British-born Vanessa Angel began her career at age 14 as a model, when
she was discovered by world-renowned agent,
Eileen Ford. She gained much life
experience by traveling the world, relocating to New York and appearing
on many magazine covers, including "Vogue" and "Cosmopolitan". Her
transition from modeling to acting came in 1985, when she was chosen by
director John Landis to play a
Russian spy in
Spione wie wir (1985). She honed her
craft by studying with Sondra Lee and
became a member of The Actor's Studio in New York in 1987, studying
with Frank Corsaro. This led to roles in
films including
King of New York - König zwischen Tag und Nacht (1990),
Sleep with Me - Liebe zu dritt (1994) and
Kingpin - Zwei Trottel auf der Bowlingbahn (1996), from The Farrelly
Brothers with Woody Harrelson and
Bill Murray,
Zwei Männer, eine Frau und eine Hochzeit (1998) with
David Schwimmer and
Jason Lee. She has been in many films
in the past few years including Paramount's
Voll gepunktet (2004) with
Scarlett Johansson and opposite
Jon Voight in
Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2 (2003).
In addition to her film work, Angel starred in the hit series,
Lisa - Der helle Wahnsinn (1994), on the
USA Network.
The unique range of characters earned her critical recognition for her
comedic timing. She has played many roles on television, including the
recurring role of police officer "Peggy Elliot" on NBC's
Die Staatsanwältin und der Cop (1991)
with Mark Harmon and
Marlee Matlin, and a recent recurring role
on Stargate: Kommando SG-1 (1997). Most
recently, she played herself in HBO's popular show,
Entourage (2004), where she played
opposite Kevin Dillon, who she had
also starred opposite in
Out for Blood (2004). She
also recently starred in the Lifetime movie,
Criminal Intent (2005),
and just finished the independent film,
Blind Ambition (2008), and the
comedy, Surf Party - Bikini-Babes und kaltes Bier (2009). She reconnected with The Farrelly Bros in Alles erlaubt - Eine Woche ohne Regeln (2011) and made a memorable guest appearance in Showtime's Californication (2007). She recently completed the films, Lycan (2017) and Trouble Sleeping (2018)
Vanessa and her ex-husband, Rick Otto, are co-parents of their daughter India Otto.
