Amanda Michelle Seyfried was born December 3, 1985 and is an American actress, model, and singer-songwriter. She began her career as a model when she was 11 and her acting career at 15.
In 2004, Seyfried made her film debut in the teen comedy Mean Girls. Her subsequent supporting roles were in independent films, such as the drama Nine Lives (2005) and the crime drama Alpha Dog (2006). She also had a recurring role on the UPN television series Veronica Mars (2004–06). Between 2006 and 2011, Seyfried starred on the HBO drama series Big Love. She also starred in the musical feature film Mamma Mia! (2008) and reprised her role in the sequel, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018).
Seyfried had lead roles in the black comedy horror Jennifer’s Body (2009), the erotic thriller Chloe (2009), the romantic war drama Dear John (2010), and the romantic drama Letters to Juliet (2010). She starred in the dark fantasy historical romance Red Riding Hood (2011), the musical drama Les Misérables (2012) to mention a few.
She was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on December 3, 1985. Her mother, Ann (née Sander), is an occupational therapist, and her father, Jack Seyfried, is a pharmacist. She is of mostly German descent, with smaller amounts of English, Scots-Irish, and Welsh ancestry. Seyfried graduated from Allentown’s William Allen High School in 2003.
She has an older sister, Jennifer Seyfried, a musician in the Philadelphia organ-driven rock band Love City. Seyfried enrolled at Fordham University in the fall of 2003, but did not attend after being offered her role in Mean Girls.
During Seyfried’s time modeling, she appeared in the printed ads for clothing companies including Limited Too with Leighton Meester, and was featured on three covers of the Sweet Valley High novel series. She stopped modeling when she was 17, and worked as a waitress in a retirement community. Seyfried took voice lessons, studied opera, and trained with a Broadway coach while still a teen.
In 2003, Seyfried auditioned to play the role of Regina George in Mean Girls; the role eventually went to Rachel McAdams. While she was initially considered to play the lead role of Cady Heron, played by Lindsay Lohan, the producers of the film decided that Seyfried should play Karen Smith, Regina’s dim-witted “Plastic” friend and sidekick. The film was a box office success.
In 2013, Seyfried appeared in the comedy The Big Wedding, had a voice role in the successful animated movie Epic and played Linda Lovelace in the biopic Lovelace. She appeared in the 2013 drama The End of Love.
In 2015, she starred in the comedy Ted 2, alongside Mark Wahlberg and Seth MacFarlane, and played Peter Pan’s mother in the film Pan. In 2018, she starred as Anon, a futuristic visual hacker, in the Netflix original film Anon, with Clive Owen. In 2019, Seyfried starred as Eve in The Art of Racing in the Rain, a comedy-drama based on a bestselling book of the same name.
In 2020, Seyfried provided the voice of Daphne Blake in the film Scoob!
She also starred in the psychological horror You Should Have Left. Also in 2020, she received critical acclaim for her performance as actress Marion Davies in David Fincher’s Mank.
Seyfried has stated that she suffers from anxiety and panic attacks. She also has stage fright and avoided performing in theater productions until April 2015.
