Vinessa Elizabeth Shaw (born July 19, 1976) is an American film actress and model.[1][2] She began her career as a child actress, and had her breakout role in Disney's 1993 Halloween comedy-fantasy film Hocus Pocus. Shaw also appeared in Ladybugs (1992) and L.A. Without a Map (1998).
Vinessa Elizabeth Shaw was born in Los Angeles, California, to Larry Shaw and actress Susan Damante.[3] Shaw's father, a native of Los Angeles, is a psychologist and former adjunct professor of psychology at Antioch University.[4] Her name, Vinessa, spelled with an "i" rather than the common "a", was a variation of her grandfather's name, Vincent.[citation needed] Her family's original surname was "Schwartz," from her part Ashkenazi Jewish heritage.[5]
Shaw made her first formal performance in a UCLA acting camp short at age 10, and subsequently toured with children's folk singer Peter Alsop at age 11. She also signed on with the Elite Models agency in 1989 at the age of 13 before beginning her acting career,[6] and did a few modeling jobs and commercial work throughout her earlier career.[citation needed]
In 1998, she enrolled at Barnard College in New York City, but dropped out to continue pursuing acting.[7] Shaw was attending the college when she was approached by Stanley Kubrick for her role in Eyes Wide Shut, playing a prostitute who is encountered by Tom Cruise's character.[8] In a 2008 interview, Shaw stated that Kubrick was "very influential" to her and that he "was the first person who encouraged her to continue acting".[9] At the time of being cast, she was in college and considering alternate career options.[8] Following her role in Eyes Wide Shut, Shaw played parts in a handful of films including the independent 2000 mystery-drama The Weight of Water with Sarah Polley and Sean Penn; the slapstick comedy Corky Romano alongside Chris Kattan; the romantic comedy 40 Days and 40 Nights, playing the feisty ex-girlfriend of Josh Hartnett's character; and a very small role in Woody Allen's Melinda and Melinda.[citation needed]
More low budget and independent films consumed Shaw's time until 2006, where she returned to the big screen in Alexandre Aja's remake of Wes Craven's exploitation-horror film The Hills Have Eyes, playing a young mother on a camping trip with her family who is attacked by bloodthirsty mutants in the New Mexico desert. Director Aja had wanted to cast her in the film after seeing her performance in Eyes Wide Shut. Asked why she wanted to act in a horror film, Shaw responded "Well, I guess I could be good in it since I'm so frightened of those kinds of concepts. But this one in particular really attracted me because of the filmmakers. I really thought that they had a great stance on it. Like it's very different, very heartfelt, and heartbreaking because of the characters involved. So that's kind of what made the difference. It was more of an actor's piece, if you can believe that, in a horror movie."[10] Shaw was featured on the official one sheet promotion poster for the film,[11] which was a box-office success.
Shaw was raised a Buddhist.[12] She embraced Nichiren Buddhist philosophy as a member of the Soka Gakkai International during her first year attending college in 1996: "I was lonely and depressed, and I had so many questions about life. I called my dad every night crying, saying that I wanted to go home."[7] As a core practice of Nichiren Buddhism, Shaw chants daimoku daily,[13] and is also a facilitator of the SGI-USA lay Buddhist Association for Peace, Culture, and Education.[14]
In August 2017, Shaw announced that she was expecting her first child with her husband, Kristopher Gifford (whom she first dated in 2007, got engaged to in 2008 and married in 2017).[15] Shaw gave birth to their son, Jack, in February 2018.[16]
