# Kristin Bauer van Straten

Kristin Bauer van Straten (née Neubauer) is an American film and television actress, notable for her roles as vampire Pamela Swynford De Beaufort on the HBO television series True Blood, Jerry's girlfriend Gillian ("man hands") on Seinfeld, and as Maleficent in the ABC series Once Upon a Time.

## Personal life

Bauer van Straten was born Kristin Neubauer in Racine, Wisconsin. She is of German descent. During childhood, she played sports, rode horses, and fired shotguns. She graduated from The Prairie School in Wind Point. Bauer van Straten studied fine arts at Washington University in St. Louis, as well as in Boston and at New York City’s Parsons The New School for Design in her youth, but decided to become an actress and moved to Los Angeles, where she has been living since she began acting in 1994. She continues to draw and paint. Her works include commissioned portraits.
On August 1, 2009, she married musician Abri van Straten.

## Acting career

In 1995, Bauer van Straten had her first regular role in a television series, as Maggie Reynolds on The Crew. Other recurring roles include Geneva Renault in Total Security, Candy Cooper in That's Life, Rebecca Colfax in Dirty Sexy Money, and Belinda Slypich in Hidden Hills. Perhaps her best known film role was in Dancing at the Blue Iguana in 2000. Bauer van Straten played a porn star appearing as the featured act at a Los Angeles strip club and performed an extended nude dance.
In 2001, she starred in the award-winning short film Room 302, and in 2004 she had a minor role in the film 50 First Dates, which starred Adam Sandler. In the animated series Justice League, she supplied the voice of the superhero Mera.
She has also made a number of guest appearances in several television shows, including LA Law, Seinfeld, Everybody Loves Raymond, Dark Angel, Two and a Half Men, Star Trek: Enterprise, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Desperate Housewives, and George Lopez. She famously appeared in a Seinfeld episode (The Bizarro Jerry) as Gillian, Jerry's girlfriend with "man hands", although the actual "man hands", seen only in close-ups, belonged to a member of the production crew.
From 2008 to its conclusion in 2014, Bauer van Straten played the vampire Pamela Swynford De Beaufort on the HBO fantasy drama series, True Blood. On December 8, 2009, TV Guide confirmed she had been promoted from recurring status to a series regular.
In 2011, she was cast in the fantasy television series Once Upon a Time as the evil fairy Maleficent (the wicked fairy godmother, using the name from Disney's Sleeping Beauty), the rival of the Evil Queen of Snow White.

## Activism

Bauer van Straten carries out conservation work to improve the treatment of animals. In 2011, she teamed with the Animal Legal Defense Fund in an unsuccessful fight to release Tony, a Siberian-Bengal tiger who has been kept as a roadside attraction at the Tiger Truck Stop in Grosse Tête, Louisiana since 2000. She worked with Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine to promote cosmetics that are not tested on animals. She is a vegan and has used her platform to support shelter animals by promoting adoption.
Bauer van Straten also encourages people to live more sustainably and be more eco-friendly.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1995 | Galaxis | Commander | |
| 1995 | Glory Daze | Dina | |
| 1997 | Romy and Michele's High School Reunion | Kelly Possenger | |
| 1998 | My Little Havana | Carmen | Short film |
| 2000 | Dancing at the Blue Iguana | Nico | |
| 2001 | Hollywood Palms | Kathleen | |
| 2001 | Room 302 | Karen | Short film |
| 2004 | 50 First Dates | Female Firefighter | |
| 2004 | Living with Lou | Jean | Short film |
| 2005 | Life of the Party | Caroline | |
| 2011 | Subject: I Love You | Sarah Drake | |
| 2012 | Gotten | Mother | Video short |
| 2012 | The Story of Luke | Cindy | |
| 2014 | Teen Lust | Mary | |
| 2016 | Nocturnal Animals | Samantha Van Helsing | |
| 2018 | Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay | Crystal Frost/Killer Frost | Voice |
| 2018 | Happy Anniversary | Willa | |
| 2018 | Rich Boy, Rich Girl | Jessica Debenedetto | |
| 2020 | The Boy Behind the Door | Ms. Burton | |
| 2021 | Paradise Cove | Bree | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1993 | Star Trek: Deep Space Nine | Blond Girl (uncredited) | Episode: "If Wishes Were Horses" |
| 1994 | L.A. Law | Miss English | Episode: "McKenzie, Brackman, Barnum & Bailey" |
| 1994 | Columbo | Suzie Endicott | Episode: "Undercover" |
| 1994 | Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman | Mrs. Loomis | Episode: "The Prankster" |
| 1994 | Silk Stalkings | Heather St. Clair | Episode: "Red Flag" |
| 1995 | Cybill | Kirsten | Episode: "The Curse of Zoey" |
| 1995 | Pointman | Ellie | Episodes: "That's Amore", "Father Connie" and "Business and Pleasure" |
| 1995–1996 | The Crew | Maggie Reynolds | Main role; 21 episodes |
| 1996 | Seinfeld | Gillian | Episode: "The Bizarro Jerry" |
| 1997 | Everybody Loves Raymond | Lisa | Episode: "The Car" |
| 1997 | Men Behaving Badly | Robin | Episode: "I Am What I Am" |
| 1997 | Total Security | Geneva Renault | Main role; 13 episodes |
| 1998 | Fantasy Island | Tamara Stevens | Episode: "Estrogen" |
| 1998 | Chicago Hope | Melody Cacaci | Episode: "Viagra-Vated Assault" |
| 2000 | Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye | Katy Scott | Television film |
| 2000 | Dark Angel | Lydia Meyerson | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2000–2001 | That's Life | Candy Cooper | Recurring role; 12 episodes |
| 2001 | Dharma & Greg | Stephanie | Episode: "Dharma Does Dallas" |
| 2001 | Just Shoot Me! | Allie | Episodes: "At Long Last Allie" and "Finch in the Dogg House" |
| 2001–2003 | Justice League | Mera | Voice, 2 episodes |
| 2002 | Boomtown | Prostitute | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2002 | Hidden Hills | Belinda Slypich | Recurring role; 10 episodes |
| 2003 | Gary the Rat | Unknown | Voice, episode: "Manrattan" |
| 2003 | Two and a Half Men | Laura | 2 episodes |
| 2004 | Dr. Vegas | Portia | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2004 | Commando Nanny | Lizzie Winter | Television series |
| 2004 | Quintuplets | Ms. Kilcoyne | Episode: "Teacher's Pet" |
| 2004 | Crossing Jordan | Molly Greene | Episode: "Fire in the Sky" |
| 2005 | Crazy | Unknown | Television film |
| 2005 | JAG | Megan Ransford | Episode: "Automatic for the People" |
| 2005 | Star Trek: Enterprise | Lt. Laneth | Episode: "Divergence" |
| 2005 | Less than Perfect | Kaye Buchinski | Episode: "Casey V. Kronsky" |
| 2005 | Close to Home | Shannon Cooke | Episode: "Suburban Prostitution" |
| 2005 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Kenli Johnson | Episode: "Secrets & Flies" |
| 2005 | Boston Legal | Tori Pines | Episode: "The Ass Fat Jungle" |
| 2006 | Pink Collar | Eve | Television film |
| 2006 | Crossing Jordan | Molly Greene | Episode: "Death Toll" |
| 2006 | Desperate Housewives | Veronica | Episode: "Could I Leave You?" |
| 2006 | Cold Case | Paula '04/'06 | Episode: "The War at Home" |
| 2007 | George Lopez | Cris Watson | Episode: "George Joins the Neighborhood Wha-tcha and Raises the Vigil-ante" |
| 2007 | Dirty Sexy Money | Rebecca Colfax | Episodes: "The Lions" and "The Italian Banker" |
| 2007 | Bones | Janelle Stinson | Episode: "Boy in the Time Capsule" |
| 2008 | Emily's Reasons Why Not | Bethany | Episode: "Why Not to Cheat on Your Best Friend" |
| 2008–2014 | True Blood | Pamela Swynford De Beaufort | Recurring role (seasons 1-2), Main role (season 3-7); 59 episodes |
| 2009 | House Rules | Kathy McAdams | Television film |
| 2009 | Private Practice | Susanna | Episode: "Pushing the Limits" |
| 2009 | Three Rivers | Val O'Leary | Episode: "Where We Lie" |
| 2010 | Justified | Shirley Kelso | Episode: "Riverbrook" |
| 2010 | A Drop of True Blood | Pamela Swynford De Beaufort | Episode: "Eric & Pam" |
| 2010–2013 | The Secret Life of the American Teenager | Didi Stone | Recurring role; 11 episodes |
| 2011 | The Soup | Pam the Intern | Episode: "8.25" |
| 2011–2015 | Once Upon a Time | Maleficent | Season 1 (2 episodes), season 4 (8 episodes) |
| 2013 | Once Upon a Time in Wonderland | Maleficent | Voice, episode: "Forget Me Not" |
| 2014 | Saint George | Suzanne Duval | Episode: "Rich Girl" |
| 2017 | Lore | Minnie Otto | Episode: "Unboxed" |
| 2019 | Adam Ruins Everything | TV Network Executive | Episode: "Adam Ruins Himself" |
| 2020 | Sacred Lies | Shannon | Main role; 8 episodes |

### Music videos

| Year | Title | Artist(s) | Role | Ref. |
| 2012 | "Gotten" | Slash featuring Adam Levine | Joanna's Mother | |
| 2018 | "Trouble Man" | Chris Pierce | Herself |

### Podcasts

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2021 | Bridgewater | Celeste | |
| 2021-2024 | Truest Blood | Host | With co-host Deborah Ann Woll |