Early life

Tamblyn was born in Santa Monica, California. Her father, Russ Tamblyn, is an actor, dancer, and singer who starred in the 1961 film West Side Story and the television series Twin Peaks, and her mother, Bonnie Murray, is a singer, teacher, and artist. Her paternal grandfather, Eddie Tamblyn, was a vaudeville performer. She attended the Santa Monica Alternative School House, which, in her words, was "very unorthodox, no letter grades". At the age of ten, she played Pippi Longstocking in a school play; her father's agent, Sharon Debord, was attending as a family friend and ended up convincing her father to allow Tamblyn to go on auditions.

Career

Television

Tamblyn's first TV role was Emily Bowen (later known as Emily Quartermaine) on the soap opera General Hospital, a role that she played for six years (from 1995 to 2001). She also starred in "Evergreen", the pilot episode of the revived Twilight Zone series on UPN in 2002. Tamblyn became better known playing Joan Girardi, a teenage girl who receives frequent visits from God, on the CBS drama series Joan of Arcadia. Tamblyn's father made several appearances as God in the form of a dog walker on the show, which ran from 2003 to 2005.

Early guest starring roles include: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (playing Janice Penshaw, the best friend of Dawn Summers), on Boston Public, CSI: Miami, and Punk'd (where Ashton Kutcher and his crew members tricked her into losing someone else's dog). In 2007, Tamblyn starred in the CBS pilot Babylon Fields, an apocalyptic comedic drama about the undead trying to resume their former lives. The CBS network excluded the show from its fall 2007 programming lineup, since it would have competed with the network's other undead-themed drama, Moonlight.

In spring 2009, Tamblyn starred in The Unusuals, playing NYPD homicide detective Casey Shraeger in this notably acclaimed crime drama. The show was canceled after its first season. In the same year, Tamblyn had a recurring role alongside her then boyfriend (later husband) David Cross in the IFC sitcom The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret.

From November 2010 until April 2011, Tamblyn starred as medical student Martha M. Masters, during the seventh season of the Fox medical drama series House. She returned for the series finale in 2012.

In August 2013, Tamblyn was cast as Charlie Harper's long-lost (and previously unknown) lesbian daughter, Jenny, on the long-running sitcom Two and a Half Men. Her first appearance was on the season 11 opener, September 26, 2013.

Tamblyn has appeared on numerous episodes of Comedy Central's "Inside Amy Schumer", including the infamous "Milk Milk Lemonade" which aired in 2015. She has also guest starred on IFC's "Portlandia", "Comedy Bang Bang", as well as numerous shows on Adult Swim, including "The Heart, She Holler" opposite Patton Oswalt and "Metalocalypse."

Films

Tamblyn launched her film career playing bit parts in her father's movies: Rebellious and Johnny Mysto: Boy Wizard. She also appeared in 1995's Live Nude Girls. Her first major film role was in 2005's The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, co-starring Alexis Bledel, America Ferrera, and Blake Lively. She also starred in its 2008 sequel, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2.

Her horror film career began with the opening scene of 2002's The Ring. Tamblyn also appeared in the Japan-set The Grudge 2, a sequel to the horror hit The Grudge. The film, which also stars Sarah Michelle Gellar, was released on October 13, 2006, and debuted in the #1 spot at the North American box office. In August 2010, Tamblyn won the Bronze Leopard at the Locarno International Film Festival for her performance in the title role of Stephanie Daley. The film, which also won an award at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival, features Tamblyn as a 16-year-old who kills her baby, moments after giving birth in the bathroom of a ski resort. She was also nominated for Best Actress at the Independent Spirit Awards. The film also stars Tilda Swinton and Timothy Hutton. She also starred in Blackout in 2008.

In January 2008, Tamblyn appeared in the Hallmark film The Russell Girl, about a woman suffering from disease and mental anguish. Tamblyn appeared in the 2009 film Spring Breakdown, also featuring Amy Poehler, Rachel Dratch, and Parker Posey. Tamblyn appeared alongside Orlando Bloom, Colin Firth, and Patricia Clarkson in the 2010 film Main Street, a drama set in North Carolina. That year, she also had a role in the drama 127 Hours, with James Franco.

In 2012, Tamblyn starred alongside Wes Bentley and Vincent Piazza in the indie feature 3 Nights in the Desert directed by Gabriel Cowan, written by award-winning playwright Adam Chanzit and produced by John Suits.

In 2015, Tamblyn starred opposite Bob Odenkirk in the Netflix original film, "Girlfriend's Day."

Theater

Tamblyn attended a grade school for the theatrical arts from the age of 5 to 14. She was discovered as an actress at the age of 9 when she starred in "Pippi Long Stockings."

In 2014 Tamblyn originated the role of Daisy Domergue for the live reading at the Ace Theater in Los Angeles of Quentin Tarantino's The Hateful Eight. She was hand picked by Tarantino, a long time friend, along with fellow cast members Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell and others. Tamblyn starred in Neil Labute's "Reasons to be Pretty" at the Geffen Playhouse in 2014, which received critical acclaim.

Poetry

Tamblyn has self-published two chapbooks of poetry, Of the Dawn and Plenty of Ships, and has participated in poetry readings at various venues, particularly in California. The Loneliest, a poem book inspired by Thelonious Monk and his music, was published in 2005 and contains haiku poetry written by Tamblyn and coupled with collages by George Herms. Only 300 copies of the book were published.

In 2005, Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing published Tamblyn's debut book of poems, written between the ages of 11 and 21, entitled Free Stallion. The School Library Journal's review states that, "Free Stallion is a compilation of poetry that amounts to a portrait of the artist as a teenager.... Many of the selections are appropriately self-absorbed but move beyond journalistic catharsis to real insight and stunning language for one so young." Poet Laureate Lawrence Ferlinghetti called the book, "A fine, fruitful gestation of throbbingly nascent sexuality, awakened in young new language." Tamblyn has toured extensively with poet Derrick C. Brown, including the now infamous Lazers of Sexcellence tours. In 2008, she was featured in the Write Bloody Publishing anthology, The Last American Valentine: Illustrated Poems to Seduce and Destroy.

Tamblyn appeared in a poetry concert film recorded on August 4, 2002 in Los Angeles, The Drums Inside Your Chest. Premiere date: April 26, 2009 at the Newport Beach Film Festival. A new collection of poetry, Bang Ditto, was published in September 2009 by San Francisco's Manic D Press. Beginning in October 2009, Tamblyn began blogging for the Poetry Foundation's blog, Harriet. Her poem "Bridgette Anderson" was one of the poems featured in Saul Williams' book Chorus, published by MTV Books in September 2011.

In 2007, she co-founded Write Now Poetry Society, dedicated to creating unique and quality poetry programming. The non-profit has a long history with The Getty Museum, curating poetry events in conjunction with art openings, such as 2011's Dark Blushing, featuring new poems commissioned by such luminaries as poets Patricia Smith and NEA fellow Jeffrey McDaniel, based on works of art by Dante Gabriel Rossetti and William Blake. Since 2011, Tamblyn has reviewed books of poetry by women for iconic feminist magazine, BUST Magazine.

In 2014, Tamblyn sold her third collection of poems, Dark Sparkler, to Harper Collins. The book explores the lives and deaths of child star actresses. Tamblyn was quoted as saying the book's subject matter was very difficult to write and took over 6 years to complete. The book also features portrait art of the women by film director and artist David Lynch and musician and artist Marilyn Manson.

Personal life

She is the daughter of actor Russ Tamblyn. She is the goddaughter of actors Dean Stockwell and the late Dennis Hopper and musician Neil Young. Her uncle is Larry Tamblyn, who was the keyboardist in the 1960s rock band The Standells.

Tamblyn and comedian and actor David Cross became engaged in August 2011, and married on October 6, 2012.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1995	Live Nude Girls	Young Jill
1995	Rebellious	Deb
1997	Johnny Mysto: Boy Wizard	Sprout	Direct-to-video
2002	Ring, TheThe Ring	Katie Embry
2002	Ten Minutes Older: The Trumpet	Kate	Segment: "Twelve Miles to Trona"
2005	Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, TheThe Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants	Tibby Rollins
2006	Stephanie Daley	Stephanie Daley
2006	Grudge 2, TheThe Grudge 2	Aubrey Davis
2007	Spiral	Amber
2007	Normal Adolescent Behavior	Wendy Bergman
2008	One Fast Move or I'm Gone: Kerouac's Big Sur	Herself	Documentary
2008	Blackout	Claudia
2008	The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2	Tibby Rollins
2009	Spring Breakdown	Ashley	Direct-to-DVD
2009	Beyond a Reasonable Doubt	Ella Crystal
2010	127 Hours	Megan McBride
2010	Main Street	Mary Saunders
2012	Django Unchained	Daughter of a son of a gunfighter	Cameo
2014	X/Y	Stacey
2014	Growing Up & Other Lies	Tabatha
2014	3 Nights in the Desert	Anna
2014	Growing Up and Other Lies	Tabatha
2016	Paint It Black		Director and co-writer
2016	Girlfriend's Day		In post-production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1995-2001	General Hospital	Emily Quartermaine	Role held: January 20, 1995 - July 11, 2001
2001	Buffy the Vampire Slayer	Janice Penshaw	Episode: "All the Way"
2002	Boston Public	Melissa Campbell	Episode: "Chapter Thirty-Two"
2002	Twilight Zone, TheThe Twilight Zone	Jenna Winslow	Episode: "Evergreen"
2002	CSI: Miami	Senior Cadet Valerie Barreiro	Episode: "Camp Fear"
2003	Without a Trace	Clare Metcalfe	Episode: "Clare de Lune"
2003-2005	Joan of Arcadia	Joan Girardi	45 episodes
2007	Babylon Fields	Janine Wunch	Pilot
2008	The Russell Girl	Sarah Russell	Movie
2009	Unusuals, TheThe Unusuals	Detective Casey Shraeger	10 episodes
2010-2012 2016	Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret, TheThe Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret	Stephanie Daley	6 episodes
2010-2012	House	Martha M. Masters	15 episodes
2012	Portlandia	Bookstore intern	Episode: "Cat Nap"
2012	Metalocalypse	Trindel (voice)	Episode: "Fanklok"
2013	The Heart, She Holler	Hurlette Headhe	Episode: "The Dearranged Marriage"
2013-2015	Inside Amy Schumer	Various roles	3 episodes
2013-2015	Two and a Half Men	Jennifer "Jenny" Harper	24 episodes
2014	Community	Thought Jacker co-star	Episode: "Basic Sandwich"; uncredited
2014	Comedy Bang! Bang!	Herself	Episode: "Amber Tamblyn Wears a Leather Jacket & Black Booties"

Discography

Year	Album	Artist	Track	Role
2012	Payback	Danny!	"Evil"	Vocals
2013	Event 2	Deltron 3030	"Lawnchair Quarterback Part 1" "Lawnchair Quarterback Part 2"	Spoken word

Awards and nominations

Tamblyn's portrayal of Joan Girardi earned her both Golden Globe Award and Primetime Emmy Award nominations in 2004. She was also nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Actress in a Television Series in 2004 and 2005. Her role on House ended with her having multiple nominations for her final performance as Martha Masters.

Year	Association	Category	Work	Result
1999	YoungStar Awards	Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Daytime TV Program	General Hospital	Won
2000		Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Daytime TV Program	General Hospital	Won
2004	Saturn Awards	Best Actress on Television	Joan of Arcadia	Won
2004	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series	Joan of Arcadia	Nominated
2004			Joan of Arcadia	Nominated
2004	Satellite Awards	Best Actress - Television Series Drama	Joan of Arcadia	Nominated
2004	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Breakout TV Star - Female	Joan of Arcadia	Nominated
2004		Choice TV Actress - Drama/Action Adventure	Joan of Arcadia	Nominated
2004	Young Artist Awards	Best Young Adult Performer in a Teenage Role	Joan of Arcadia	Nominated
2005	Saturn Awards	Best Actress on Television	Joan of Arcadia	Nominated
2005	Satellite Awards	Best Actress - Television Series Drama	Joan of Arcadia	Nominated
2005	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Movie Actress: Drama	The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants	Nominated
2006	Locarno International Film Festival	Best Actress	Stephanie Daley	Won
2007	Independent Spirit Awards	Best Supporting Female	Stephanie Daley	Nominated
2007	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Movie Actress: Horror/Thriller	The Grudge 2	Nominated

[ Source: Wikipedia ]