Who

The petite actress with quirky looks and bulging eyes is a favorite of goths and indie film fans.

Backstory

Born in California and raised in New Jersey, Ricci's mother was a Ford model turned real estate agent; her dad was a primal scream therapist who later became a lawyer. Ricci began starring in commercials as a six-year-old, and made her film debut at age 10 in 1990's Mermaids. It was her turn as Wednesday Addams in 1991's The Addams Family that earned her public notice and inaugurated an era of commercial success for the actress. She starred in the sequel, Addams Family Values, two years later and Disney's Casper in 1995. Teenage issues aside (see below), Ricci managed to avoid the trap of child actordom with a fruitful career both during and following puberty. In the late 1990s, she appeared in a handful of acclaimed indies, including Ang Lee's The Ice Storm, Don Roos' The Opposite of Sex, Vincent Gallo's Buffalo 66, and John Waters' Pecker.

Of note

Ricci's size (she's 5'1") and off-center looks haven't landed her big-budget roles, but she's carved out a niche as a critically-beloved indie star and a top pick for directors seeking to fill an oddball role. In recent years, she's appeared as Charlize Theron's girlfriend in 2003's Monster and as Elizabeth Wurtzel in the film version of Prozac Nation, which was shot in 2001 and finally released on cable in 2005. Unfortunately, her recent films, like Penelope, Black Snake Moan, and Speed Racer, have generally failed to make a significant dent at the box office. But she's had slightly better luck on TV: Her two-episode stint on Grey's Anatomy earned her an Emmy nod. 

Health report

Ricci suffered from an eating disorder as a teenager and also cut and burned herself, behavior she's attributed to the divorce of her parents and her subsequent estrangement from her dad. She says she's been in therapy since childhood.

Personal

Ricci had an on-again, off-again relationship with actor Adam Goldberg of Dazed and Confused and Zodiac for years. She's now engaged to actor Owen Benjamin. She lives in Chelsea with her cat and also owns a home in Los Angeles.

No joke

Her self-professed fears include being eaten alive, houseplants, gerbils, and swimming pools (since a shark may, somehow, find its way inside it).