Rhona Mitra Biography

Born in Paddington, London, England on August 9, 1976, Rhona Mitra is the daughter of Nora and Anthony Mitra. In 1984, Rhona's parents got divorced and eight-year-old Rhona was sent off to boarding school.

Several years passed at two different all-girls schools, but the wild child in Rhona did not make for a good fit at such stuffy schools. She was expelled from two elite boarding schools by the time she was 14.

During her "nutter" years as a teenager in London, Rhona enveloped herself in the club scene and developed a liking for ecstacy and cocaine,a drug habit that tied into the all-night and day raves she attended. Four years passed before she decided to pursue acting at the suggestion of her mother.

Turning her life around, she attended The Judy Dench School of Drama in London for a year but soon tired of that when she realized she'd rather be a working actress - than studying to be one. She soon landed a one-time appearance in the series, "Ghostbusters of East Finchley", in 1995.

Rhona's career continued to progress when she filmed her first movie, "Monk Dawson" (also known as "Passion of the Priest" in the US), the following year although it was only released in 1998. It was her appearance as a mischievous schoolgirl in the three-part miniseries "The Man Who Made Husbands Jealous" that really established her as a budding young talent.

After the encouragement of friends and family, who always claimed she had a likeness to a certain butt-kicking video game character, Rhona auditioned for the part of Lara Croft, from the Tomb Raider video game series.

As Croft, she attended trade shows and participated in media events, always in character. She had breast enlargement surgery to further her image as a true Croft look-alike. Rhona sang a number of tracks for the video game's soundtrack, working with musician and songwriter Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics.

The whirlwind of shows, rabid fans and crazy e-mail requests for Rhona as Lara Croft lasted nine months.

Rhona Mitra Movies

Her first major leading role post-Croft came in 1999's "Beowulf", which she filmed alongside Christopher Lambert in Romania. ("A hell hole" she remembers Romania to be...)

Much better was the role in "A Kid in Aladdin's Palace" - a kid's movie but solid nonetheless. She was featured prominently in the trailor for the film "Hollow Man", but actually had a bit part in the movie, making it clear that she served as eye candy to bring in an audience.

Rhona had a more prominent role in several episodes during 1999 of FOX's "Party of Five" as Holly, a British medical student romantically involved with Bailey, played by Scott Wolf.

In 2000, Rhona landed a permanent role on the ABC medical drama "Gideon's Crossing", but unfortunately, the show tanked after one season. The bigger highlight that year came with the release of "Get Carter" with Sylvester Stallone.

Returning to England, Mitra appeared in "Ali G Indahouse" with Sasha Baron Cohen, then back to the US for the romantic comedy, "Sweet Home Alabama" with Reese Witherspoon.

In 2003, she made "The Life of David Gale", starring Kevin Spacey and "Highwaymen", starring James Caviezel.

After successful runs on the popular TV shows, "The Practice" and "Boston Legal", with James Spader and William Shatner, Rhona had a starring role in the TV miniseries "Spartacus" playing the wife of Spartacus, along side Goran Visnjic and Alan Bates.

Then came a recurring guest role on the F/X channel series "Nip/Tuck" and a slew of film roles including: "Skinwalkers", "Shooter," and "Number 23".

Her mother Nora died in 2006 just before Rhona made Skinwalkers in Canada. She then traveled to South Africa and Scotland to shoot "Doomsday", working with director Neil Marshall which was released to mixed reviews in 2008.

Rhona's got the biggest bite of her screen career playing a vampire in Underworld: Rise of the Lycans which was released in January 2009.

2010 will be a good year, albeit in some smaller roles. Look for Rhona in the comedy film Separation City, as well as the drama Stolen Lives with Josh Lucas and Jon Hamm. On TV, she will be appearing in three episodes of the sci-fi series SGU: Stargate Universe.

Rhona Mitra Bio and Personal Stats:

Height - 5' 6 " (1.73 m)
Brown Eyes
Date of Birth: August 9, 1976
Place of Birth: Paddington, London, England
Pop: Anthony Mitra
Mum: Nora Mitra
Has an older brother and a younger brother