Isla Fisher

Isla Lang Fisher (born February 3, 1976) is an actress and author. She began acting on Australian television, on the short-lived soap opera Paradise Beach before playing Shannon Reed on the soap opera Home and Away. She has since been known for her comedic roles in Wedding Crashers (2005), Hot Rod (2007), Definitely, Maybe (2008), and Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009). Fisher was born in Muscat, Oman, to Scottish parents from Bathgate and Stranraer, and was raised in Perth, Western Australia. They resided in Muscat because of her father's job as a banker for the United Nations. Her name, after the Scottish island of Islay, is pronounced eye-la; she has four brothers. Fisher spent her early years in Bathgate before moving with her family to Perth, Western Australia, when she was six years old. Fisher has said that she had a "great" upbringing in Perth with a "very outdoorsy life". She began appearing in commercials on Australian television at the age of nine, before going on to win roles in popular children's television shows Bay City and Paradise Beach. She attended Methodist Ladies' College and appeared in lead roles in school productions. At the age of 18, with the help of her mother, she published two teen novels, Bewitched and Seduced by Fame. From 1994 to 1997 she played the role of Shannon Reed on the Australian soap opera Home and Away. After leaving the soap, Fisher enrolled at L'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq, a theatre and arts training school in Paris and went on to appear in pantomime in the United Kingdom. She also toured with Darren Day in the musical Summer Holiday and appeared in the London theatre production, Così. In 2002 she had a part in the film version of Scooby-Doo as Mary Jane, Shaggy's love interest (wearing a blonde wig) who is allergic to dogs. Subsequently, Fisher was taken on by an American agent. A larger role in Wedding Crashers, alongside Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson, in 2005 won her the Breakthrough Performance Award at the MTV Movie Awards. While promoting Wedding Crashers, she was officially crowned the 1000th guest on Australian talk show Rove on 2 August 2005. She entered the set ahead of Owen Wilson, winning the title by two metres. In 2006, Fisher starred as Becca, a Manhattan party host, in the relationship drama London co-starring Jessica Biel, Chris Evans, and Jason Statham. She starred in Wedding Daze with Jason Biggs. In 2007, she appeared in The Lookout, a thriller film co-starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Matthew Goode, and Hot Rod, opposite Andy Samberg. She was scheduled to appear in The Simpsons Movie, although her appearance was cut from the final version. In 2008, she starred in Definitely, Maybe, with Ryan Reynolds, Elizabeth Banks, Rachel Weisz, and Abigail Breslin, and had a voice role in Horton Hears a Who! Fisher has also co-written a script entitled Groupies with Amy Poehler, as well as another project entitled The Cookie Queen. She starred in the movie adaptation of the book Confessions of a Shopaholic, which opened on February 13, 2009. In the film, Fisher played a college graduate who works as a financial journalist in New York City to support her shopping addiction. Fisher has spoken out against the lack of opportunities for comediennes in Hollywood. In 2010, she stars in the black comedy Burke and Hare.