Fall TV Backstory: Laura Vandervoort to Play Supergirl on Smallville

Starting with Episode #7-1: "Bizarro" on September 27, 2007, Laura Vandervoort will be flying, something her infamous cousin is still struggling with, all over Smallville as Kara Zor-El; otherwise known as Supergirl. There are a lot of teasers about upcoming storylines, such as the question of whether or not Kara's mission is to protect Kal-El or to kill him, and her life-changing introduction to Lex Luthor. But, what I want to know is, who is Laura Vandervoort the actress? Did she just arrive from Krypton or does she have enough acting experience for what has been hinted to be a very key role in the next (and possibly final) two seasons of the cult-favorite show Smallville.

Well, her bio on IMDB (Internet Movie Database) reads like a bulleted resume with very few key points highlighted. The Canadian actress was born in 1984, ironically enough the year the Supergirl movie was released in theatres, and her nepotism claim to fame is her cousin Canadian actor Gordon Pinsent. She graduated from York University with Psychology and English degrees, has a second-degree black belt in karate (So, will she be doing her own stunts?) and writing is one of her major passions.

Let's move on to her Filmography. She started out very respectably at the tender age of 14 staring in three episodes of "Goosebumps." After that, her acting jobs were limited to 1 - 2 appearances per show. Some of the more interesting shows she made appearances on between 1998 - 2004 were Mutant X, Bad Girls, The Dresden Files, and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

Her first reoccurring role came in 2004 on a Canadian rock-n-roll dramedy called Instant Star as Sadie Harrison. According to Instant Star's website, Vandervoort expresses nothing but joy about her upcoming role, saying, "This is something that I will put my all into. It's not everyday that you get an opportunity like this, playing a superhero and on such an acclaimed series and network." She goes on to say, "I am still in disbelief over all of this. It happened so quickly and my heart has been racing since. The cast are such great talent and I look forward to the task of playing 'the girl of steel,'" Two other important notes from the website were a potential spoiler that Kara may fall in love with Jimmy Olsen, and that Vandervoort will not be leaving Instant Star. I'm not sure how she's going to juggle filming a series in Canada and one in the United States, but I guess that anything is possible for a super girl.

Sources:
http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0888882/
http://instantstar.ctv.ca/story6.jsp