Briana Evigan | |
|---|---|
 Evigan at the premiere ofStep Up 2: The Streets, 2008 | |
| Born | (1986-10-23)October 23, 1986 (age 39) Los Angeles,California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Los Angeles Valley College |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1996–present |
| Spouse | Damien Mander[1][2] |
| Children | 1[3] |
| Father | Greg Evigan |
| Relatives |
|
Briana Evigan (born October 23, 1986) is an American actress and dancer best known for her lead roles as Andrea "Andie" West in the dance filmStep Up 2: The Streets (2008) and its sequelStep Up: All In (2014), and Ms. Kathleen Merrywood in the musical horror filmThe Devil's Carnival (2012) and its sequelAlleluia! The Devil's Carnival (2016).
Evigan has since been noted as ascream queen for appearing in numerous horror and thriller films such asS. Darko,Sorority Row (both 2009),Burning Bright,Mother's Day (both 2010),Stash House,Mine Games (both 2012), andRiver Runs Red (2018).[4][5][6][7][8][9] She is also known for her recurring role as Sonja Lam on the second season of theEl Rey Network horror drama seriesFrom Dusk till Dawn: The Series (2015).
Evigan was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Pamela C. Serpe, a dancer, model, and actress, and actorGreg Evigan.[10] She has Polish (from her paternal grandmother) and Italian (from her maternal grandfather) heritage.[11] She is the youngest of three siblings, with sisterVanessa and brotherJason.[10] She has studied dance since she was nine.[12] She is one of the singers and plays keyboards in the group Moorish Idol.[13] In October 2023, she married Australian anti-poaching activistDamien Mander, with whom she has one son, born in 2022.[14][15]
A professional dancer, Evigan has appeared in music videos forLinkin Park,Flo Rida,T-Pain andEnrique Iglesias. She has also had small roles in television series and films such asBottom's Up,Something Sweet andFear Itself.
In 2008, she won the breakout role of Andie West in the sequel to the 2006 dance dramaStep Up,Step Up 2: The Streets. Filming took place in late 2007 inBaltimore and was released February 14, 2008. The film, which met with negative reviews withRotten Tomatoes (receiving 24%), achieved box office success earning a worldwide gross of $148,424,320. Both Evigan and co-starRobert Hoffman earned the Best Kiss Award at the2008 MTV Movie Awards.
In 2009,S. Darko, a sequel to the 2001 cult-hit horrorDonnie Darko, was released. Evigan played Samantha Darko's best friend, Corey. The film starsJames Lafferty andEd Westwick. A theatrical release was scrapped and was released Straight-to-DVD on May 12, 2009. UnlikeDonnie Darko, the film received negative reviews.
In August 2008,Summit Entertainment announced Evigan has signed on to portray the central character Cassidy Tappan in the remake of the low-budget horror filmSorority Row. The screenplay was written byGood Luck Chuck writerJosh Stolberg and directed byStewart Hendler. The film was budgeted at $12,500,000. Evigan stars alongsideAudrina Patridge,Rumer Willis andJamie Chung.Sorority Row was released on September 11, 2009, and debuted at No. 6 at the box office and earned worldwide $26,735,797. Critical reception was mixed to negative. Evigan's performance was well received by critics. The leading female cast members earned aShoWest Award for "Female Stars of Tomorrow" in April 2009. The DVD release was February 23, 2010.
In January 2009, Evigan was confirmed byLionsgate to star inBurning Bright. She plays the lead female role, Kelly Taylor. In the film, "A young woman and her autistic brother find themselves trapped in their house with a ravenous tiger during a hurricane". Critical reception was extremely positive. Despite this, the film was announced to be released Straight-to-DVD on August 17, 2010.[16]
In February 2009, Evigan announced in an interview she has signed on for another remake. The film will be a remake of the cult slasher horror filmMother's Day and will be directed byDarren Lynn Bousman, best known for his work with previousLionsgate films such as the Saw trilogy. Bousman previously directed Evigan in an episode ofFear Itself in 2008. The film will co-starA. J. Cook andJaime King. The film has suffered numerous push backs, and was finally released on May 8, 2012, on DVD and Blu-ray. The film was also part of the 2010Cannes Film Festival.
Evigan played the central character in the indie drama romance filmSubject: I Love You.[17]
She stars inThe Devil's Carnival, a short film that got a 30 city world tour that began on April 15, 2012.[18] Evigan later confirmed that she had reprised her role in its sequel,The Devil's Carnival: Alleluia!, which was released in late 2015.
In 2011, during aUStream, Evigan announced that she was working in a TV series with her family, though nothing has been confirmed yet. She was scheduled to star as the protagonist ofLeft for Red: Betrayal, the first of a trilogy which centered on a young woman seeking vengeance on the soldiers who sold her to a sex trafficking group, but has been shelved due to budget issues.
In 2014, Evigan reprised her role as Andie West in the fifth installment of theStep Up series,Step Up: All In. She was later cast inLove Is All You Need? as Jude, a heterosexual woman living in a world where homosexuality is right, and heterosexuality is the wrong.
In 2015, Evigan announced, viaTwitter that she would be recurring, alongsideDanny Trejo in the second season of the Action-Vampire TV SeriesFrom Dusk till Dawn: The Series as Sonja, "an American expatriate working as a tattoo artist in a Mexican Mercado – who also has a sideline forging papers and passports out of her back room". The season premiered August 25, 2015, on El Rey.
In 2017, she joined directorJames Kicklighter's Angel of Anywhere, with co-starsDavid A. Gregory,Ser'Darius Blain and introducing Axel Roldos.[19][20][21]
In 2023, Evigan collaborated withVeldskoen Shoes, a South African shoe brand to create "MoveMe" Ranger boots.[22]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Spectre | Aubrey South | Also known asHouse of the Damned andEscape to Nowhere |
| 2006 | Bottoms Up | High School Girl | |
| 2008 | Step Up 2: The Streets | Andrea "Andie" West | |
| 2009 | S. Darko | Corey Richardson | |
| Sorority Row | Cassidy Tappan | ||
| 2010 | Burning Bright | Kelly Taylor | |
| Monster Heroes | Svector Orlaff | ||
| Mother's Day | Annette Langston | Co-wrote and sang end credit songBetter Than Yesterday | |
| 2011 | Subject: I Love You | Butterfly | |
| 2012 | Mine Games | Lyla | |
| Rites of Passage | Penelope | ||
| Stash House | Emma Nash | ||
| The Devil's Carnival | Ms. Kathleen Merrywood | ||
| 2013 | She Loves Me Not | Charlotte | |
| 2014 | Lap Dance | Tasha | |
| Paranormal Island | Ivy | ||
| Puncture Wounds | Tanya | also known asA Certain Justice | |
| Step Up: All In | Andrea "Andie" West | ||
| 2016 | Alleluia! The Devil's Carnival | Ms. Kathleen Merrywood | |
| Love Is All You Need? | Jude Klein | ||
| Monday at 11:01 A.M. | Olivia | ||
| ToY | Chloe | ||
| 2018 | My Husband's Secret Wife | Melanie | |
| River Runs Red | Marilyn | ||
| 2019 | Love in the Rain | Michelle | Short |
| 2022 | Love and Communication | Megan | |
| Ask Me to Dance | Jill | ||
| Four Hour Layover in Juarez | Ashley | Short |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Fear Itself | Helen | Episode: "New Year's Day" |
| 2012 | A Star for Christmas | Cassie Drake | Television film (Ion) |
| 2013 | Longmire | Brandy | Episode: "Carcasses" |
| 2015 | From Dusk till Dawn: The Series | Sonja Lam | Recurring role; 8 episodes |
| 2015 | Once Upon a Holiday | Katherine "Katie" Hollington | Television film (Hallmark) |
| 2017 | The Good Nanny | Summer Pratt | Television film (Lifetime) |
| Year | Title | Artist |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | "Numb"[23] | Linkin Park |
| 2008 | "Low"[24] | Flo Rida featuringT-Pain |
| "Push"[25] | Enrique Iglesias featuringLil Wayne | |
| "Church"[26] | T-Pain | |
| "I Don't Think When I Dance"[27] | Herself | |
| 2009 | "Get U Home"[28][29] | Shwayze |
| 2018 | "Give Me Your Hand" | Shannon K |
| 2020 | "Never Alone"(Paul Oakenfold & Varun Remix) | Emmanuel Kelly |
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | MTV Movie Awards | Best Kiss (withRobert Hoffman) | Step Up 2: The Streets | Won | [30] |
| Teen Choice Awards | Choice Movie Breakout Female | Step Up 2: The Streets | Nominated | ||
| 2009 | Sho West Awards | Female Star of Tomorrow (withLeah Pipes,Rumer Willis,Jamie Chung, Audrina Patridge andMargo Harshman) | Sorority Row | Won | |
| 2016 | FilmOut Audience Awards | Best Actress | ToY | Won | [31] |
| 2023 | Vegas Movie Awards | Best Woman Filmmaker | MoveMe South Africa | Won | [32] |
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