Kristina Anapau

**Kristina Anapau** (born October 30, 1979) is an American actress and writer.

## Early Life

Kristina Elizabeth Anapau Roper was born in Hawaii. She graduated from high school at age 15 and began her studies at the University of Hawaii that same year. Before gaining success as an actress, Anapau had intended to become a classical ballerina, having trained seriously since the age of 4. She is a classically trained pianist and holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Skidmore College in New York.

## Career

As a student at age 16, while majoring in Art History and Dance and with no plans of being an actress, Anapau was discovered by a talent agent and encouraged to audition for a new Universal Television film, *Escape from Atlantis* (1997), which would be filming in Anapau's native Hawaii.

The role of Katriana in the Strathford Hamilton directed production would ignite Anapau's passion for acting, and at the behest of the filmmaker, she relocated to Los Angeles where she pursued more work, ultimately continuing to work steadily across theater, film, and television.

Over the next few years, Anapau appeared in numerous productions, including the films *Madison*, starring Jim Caviezel and Academy Award Nominee Bruce Dern, the Lions Gate comedy *100 Girls*, and Warner Brother's *The Opposite Sex*, as well as TV series *General Hospital* and *Once and Again*.

At age 20, Anapau landed a recording contract with Hollywood Records and spent the better part of a year recording an album and opening for Destiny's Child on MTV's TRL Tour.

In 2002, convinced acting was her true calling card, Anapau reappeared in front of the lens.

Anapau starred with Christina Ricci and Jesse Eisenberg in the Dimension Films thriller *Cursed*, directed by Wes Craven, and then acted alongside Golden Globe winner Diane Venora and Greg Germann in THINKFilm's independent feature *Self Medicated*, winner of over 35 international film awards. She also starred as Cassidy Merteuil in the Sony Pictures/Newmarket Films release *Cruel Intentions 3*. Also during this time, Anapau guest starred and recurred on many noteworthy television productions, including *House, M.D.*, *CSI:NY*, *Monk*, *Without A Trace*, and *Knight Rider*.

Anapau also starred opposite comedian Dane Cook in the Sony Television produced pilot *Cooked*.

In 2009, Anapau was cast in *Black Swan*, directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Barbara Hershey, Winona Ryder, and Vincent Cassel. The film went on to gross over $300 million worldwide and was nominated for 5 Academy Awards.

"Darren [Aronofsky] is a genius whose focus and discipline on set is contagious," Anapau said in an interview, reflecting on her work in the 2010 film. "To say that working on *Black Swan* was inspiring would be an understatement."

Anapau then completed several independent films, including *The Speak*, in which she stars opposite Tom Sizemore, and the paranormal thriller *5 Souls*, which she also co-produced. She appeared on the AMC series *The Glades* and then went on to land the role of faerie, Maurella, in Alan Ball's HBO hit series, *True Blood*, recurring from season 4 to season 5 (2011-2012).

In 2012, Anapau appeared on the NBC show *Grimm*, where she played Megan Marston, a quiet, sheepish secretary working at a Wesen church who is actually a sheep-like creature dubbed a Seelengut.

Anapau says she enjoys working in film and television equally, stating they have their "respective pleasures and challenges" and that she simply looks "for content that inspires me and hopefully elevates the world in some way--films have a track record of best fulfilling both the previous and the later, but there are some really incredible television shows out there that are doing the same. There is a lot of freedom to cross back and forth within the industry now."