Kristanna Loken

"I'm almost 6 feet tall and have a deep voice. People never knew how to cast me." -Kristanna Loken

biography

Kristanna Loken was born in 1979 and though she is unmistakably of Norwegian origin, she was raised on an organic fruit farm in upstate New York. Her father is a successful writer and the owner/operator of the Loken family's farm, while her mother, the ultimate inspiration for Kristanna, is a former Wilhelmina model.

riding high

During her childhood, Kristanna Loken was exposed to both public and private schools and tried her hand at several activities including singing, acting and dancing lessons. Her work ethic and love for sports were honed early on; Loken was a stellar student and came to love horseback riding. In fact, she showcased her skills in equestrian events and has ridden across much of Hawaii, Ireland and Namibia, Africa.

Loken's career started out quite early. Thanks to the encouragement from her mother, she chose to pursue modeling in her teens and at 15 years old, placed third in the Elite Look of the Year contest in Ibiza, Spain. This exposure led to some modeling gigs as an Elite model.

looking at loken on screen

It was acting, however, that would prove to be her most successful venture. The same year as the modeling competition, Loken was cast as Danielle "Dani" Andropolous on the long-running soap opera, As the World Turns. This was followed up by short stints on comedies like Unhappily Ever After, Boy Meets World and Just Shoot Me.

Loken continued to take on bit parts on other shows like Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (starring the equally gorgeous Teri Hatcher) and finally landed a decent role on Pensacola: Wings of Gold in 1997. She was able to develop the character of Janine Kelly during her one-year tenure on the show and gained some valuable acting experience in the process. This learning progressed when she was cast as "Taja" on Mortal Kombat: Conquest in 1998.

Her slow but steady improvement did not take a hit, even when a TV drama she starred in, called D.C., did not get picked up by its network (only a couple of episodes aired). Despite this failure -- as well as the bomb that was Gangland, co-starring rappers Ice-T and Coolio -- she never gave up.

Loken's efforts were finally rewarded in 2001 after being offered a recurring role as A.D.A. Lisa Walensky on the TV drama, Philly. Working hard to get her name out even more, Loken starred in 2001's Panic. Though the movie featured a string of clichés, Loken provided the film's only bright side.

one sexy cyborg

This beautiful Norwegian finally has the chance to prove herself on a bigger stage with the release of Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. As the seemingly unstoppable villain T-X, Loken can secure a spot in Hollywood by kicking the stuffing out of Arnold Schwarzenegger, star of the two previous Terminator films. With a budget well over $170 million, the film will no doubt draw huge crowds and will hopefully elevate the gorgeous blonde to elite status.