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Shannyn is an American actress, musician, and director. She has appeared in various movies including “A Knight’s Tale,” “One Missed Call,” and “40 Days and 40 Nights.”
Age, Early Life and Education Background
Shannon Marie Kahololani Sossamon was born under the Libra zodiac sign on 3 October 1978, in Hawaii, USA, and is 45 years old as of 2023. She is the daughter of Todd Lindberg and Sherry Sossamon, who divorced when she was five years old. Sossamon’s mother remarried to the salesman and auto dealership manager, Randy Goldman. She was brought up alongside her sister, Jenny Lee Lindberg, who is a singer-songwriter and record producer. Sossamon is of Dutch, German, French, and English roots, and she spent her childhood days in Reno, Nevada.
Shannyn attended a local elementary school in Reno before she joined Galena High School. After her matriculation in 1995, the actress relocated to Los Angeles to study dancing. She changed her first name by adding a ‘y’ in 1995.
Career Beginnings and Film Appearances
Before venturing into acting, Shannyn worked as a DJ and model. She was one of the DJs who entertained guests at Jake Paltrow and Gwyneth Paltrow’s joint birthday party, which took place in Hollywood, California. Shannyn was featured in various magazines including “Sassy” magazine during the early phase of her career. In the early 2000s, she was ranked at no. 33 of “Maxim” magazine’s “Hot 100 of 2002”, and in the same year at position 55 of “102 Sexiest Women in the World” by “Stuff” magazine. She has also posed for various brands including Unionbay Apparel and American Eagle Outfitters as a model.
Sossamon was discovered by the director of “A Knight’s Tale” at Jake Paltrow’s birthday party. She recalled during an interview, ‘Most of the auditions I went on, I passed up the projects because I just wasn’t interested. When I read “A Knight’s Tale,” that was that. I knew I wanted to do this movie.’ Shannyn beat Kate Garry Hudson for the starring role of Lady Jocelyn in the film, opposite Heath Ledger. In 2002, she landed another lead role in the comedy “40 Days and 40 Nights” for which she was nominated for a Teen Choice Award together with Josh Hartnett. In 2003, Sossamon starred alongside Heath Ledger again in the mystery horror “The Order.” She shortly afterward took a brief break from acting after she became pregnant.
Sossamon continued acting after giving birth to her son in mid-2003 – one of her notable film roles of the 2000s was in the 2006 romantic black comedy “Wristcutters: A Love Story” which was followed by appearances in the romantic comedy “The Holiday” (2006), the 2008 supernatural horror “One Missed Call,” for which she received a Teen Choice Award nomination for Choice Movie Actress: Horror or Thriller.
Sossamon appeared in numerous films in the 2010s including the 2010 romantic comedy “Our Family Wedding,” the 2011 post-apocalyptic film “The Day,” and the 2018 comedy “Ghost Light.” Recently in 2022, she appeared in two films, the action thriller “There Are No Saints” and the horror “Grimcutty.”
TV Appearances
In 1999, Sossamon made her TV debut in the sketch comedy series “Mr. Show.” She then focused on film appearances and her next notable TV role was in the first season of the FX network television serial broadcast, “Dirt” in 2007. Her following appearances were in the paranormal romantic TV drama “Moonlight” (2007 and 2008) and the soap opera “Mistresses” (2013). In 2015 and 2016, Sossamon played the recurring role of Theresa Burke in the mystery sci-fi “Wayward Pines,” which is based on Blake Crouch’s eponymous novels. Concurrently, she portrayed Pandora in the third season of the supernatural drama “Sleepy Hollow.”
Music
Before she created a band with her sister, Jenny, Sossamon went to guitar classes at least four times a week in late 2003. In 2004, the two sisters formed the psychedelic and indie rock band, Warpaint, in Los Angeles – Sossamon went on to play drums for the band, all its other members played guitar – before she began performing as a vocalist (2004-2008). Shannyn recorded the EP “Exquisite Corpse” with Warpaint in 2009.
Directing, Producing, and Other Works
Sossamon began producing and directing music videos and shorts in 2009, through her production firm, Maudegone Theater. In 2010, she served on Indian Film Festival’s Feature Jury. Sossamon lent her voice to Jade Nguyen in the 2012 stealth video game “Hitman: Absolution.”
Awards and Nominations
Out of the eight awards she’s been nominated for, Sossamon has won one. In 2002, she scooped a Young Hollywood Award for Breakthrough Performance – Female. Her performance in “A Knight’s Tale” has seen her nominated for three MTV Movie Awards (2002) and two Teen Choice Awards.
Sossamon is active on Instagram (@shansossamon) with around 80,000 followers.
Personal Life
Sossamon has been romantically linked with various famous personalities. She dated two men in the ‘90s: the real estate agent, Richard Purser (early ‘90s) and Paolo Kappella (1998 and 1999). She began dating the American children’s book illustrator, Dallas Clayton, in the early 2000s, and in May 2003, the lovebirds welcomed a sonthey named Audio Science Clayton. It is reported that they parted ways in 2004 after dating for two years.
In 2005 and 2006, Shannyn dated the Academy Award-winning American actor, Joaquin Phoenix, who is famously known for portraying unconventional characters in various films including “Joker” (2019). In 2006, Sossamon briefly dated the musician, Eugene Goreshter, who is a member of the rock band, Autolux. She also briefly dated the “Versailles” star, Tygh Runyan, after he broke up from Sarah Lind.
In March 2012, Sossamon announced the birth of her second son, Mortimer Sossamon on Facebook, but hasn’ot revealed the name of Mortimer’s father. Sossamon is seemingly single as of 2023.
Height, Weight, and Physical Appearance
Shannyn is of White ethnicity and has a set of dark brown eyes and hair of the same color. She is 5ft 8ins (1.73m) tall, weighs approximately 120lbs (54kgs), and her vital statistics are 33-24-34. Sossamon wears shoe size 9(US).
Net Worth
Shannyn is a versatile personality, who has carved a niche for herself and accumulated a decent sum from her acting, directing, and music careers. She’ reputedlys worth approximately $3 million as of 2023, but prefers to lead a modest lifestyle.
