TESSA WHITACRE

theresa mae is the elder of two siblings, and only daughter born to a very wealthy DC power couple. her family name is one of prestige, and each of her parents only added to the gravitas. with a father who was a top lobbyist with a firm of his own, and a mother who at the time had most recently served as chief of staff to vice president nelson rockefeller and later moved on to work for the DNC, the whitacre children were under pressure to be the absolute best at anything and everything they did. the parents were high on expectations, and very low on time to spend on their children to help them reach those expectations. while it had more of an effect on her younger brother than it did on tess, she'd be lying if she said it didn't take its toll on her as well.

spending most of their childhood with a string of nannies doesn't sound like an ideal situation for any child, and it wasn't. still, tess didn't do a lot of complaining. she didn't feel like she could complain, not when technically she wanted for nothing but her parents' affection, and by any outside eye she'd have likely been seen as spoiled rotten. it wasn't easy on her, but eventually, even as young as she was, she started to realize she was better off with any nanny than she was with her mother and father. it didn't stop her from seeking out approval every step of the way throughout her entire life. approval, not affection. she wasn't deluded into thinking she could get that.

when it came down to talents and interests, though, finding something tess enjoyed that her parents approved of almost seemed impossible. her talents were in the arts: music, painting, dancing, acting. not exactly the sort of things that a lobbyist and a campaign manager look for in potential careers for their children. for a long time, it was a struggle, both for tess who just wanted to follow her passions, and for the parents that simply wanted her to have a stable future in a profitable career path. eventually, though, the fighting stopped. tess's mother specifically recognized that there was no changing what was in her daughter's heart, so if she wanted to be an actress they had to make sure she had everything that could help her become a successful one.

success isn't something that comes easy however, even for someone with as much privilege, as much of a financial handicap as tess had coming into it. she started off well enough, with a role on roswell that kept her working for a while, but she didn't go far after that. tess was cast as bigger parts in terrible films, or decent parts in mediocre films, but apart from a very niche fanbase, she never seemed to be able to get a foothold in the industry. some recognition was better than none at all, though, even if it was for three star horror movies or action flicks at best.

over the past couple of years, though, things have been looking up. she was cast in a leading role on happy endings, and was really well recieved by fans in spite of its cancellation. she's also landed a handful of roles in more big budget films, though they're still in the horror/action vein of things. she's hoping to branch out and be taken more seriously eventually, but for now she's fairly happy with what she's doing. even if it's not exactly the sort of success she'd imagined.

film

CARRIE (2013) ... CHRIS HARGENSEN
SPRING BREAKERS (2012) ... BRIT
MONTE CARLO (2011) ... EMMA
EASY A (2010) ... RHIANNON
MARLEY & ME (2008) ... LISA
SYDNEY WHITE (2007) ... RACHEL
13 GOING ON 30 (2004) ... SIX CHICK

television

THE 100 (2014-2016, 36 EPISODES) ... CLARKE GRIFFIN
PRETTY LITTLE LIARS (2011, 5 EPISODES) ... SAMARA COOK
MELROSE PLACE (2009-2010, 18 EPISODES) ... ELLA SIMMS
PHIL OF THE FUTURE (2004-2006, 43 EPISODES) ... KEELY TESLOW