Annabeth Gish

Annabeth Gish is the American actress who portrays Anita Lucas on ABC's Once Upon a Time.

Biography

Anne Elizabeth Gish, professionally known as Annabeth Gish, was born on March 13, 1971 in Albuquerque, New Mexico,^[1] to Judy Stephenson and Robert F. Gish. At age two, she moved with her parents to Iowa where they settled down in Cedar Falls. Annabeth grew up with a brother, Tim, and a sister, Robin.^[2] Her parents were both teachers; her father was an English professor at the University of Northern Iowa, and her mother taught at Malcolm Price Laboratory School.

At age seven, she acted in a stage production at the University of Northern Iowa for the thriller Wait Until Dark.^[2] Continuing to perform in community theater productions throughout her childhood, Annabeth began her professional acting career at the age of eight by appearing in a number of commercials.^[3] Her love for acting led her to an audition at a casting agency in Minneapolis at age thirteen for a part in the film Desert Bloom. Out of the six-hundred girls who tried out,^[4] Annabeth was cast to make screen debut in the movie opposite Jon Voight, a performance which earned the young actress critical praise from film critic Roger Ebert. During the same year, she debuted on television in the ABC TV movie Hero in the Family. While still in high school, Annabeth starred in three films; Hiding Out alongside Jon Cryer, Mystic Pizza, which helped launch costar Julia Roberts' career into the stratosphere, and the 60's-era Shag with Phoebe Cates and Bridget Fonda. Her first leading role was in When He's Not a Stranger, portraying a college freshman victimized by acquaintance rape. She graduated from Cedar Falls' Northern University High School in 1989. In addition to acting, Annabeth took time to focus on her academic career and attended North Carolina's Duke University. Studying English as well as theater, she graduated summa cum laude in 1993 with a Bachelor of Arts in English.^[3]

After finishing college, Annabeth delved deeper into a career of filming movies through 1993 to 1999. She appeared in the NBC TV movie Silent Cries, delivering a gritty portrayal of a young woman interned by the Japanese during World War II, and as Anne Hampton in the laughable Gone With the Wind sequel, Scarlett. Annabeth also landed roles in Lawrence Kasdan's western Wyatt Earp, Oliver Stone's Nixon, and the ensemble comedies The Last Supper andBeautiful Girls alongside Timothy Hutton. Making her television series debut in 1995, she portrayed a young lawyer on the short-lived drama Courthouse opposite Patricia Wettig. Next, she starred in a number of television movies; she appeared in Don't Look Back alongside Eric Stoltz, What Love Sees, and the western True Women opposite Angelina Jolie and Dana Delaney.^[3]

After the departure of The X-Files series star David Duchovny in 2000, she joined the cast. Portraying Special Agent Monica Reyes in the series' final two seasons, Annabeth was brought in along with Robert Patrick in an effort to boost ratings for the show and give Agent Scully, portrayed by Gillian Anderson, someone to bounce stuff off of, in lieu of Agent Mulder. Though Annabeth and Patrick gave nuanced performances on the series, audiences missed the Mulder-Scully chemistry and back-story. As ratings fell, the series came to an end in 2002.^[3]

Her stint on The X-Files was well-received and she was able to nab more television roles on shows such as drama series The West Wing, the Stephen King miniseries Desperation, Showtime original series Brotherhood, high school mystery drama Pretty Little Liars and FOX's The Bridge.

Annabeth is married to former The X-Files stunt man Wade Allen and they are the parents of two sons; Cash Alexander Allen, born January 12, 2007, and Enzo Edward Allen, born October 25, 2008.^[3]

Trivia

Her surname is of French origin.^[2]
Despite sharing the same last name as actresses Lillian and Dorothy Gish, Annabeth is not related to either.^[4]

Appearances

Once Upon a Time: Season Two
"Broken":	"We Are Both":	"Lady of the Lake":	"The Crocodile":	"The Doctor":	"Tallahassee":	"Child of the Moon":	"Into the Deep":	"Queen of Hearts":	"The Cricket Game":	"The Outsider":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Appears	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent
"In the Name of the Brother":	"Tiny":	"Manhattan":	"The Queen Is Dead":	"The Miller's Daughter":	"Welcome to Storybrooke":	"Selfless, Brave and True":	"Lacey":	"The Evil Queen":	"Second Star to the Right":	"And Straight On 'Til Morning":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent