It’s not hard to figure out why we’ve grown attached to Shiri Appleby. Not only does she play the mellowest and most down-to-Earth character on “Girls,” but she’s also frequently naked on the show and isn’t afraid to put that Adam guy in his place. And then, of course, there’s the whole matter of that alleged naked photo of her that leaked recently. Things like that make us feel close to celebrities, is that creepy?
Well, we swear our attachment to Shiri is pure and natural and based on her abilities as an artist.
Shiri Appleby was born December 7, 1978 in Los Angeles to a Hebrew school teacher and a telecommunications executive. She was bitten by the acting bug very early in life, and appeared in a commercial for Raisin Bran at the age of three–that’s not to say she has any allegiance to the cereal, for she was in a Cheerios commercial the following year. Her first television appearance came when she was seven, playing a bit part on the soap “Santa Barbara,” and from then until nineteen, she had various small parts on shows like “7th Heaven,” “thirtysomething,” “Baywatch,” and “Doogie Howser, M.D.” Meanwhile, she did the normal school thing, graduated, and matriculated at the University of Southern California, where she majored in English literature but spent a lot of time working with theater arts.
Shiri’s big break came in 1999 when she auditioned for a few small parts on “Roswell” and ended up securing the lead role of Liz Parker! The show only aired for three seasons, but it had a fierce fanbase that not kept “Roswell” alive and helped make Shiri a bonafide celebrity. It was definitely a transformative experience for her, but she made sure to be aware of how fame was changing her and stay centered:
I think it changes things in terms of how you live your life, how people relate to you, your friendships, and your relationships. It’s always a weird thing when you feel like you’ve been hit by a lucky stick.
Since then, she’s had higher profile gigs, has shown up in films like “Havoc” and “Charlie Wilson’s War,” and enjoyed a recurring role on the final season of “ER.”
Oh, and of course, she’s been on “Girls” a few times. Shiri didn’t intend to be on the show, but she’s been looking to direct something lately, and a friend of hers who works on “Girls” set Shiri up to shadow Jesse Peretz when he was directing an episode. Then everything else fell into place naturally. Shiri tells Vulture:
Lena [Dunham] was like, “Oh, do you wanna come in and play someone on the show?” I was like, “Yeah, of course.” What actor wouldn’t wanna be on the show? And then, a few days later, Jenni e-mailed me and asked me, and I did a table read with the entire cast. Afterward, I walked out of the table read and into the bathroom and Lena followed me and said, “All right, let’s do this!”
Our favorite part of that story is when Lena follows Shiri into the bathroom to tell her the news.
Or, maybe our favorite part of the story is the unspoken part that leads to Shiri doing her first on-screen nudity for “Girls.” In an interview with Riki Lindhome, Shiri says it was an overall good experience. Despite the fact that the sex scene is a negative one for her character (as you can see in the clip above), Shiri came away from it with a new outlook: “I thought it was, in a way, sort of liberating.” She always finds herself playing Girl Next Door characters, and even though the Natalia character is sort of that person, Shiri has found a way to make that archetype–and perhaps herself as an actor–more multi-faceted.
And as for that alleged nude photo that came out earlier this week, well, we don’t have any more info on it. Gawker has called this incident the “Least Celebrated Nude Photo Leak in Internet History” primarily because it hasn’t received as many reposts as certain other celebrity nudity leaks in recent memory have. Some have asserted that the photo’s release is really a calculated stunt to drum up excitement for “Girls,” others say that the picture is a fake, but perhaps the most interesting voice is the one we haven’t heard: Shiri and her people have been completely silent so far. That’s often a sign that the picture is a fake. On the other hand, perhaps Shiri found the “Girls” experience so truly liberating that it got her in the sexting game! Note: if the woman in the picture is indeed Ms. Appleby, then it’s likely a picture taken from (at least) last year because she is nine-months pregnant and expecting a child any day now! Regardless, whoever’s in the picture is babetastic.
Doubly regardless, Shiri Appleby is a mega-babe and we send happy tidings of love and joy to her, her fiance, and her new baby.
Be sure to check out:
· Shiri Appleby’s Twitter (twitter.com)
· An impressive fan-site dedicated to her, Shiri Appleby Online (sappleby.com)
· And this neato interview Shiri did with Vulture (vulture.com)
Follow Ottimo Massimo on Twitter
And while you’re at it, sign up for one of our fabulous Fleshbot Newsletters!
