Early life

Mathis was born in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of Donald Mathis and Austrian-born actress Bibi Besch, and the granddaughter of Gusti Huber and yacht racer Gotfrid Köchert. Her parents divorced when she was two years old, and Mathis was raised by her mother. She relocated with her mother to Los Angeles at the age of five. Mathis's mother discouraged her from pursuing acting, but growing up on locations, in theaters, and in acting classes, Mathis knew she wanted to act. She decided to become an actress at the age of twelve.

Career

Mathis began acting professionally at the age of 16. Her first job was a commercial for "Always Slender Pads - Just For Teens." She costarred in the television series Aaron's Way and Knightwatch from 1988 to 1989. Her first starring role in a feature film was that of Nora in Pump Up the Volume (1990), opposite Christian Slater, whom she briefly dated at the time. Mathis dyed her natural blonde hair black for the role in an effort to change her image from sweet and innocent to strong-willed.

Mathis appeared in the television movies Extreme Close-up, 83 Hours 'til Dawn, and To My Daughter in 1990. Mathis and Slater had voice roles in the animated film FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992). She next appeared in the comedy This Is My Life (1992), written and directed by Nora Ephron, playing an insecure teenager. Mathis appeared in the play Fortinbras in New York City in October 1992. Super Mario Bros. (1993), in which she played Princess Daisy from the popular Nintendo video game, was a box-office bomb.

Mathis met actor River Phoenix on the set of The Thing Called Love (1993) and the two started a relationship. She was with Phoenix on October 31, 1993, the night he died at Cedars-Sinai Hospital of a drug overdose after collapsing outside West Hollywood's Viper Room. She made the film Jack and Sarah (1995), which was shot in London, in order to get out of the country after his death because of the plentiful press coverage.

Mathis appeared in the 1994 film adaptation of Little Women, and in How to Make an American Quilt (1995), both starring Winona Ryder. She then appeared in The American President (1995), playing the assistant to the President of the United States. Mathis costarred with Christian Slater again, along with John Travolta, in John Woo's Broken Arrow (1996). She took a little over a year off from acting after her mother died in 1996 from breast cancer.

Mathis later appeared in American Psycho (2000), a film adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis's 1991 novel of the same name. She starred in Attraction (2000), and in The Simian Line (2001). She starred in the TNT television miniseries The Mists of Avalon (2001). Mathis starred with Thomas Jane in The Punisher (2004). She had a guest role on the ABC television show Lost as Olivia Goodspeed. Her indie film Lebanon, PA had its world premiere at the 2010 SXSW Film Festival. She appeared in an off-Broadway production of the play, Love, Loss, and What I Wore, at New York City's Westside Theatre in October 2011.

In 2013, Mathis played psychiatrist Alice Calvert on the CBS television series Under the Dome, based on a novel by Stephen King. She joined the cast of the FX horror drama series The Strain in 2014, playing Justine Feraldo, a New York City councilwoman for Staten Island.

Personal life

Mathis was the last girlfriend of actor River Phoenix and was with Phoenix the night he died as a result of a drug overdose while attending The Viper Room in Los Angeles, California. In the autopsy report the Los Angeles Police detailed that Mathis refused several times to give more details surrounding the death of Phoenix and had told deputies at the time of Phoenix's death that she had no knowledge of his drug use.

Awards and nominations

Mathis was nominated in 1995 for a Young Artist Award at the Young Artist Awards for Best Young Actress Starring in a Motion Picture for This Is My Life (1992) and in 2005 for a Saturn Award by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films for Best Supporting Actress on Television for Salem's Lot (2004) (TV).

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1988	Circle of Love	Roseanne Miller	Television movie
1989	Forbidden Sun	Paula
1989	Cold Sassy Tree	Lightfoot McClendon	Television movie
1990	Extreme Close-Up	Laura	Television movie
1990	83 Hours 'Til Dawn	Julie Burdock	Television movie
1990	To My Daughter	Anne Carlston	Television movie
1990	Pump Up the Volume	Nora Diniro
1992	This Is My Life	Erica Ingels	Nominated—Young Artist Award for Best Young Actress Starring in a Motion Picture
1992	FernGully: The Last Rainforest	Crysta (voice)
1993	Music of Chance, TheThe Music of Chance	Tiffany
1993	Super Mario Bros.	Princess Daisy
1993	Thing Called Love, TheThe Thing Called Love	Miranda Presley
1994	Little Women	Adult Amy March
1995	Jack and Sarah	Amy
1995	How to Make an American Quilt	Young Sophia Darling Richards	Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
1995	American President, TheThe American President	Janie Basdin
1996	Broken Arrow	Terry Carmichael
1996	Museum of Love	Stephanie	Short film
1998	Waiting for Woody	Gail Silver	Short film
1998	Sweet Jane	Jane
1999	Freak City	Ruth Ellison	Television movie
2000	Simian Line, TheThe Simian Line	Mae
2000	American Psycho	Courtney Rawlinson
2000	Mermaid	Rhonda	Television movie
2000	Attraction	Corey
2001	Mists of Avalon, TheThe Mists of Avalon	Gwenhwyfar	Television movie
2002	Becoming Glen	Unknown	Television movie
2004	Punisher, TheThe Punisher	Maria Castle
2004	Salem's Lot	Susan Norton	Television movie Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress on Television
2005	Fathers and Sons	Jenny	Television movie
2005	Kids in America	Jennifer Rose
2005	Touched	Jeannie Bates
2006	Believe in Me	Jean Driscoll
2006	Local Color	Carla
2006	Absolution	Bettina Lloyd	Television movie
2007	Stranger's Heart, AA Stranger's Heart	Callie Morgan	Television movie
2007	Mitch Albom's For One More Day	Young Pauline 'Posey' Benetto	Television movie
2009	New Daughter, TheThe New Daughter	Cassandra Parker
2009	Apple Pie and Coffee	(voice)	Short film
2010	Buried	Linda Conroy (voice)
2010	Order of Chaos	Jennifer
2010	Unanswered Prayers	Lorrie Beck	Television movie
2010	Lebanon, Pa.	Vicki
2011	Good Day for It	Sarah Bryant
2011	Camilla Dickinson	Rose Dickinson
2012	Atlas Shrugged: Part II	Dagny Taggart
2016	The Secret Life of Pets	Jodi (voice)

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1988	Aaron's Way	Roseanne Miller	14 episodes
1988-1989	Knightwatch	Jacqueline 'Jake' Monroe	9 episodes
1989	CBS Summer Playhouse	Mary Dunne	Episode: "American Nuclear"
1999	Outer Limits, TheThe Outer Limits	Marie Wells	Episode: "The Shroud"
1999-2000	Harsh Realm	Sophie Green	4 episodes
2001	First Years	Ann Weller	9 episodes
2001	Night Visions	Diane Ballard	Episode: "The Passenger List/Bokor"
2002	PBS Hollywood Presents	Lisa Morrison	Episode: "Collected Stories"
2003	Twilight Zone, TheThe Twilight Zone	Rachel Stark	Episode: "Into the Light"
2003	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Hilary Barclay	Episode: "Control"
2005	Law & Order: Criminal Intent	Dr. Christine Ansel	Episode: "Saving Face"
2006	Secrets of a Small Town	Samantha Steele	Episode: "Pilot"
2006	House	Maria Palko	Episode: "Clueless"
2006	Nightmares & Dreamscapes	Karen Evans	Episode: "The Fifth Quarter"
2007	Lost	Olivia Goodspeed	Episode: "The Man Behind the Curtain"
2009	Grey's Anatomy	Melinda Prescott	3 episodes
2009	Royal Pains	Amy Hill	Episode: "Wonderland"
2011	Curb Your Enthusiasm	Donna	Episode: "The Hero"
2013	Under the Dome	Alice Calvert	8 episodes
2015	The Strain	Justine Feraldo	Episodes: "By Any Means", "Fort Defiance", "The Silver Angel", "Quick and Painless", "Identity"

Charities

Samantha Mathis supports the following charitable cause: Animals.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]