - Elman
• (EN) Intervista
• (EN) Erika Eleniak - TV.com