Sienna Guillory

Sienna Guillory (born May 31, 1975) is a British actress and model. She was named after the city of Sienna, in Italy. Though model often turn to acting, it was the other way round in Sienna's case. She had been acting since the age of seventeen, and by chance she got her first modeling assignment at the age of twenty.

Biography

Born in Fulham, London, Sienna Guillory is the daughter of Cuban-born guitarist Isaac Guillory and his first wife, Tina Guillory. She has a sister called Jace, and also a much younger half-sister and half-brother, Eleanor and Jacob.

Sienna grew up in a Bohemian household in London and later North Norfolk, surrounded by performers, so it seemed natural that she took up acting. She made her screen debut in the British TV series Riders (1993) - she was talent-spotted for the role while still at Gresham's School. Though the role was small, she made her mark. Her performance landed her in another small role in the miniseries The Buccaneers. She took a short break from acting in 1995, to continue with her studies, working as a waitress to pay her way. At the age of twenty-one, she returned home to Norfolk after filming an independent movie in Russia, bringing a friend, a ballerina who wanted to become a model. Sienna went with her friend to an agency, Select Models, which signed both of them on the spot.

Sienna Guillory became one of Britain's most sought after models in the four years she worked in modelling. In 2000, readers of Esquire magazine voted her Britain's Most Eligible Woman. And in 2002, she was number 89 on Maxim's list of The 100 Sexiest Women. But it was acting she was interested in, and to study drama she took classes at the New World School of the Arts and the Paris Conservatoire. By the time she returned to the screen in 2000 with a thriller, Sorted, she had developed a style of her own. Soon, Sienna took to Hollywood, with movies like The Time Machine and Apocalypse. However, Sienna is still apprehensive about Hollywood, knowing how fickle producers and directors can be. She commented "That experience of Hollywood taught me a lot, but I still feel like I'm a Hollywood virgin."

Sienna has been called a rising star. However, she would rather be called an actor than a star and eschews star status. In an interview on the Chatshow Network in 2000, she said what she most liked about acting was its therapeutic quality. Many actors are lured by fame and fortune, but Sienna enjoys her acting for more humble reasons.

Her career has not been without controversy. For instance, she made headlines by criticizing fellow actress Kate Beckinsale for undergoing breast enhancement surgery.

Sienna Guillory was married to the British actor Nick Moran from July, 1997, until 2000. She later married the actor Enzo Cilenti, and they live mostly in London.

Professional life

Guillory made her first appearance on the small screen in 1993, with the UK television series Riders, and followed it up with The Buccaneers, opposite Mira Sorvino. Since 1995, she took a break from acting and started working as a model for the agency, Select Models. As a model, she worked for respected labels like Armani, Dolce & Gabbana, Burberry, Paul Smith, and also the face of Hugo Boss's fragrance campaign for three years. She returned to acting in 2000, by beating 200 hopefuls, with the BBC television series Take a Girl Like You. She garnered critical acclaim for playing the coveted role of the virginal heroine, Jenny Bunn, in the series, based on Kingsley Amis' novel of the same name.

Her potential as an elite actress is evident in the quality of the roles that she has attracted. Guillory is best known for her role as Jill Valentine in Resident Evil Apocalypse and in the TV miniseries Helen of Troy, opposite Rufus Sewell, enacting the title role of Helen, considered to be the most beautiful woman to have graced the earth. About the latter, she has said, "I can't think of a bigger compliment than to be cast as the woman whose beauty has become legendary." The role of Helen required some partial nudity. Though Guillory didn't mind too much, she is quoted in Playboy magazine as saying that she "didn't like nipples showing because they [looked like targets”.

Guillory took to the big screen as a natural progression. She starred in movies like The Time Machine, Principles of Lust and Love Actually, amongst others. But it was Resident Evil: Apocalypse, which Guillory did with Milla Jovovich, that gave her a firm footing in Hollywood. She is currently shooting for the movie Eragon, based on the novel by Christopher Paolini, in which she plays the role of Arya, an elven princess, a role for which she had to beat 2000 hopefuls to get.

Filmography

Extinction (2007) (filming) — Jill Valentine
The Heart of the Earth (2007) (filming) — Katherine
Eragon (2006) (post—production) — Arya
Victims (2006) (post—production)
In the Bathroom (2005) — The Woman
Rabbit Fever (2005) — Newscaster
Silence Becomes You (2005) — Grace
Apocalypse (2004) — Jill Valentine
Love Actually (2003) — Jamie's Girlfriend
The Principles of Lust (2003) — Juliette
The Time Machine (2002) — Emma
Superstition (2001) — Julie
Late Night Shopping (2001) — Susie
Oblivious (2001) — Jessica
Sorted (2000) — Sunny
The 3 Kings (2000) — Roxana
Kiss Kiss (Bang Bang) (2000) — Kat
Two Days, Nine Lives (2000) — Kate
The Rules of Engagement (1999) — Denise
Star! Star! (1999) — Lu
The Future Lasts a Long Time (1996) — Blue

Television

"The Virgin Queen" (2005) (mini) — Lettice Knowles
A Murder is Announced (2005) (TV) — Julia Simmons
Beauty aka Trapped Beauty (2004) (TV) — Cathy Wardle
Helen of Troy (2003) (TV) — Helen
Take a Girl Like You (2000) (TV) — Jenny Bunn
Dzvirpasi M (1999) (TV) — ?
The Buccaneers (1995) (TV) — Lady Felicia
Riders (1993) (TV) — Fenella Maxwell

External links