Kristin Kreuk

Kreuk, but more commonly pronounced "krook" to rhyme with English "spook" [1]) was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. Her father, Peter Kreuk, is of Dutch ancestry and her mother, Deanna Che, is of Chinese descent but born in Indonesia. Both are landscape architects. Kristin has a sister who is about five years younger. Kristin trained in gymnastics at the national level until high school but quit in grade 11 due to scoliosis. She attended Eric Hamber Secondary School in Vancouver.

She had plans to study either psychology, environmental science, or forensic science at Simon Fraser University when a casting director for the CBC TV series Edgemont contacted her secondary school, looking for an exotic-looking girl to play the part of a Chinese Canadian, Laurel Yeung on the Vancouver-shot show. Kreuk's drama teacher persuaded Kreuk, who had no previous acting experience other than in musicals at her high school, to audition for the role. To her surprise, she won the part.

After shooting the first season of Edgemont (a teen soap opera set at a Vancouver-area high school) and getting herself an agent, Kreuk landed the lead role of Snow White in a TV movie entitled Snow White: The Fairest of Them All. The film, shot in Vancouver, also starred Miranda Richardson and was directed by Caroline Thompson. It aired on ABC on March 17, 2002.

After Snow White, Kreuk's agent sent an audition tape to screenwriters Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, who at the time were putting together the cast of a show they had created for the WB Network entitled Smallville. The series (which was slated to be shot in Vancouver) revolves around the life of teenager Clark Kent before he becomes Superman. Gough and Millar called Kreuk to WB's studios in Burbank, California to audition for the role of Clark Kent's love, Lana Lang. Originally, Kreuk was unsure about auditioning for Lana's role, as the character was to be a popular, gorgeous cheerleader, so she assumed that the part would be that of a shallow "idiot". However, upon reading the "graveyard scene" from the pilot, she was so impressed that when she was offered the role, she immediately accepted. In 2003, Kreuk wrapped up her role on Edgemont.

In the summer of 2004, Kreuk took the role of Tenar for the Sci Fi Channel two-part miniseries Legend of Earthsea. The miniseries was filmed in Vancouver, directed by Rob Lieberman and broadcast on December 13, 2004.

The executives at Neutrogena made her the spokesmodel for their new worldwide ad campaign; in this regard Kreuk followed in the footsteps of fellow teen stars such as Jennifer Love Hewitt, Mandy Moore, and Mischa Barton. In 2005, she renewed her contract with Neutrogena for another two years, making her the company's longest-serving model spokesperson in the history.[2]

In 2003, she made her first feature film, a cameo appearance in the film Eurotrip, starring Scott Mechlowicz and Michelle Trachtenberg. The film, shot in Prague, Czech Republic, also featured cameos by Matt Damon and Lucy Lawless. It debuted in theatres on February 20, 2004.

In early 2005, Kreuk signed on to the independent feature film Partition. She plays Naseem, a vulnerable seventeen-year-old whose world is shattered by the trauma of the Partition of India in 1947, but falls in love with ex-British Indian Army officer Gian Singh (played by Jimi Mistry). Neve Campbell also stars. The film is directed by Vic Sarin and is a co-production between Canada, South Africa and the United Kingdom. The Canadian release date for the film is scheduled for November 2006.

In late 2005, Steve Carell (of The 40-Year-Old Virgin) revealed that he had approached Kreuk to play the lead female role of Agent 99 in the forthcoming Warner Bros. feature film Get Smart. However, as of early 2006, there has been no confirmation from either Kreuk or her management team as to whether or not she has accepted the role.