Alyssa Rees-Jones

**Alyssa Rees-Jones** is an American-English actress and dancer best known for her roles in "Carly and the Chocolate River Factory," "Party With The Demons" and "Cowbells and Broom Handles" along with a recurring role in "Beyond Our Dreams" in the 1990s.

Born on November 27, 1960 in Guildford, England, she was the daughter of English actress Elizabeth Rees-Jones, often growing up with her younger sister behind the scenes of her mother's plays on London's East End. She attended the St. Mary's Parochial School until 1972 when her mother took her to audition among hundreds of child actors for a role in "Carly and the Chocolate River Factory." Although she lost the main role to Laura Claybourne, she eventually won the role of spoiled rich girl Marcie Pepper who disappeared through the trap door of a pirate ship. Following the success of the movie, she was offered a five-year movie contract with Mammoth Pictures in the United States and ended up making a string of family movies, such as "Cowbells and Broom Handles" with Peter Vincent, "Adventures of the Wilderness Family," "The Santa Claus Girls" and "The Cat that Came to Dinner."

In 1980, Alyssa starred in the TV-Series "Samantha The Teenage Witch" with Samantha Hart-Clarke as her younger sister playing young girls learning magic from their wizard father. By this point, she and her family were living in Burbank, California with her mother managing her career. The series ended up lasting three-years with Alyssa modeling and dabbling in music, along with roles in the TV shows "Astro-Quest," "Psycho Dad," "Galaxy Quest," "Family Tree" "Four's Company," and recurring roles in the "The Penny Hall Show" sketch comedy, but her role as party girl Suzy DeLancie in the film, "Party With The Demons" with Jennifer Hood ultimately typecast her as a horror movie actress, just as it had with Laura Claybourne. She made a string of horror films such as "A Nightmare On Sleepaway Avenue," "Hell-Spinner," "The Lost Girls," "Fright Night," "The Gunk" and "Attack of the Fifty Foot Cheerleader" along with four more movies in the "Party With The Demons" franchise. Her last horror film was "Basket Case" in 1984.

Retiring from acting to pursue college, she studied business and healthcare, but in 1986, Mickey Schwartz, the director of "Carly and the Chocolate River Factory," offered her a three-episode part in the first season of "Beyond Our Dreams," as police officer Samantha Strickland. Her passion and comedic timing later parlayed her into a recurring role in the series, and when Jack Gates developed Melissa Strickland as Samantha's sister, Alyssa recommended Samantha Hart-Clarke to once again play her younger sister.

After "Beyond our Dreams" ended in 1991, Alyssa had a another successful role in the comedy "Jesse And The City" which received rave reviews and got her a People's Choice Award for Favorite Female Performer in a New TV series and the TV Guide Award for Star of a New Series, as well as a nomination at the Golden Globe Awards for Lead Actress in a Comedy. Though the series gained critical praise, it was cancelled in 1998. In 2001, Alyssa married her boyfriend actor Peter Michael Glass, but they broke up two years later. She went on to star in the movies "Just Saying," "The Sweetest Sting," "View from the Bottom," "Under land," "Surviving Thanksgiving," "Employee of the Day" with Joey Tribbiani, "Vibrations" and "Venus Attacks." She also appeared in the reunion film "Beyond Our Dreams: Return to Ashford Falls" in 1995.

Alyssa has also been philanthropic, raising millions of dollars for breast cancer education and research and founding the Right Action for Women, a charitable foundation dedicated to breast-cancer screening for women. She has also supported Entertainment Industry Foundation, Adopt-A-Classroom, The Motion Picture and Television Fund Foundation, World Animal Protection, and the Trevor Project. In 2003, she was reunited with Robert Jones, her biological father; he passed away in 2010.

In 2006, Alyssa starred in another successful TV series, "Catherine Who?" which ran for seven years. Still considered one of Hollywood's top-rated actresses, she topped the list of People's Most Beautiful People in 2009 and went on to make the movies "Dogs & Cats," "Hall Pass," "Up All Night," "Anchor Woman," "Bad Mothers" "Vacation" and the 2015 "Party With The Demons" remake.

She has been married to actor and stuntman Jerry Renner from the action movie, "Hawkeye," and its sequels, since 2005. They have three kids.