Early life

Christensen was born in Seattle, Washington, the daughter of Kathy (née Hendricks), a construction manager, and Steven Christensen, an insurance worker and human resources executive. She has an older half-brother, Nick, and two younger twin brothers, Dane (who appeared in the 2005 film The Upside of Anger) and Brando. She has Icelandic, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Welsh, and Irish ancestry. Christensen was raised in suburban Los Angeles, California. She started out acting on television in commercials for McDonald's. Christensen is a member of the Church of Scientology. Her parents became Scientologists in their 20s and raised her to be a Scientologist. Her parents also decided to homeschool her.

Career

1997-2004: Career beginnings and Traffic

Christensen began her career with a supporting role in the comedy film Leave It to Beaver, and a one episode guest appearance on the drama series Nothing Sacred, both of which were released/aired in 1997. She went on to guest star in numerous other television series in the late 1990s, including Frasier, The Practice, 3rd Rock from the Sun, and Touched by an Angel. She also starred in the Disney Channel original movie Can of Worms in 1999. Also in 1999, she starred as Abigail Winthrop on the short-lived CBS sitcom Thanks. That same year, she featured in Michael Jackson's music video for his song "Childhood", alongside actress Jena Malone.

For her performance as cocaine addict Caroline Wakefield in Steven Soderbergh's crime drama film Traffic (2000), she received the awards for Breakthrough Female Performance at the MTV Movie Awards, Standout Performance - Female at the Young Hollywood Awards, and Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture at the Screen Actors Guild Awards. Also in 2000, Christensen guest starred in single episodes of Time of Your Life, Movie Stars, FreakyLinks, and The Pretender. In 2001, she had a recurring role on the sitcom The Geena Davis Show. She also appeared in an episode of the Fox sitcom That '70s Show, reuniting her with her Traffic co-star Topher Grace. She was named one of People's "Breakthrough Stars of 2001". The following year, Christensen starred in three feature films: the teen thriller Swimfan, the crime drama Home Room, and the comedy The Banger Sisters.

In 2003, Christensen starred in MTV's television film adaptation of Wuthering Heights, based on the Emily Brontë novel of the same name. She also recorded multiple songs for the film's soundtrack. In 2004, she starred in the teen heist film The Perfect Score, and the horror film Riding the Bullet. In 2005, Christensen recorded a version of "Let's Fall in Love" with John Stevens for his debut album Red. Also in 2005, Christensen co-starred in the films The Upside of Anger as Andy Wolfmeyer, co-starring Kevin Costner and Joan Allen; The Sisters as Irene Prior, with Maria Bello and Elizabeth Banks; and Flightplan as Fiona, starring Jodie Foster. The following year, she starred in the series Six Degrees, which debuted on the ABC fall schedule on September 21, 2006. Low ratings caused its cancellation after one season, leaving 5 episodes unaired.

2007-present: Continued film roles and Parenthood

In 2007, she appeared in the comedy-drama film Gardener of Eden, and the independent crime comedy How to Rob a Bank. In 2008 and 2009, she guest starred as a special agent on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, a college student with multiple personality disorder on Lie to Me, and a victim of domestic abuse on Mercy. Christensen made a cameo in the Joaquin Phoenix-directed music video "Tired of Being Sorry" for Balthazar Getty's band Ringside. In 2009, she was part of the cast of the film adaptation of Veronika Decides to Die, and starred in the romantic drama Mercy alongside James Caan and Dylan McDermott. In 2010, Christensen co-starred with Jesse Metcalfe in the horror-thriller film The Tortured.

Christensen was a regular cast member on the NBC drama television series Parenthood, which debuted on March 2, 2010 and concluded on January 29, 2015. She portrayed the role of Julia Braverman-Graham, the youngest daughter of the Braverman family. She won the 2014 Gracie Award for Outstanding Female Actor in a Supporting Role in a Drama Series for her performance in the series. In 2013, she starred in the musical film How Sweet It Is, directed by Brian Herzlinger, and was a guest judge on 2 episodes of the cooking competition series Knife Fight. The following year, she appeared on the celebrity game show Hollywood Game Night, and lead the cast of the Hallmark Channel television film My Boyfriends' Dogs, based on the Dandi Daley Mackall novel of the same name.

In February 2015, she was cast in the short-lived ABC crime drama series Wicked City as Betty Beaumontaine, a single mother who becomes romantically involved with a serial killer. Also in 2015, she partnered with food company Lean Cuisine to launch their brand overhaul. In September 2015, Christensen was among several celebrities to appear in the music video "Love" for Dash Mihok's band Diz and the Fam. She then led the cast of the Hallmark Channel television film Anything for Love alongside Paul Greene, which was released on February 14, 2016. The following month, she starred in the music video "All Is Forgiven" for Sal Masekela's band Alekesam. Christensen next appeared as part of the all-star cast of HBO's courtroom drama film Confirmation, directed by Rick Famuyiwa and co-starring Kerry Washington, Wendell Pierce, and Greg Kinnear. She will then star in Jon Abrahams' directorial debut drama film Two for One.

Personal life

In November 2014, Christensen became engaged to cyclist Cole Maness, with whom she had been in a relationship since 2012. They married on September 5, 2015, in Palm Springs, California, and reside in Los Feliz, Los Angeles. On March 31, 2016, Christensen announced she was expecting their first child, a daughter.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1997	Leave It to Beaver	Karen
2000	Traffic	Caroline Wakefield
2002	Home Room	Deanna Cartwright
2002	Swimfan	Madison Bell
2002	The Banger Sisters	Hannah Kingsley
2004	The Perfect Score	Anna Ross
2004	Riding the Bullet	Jessica Hadley
2005	The Upside of Anger	Andy Wolfmeyer
2005	The Sisters	Irene Prior
2005	Flightplan	Fiona
2007	Gardener of Eden	Mona Huxley
2007	How to Rob a Bank	Jessica
2008	Struck	Bus Stop Girl	Short film
2009	Mercy	Robin
2009	Veronika Decides to Die	Claire
2010	Melon	Catherine	Video short
2010	The Tortured	Elise Landry
2013	How Sweet It Is	Sarah Cosmo
2016	Two for One	Tiffany Fontinella	In post-production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1997	Nothing Sacred	Romy Carrol	Episode: "House of Rage"
1998	The Practice	Melissa	Episode: "The Pursuit of Dignity"
1998	Frasier	Teenager	Episode: "Frasier's Curse"
1998	3rd Rock from the Sun	Brianna	Episode: "Collect Call for Dick"
1999	Can of Worms	Katelyn Sandman	Television film
1999	Thanks	Abigail Winthrop	6 episodes
1999	Touched by an Angel	Ivy	Episode: "Voice of an Angel"
2000	Time of Your Life	Flynn Halloway	Episode: "The Time She Turned 21"
2000	Movie Stars	Tawny	Episode: "La Vida Loca"
2000	The Pretender	Leigh Wright	Episode: "Corn Man"
2000	FreakyLinks	Cassie	Episode: "Subject: Coelacanth This!"
2001	The Geena Davis Show	Isabel	3 episodes
2001	That '70s Show	Stacey	Episode: "Red and Stacey"
2003	Wuthering Heights	Cate Earnshaw	Television film
2005-09	Robot Chicken	Various characters	3 episodes
2006-07	Six Degrees	Mary Alice "Mae" Edwards	13 episodes
2008	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	SA Lauren Cooper	Episode: "Signature"
2009	Lie to Me	Various characters	Episode: "The Core of It"
2009	Mercy	Dana Harper McPhearson	Episode: "Destiny, Meet My Daughter, Veronica"
2010-15	Parenthood	Julia Braverman-Graham	102 episodes
2013	Knife Fight	Herself (Guest Judge)	2 episodes
2014	Hollywood Game Night	Herself (Panelist)	Episode: "We'll Need to See Your TV ID"
2014	My Boyfriends' Dogs	Bailey Daley	Television film
2015	Wicked City	Betty Beaumontaine	8 episodes
2016	Anything for Love	Katherine Benson	Television film
2016	Confirmation	Shirley Weigand	Television film

Music videos

Year	Title	Artist	Director
1995	"Childhood"	Michael Jackson	Nicholas Brandt
2010	"Tired of Being Sorry"	Ringside	Joaquin Phoenix
2015	"Love"	Diz and the Fam	Dash Mihok
2016	"All Is Forgiven"	Alekesam	Toby Louie

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result
1998	YoungStar Awards	Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Drama Series	Nothing Sacred	Nominated
2001	Young Hollywood Awards	Standout Performance - Female	Traffic	Won
	Teen Choice Awards	Film - Choice Breakout Performance		Nominated
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture		Won
	Online Film & Television Association Awards	Best Youth Performance		Nominated
	MTV Movie Awards	Breakthrough Female Performance		Won
2014	Gracie Awards	Outstanding Female Actor in a Supporting Role in a Drama Series	Parenthood	Won

[ Source: Wikipedia ]