Early life

Vassilieva was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the daughter of Russian immigrants Dr. Larissa Vassilieva, a biologist, and Dr. Vladimir Vassiliev, a physicist, both from Novosibirsk. She attended and graduated from Barbizon Modeling and Acting School in Arizona.

Career

At the age of seven, Vassilieva was discovered at the International Modeling and Talent Association (IMTA) in New York, where she won the title of Child Actress and first runner-up Child Model Of The Year 2000.

Less than a year later, Vassilieva received her first role, playing the granddaughter of a retired Russian General in an episode of the CBS television series The Agency.

Vassilieva played Cindy Brady in The Brady Bunch in the White House, opposite Shelley Long and Gary Cole in 2002. That same year, she was cast as a little girl named Gina in Inhabited (2003), starring Malcolm McDowell and former child actress Patty McCormack.

In 2003, she played Eloise in two made-for-television movies: Eloise at the Plaza and Eloise at Christmastime, directed by Kevin Lima and featuring Julie Andrews as Nanny. For her role as Eloise, Vassilieva was nominated for the Best Leading Young Actress in a TV Movie, Miniseries or Special at the 2004 Young Artist Awards.

In May 2004, at the age of eleven, Vassilieva was cast as Ariel DuBois in Medium, a series about mother-of-three and consultant to the Phoenix District Attorney's office Allison DuBois (Patricia Arquette), whose psychic visions help solve crimes. The series premiered on January 3, 2005. Vassilieva played the daughter of Arquette's character for seven seasons, until the series' finale on January 21, 2011.

Vassilieva was a presenter of Family Feature Film on the Humane Society's 19th Genesis Awards in 2005. She won a Young Artist Award in 2006 for Best Supporting Actress in a TV Drama for her role as Ariel DuBois in Medium.

Vassilieva played the lead role of terminally ill teenager Kate Fitzgerald in the 2009 adaptation of Jodi Picoult's novel My Sister's Keeper, directed by Nick Cassavetes. She starred alongside Cameron Diaz, Jason Patric, and Abigail Breslin. Vassilieva shaved her head and eyebrows for her role as a teenage cancer patient. In the same year, she became an honorary ambassador for Stand Up to Cancer. For her performance as Kate, Vassilieva won a Young Artist Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Feature Film in 2010. It was her third nomination and second win.

In 2011, she guest-starred on Law & Order: SVU as Sarah Walsh, a piano BFA candidate who was raped in her New York City apartment. She reprised her role as Sarah in 2013.

On May 21, 2014, Vassilieva graduated from Columbia College, Columbia University with a Bachelor of Arts and Science degree. She has also completed a Linguistics major with honors, and a special concentration in Business Management. Vassilieva is a member of Alpha Omicron Pi Fraternity.

Filmography