Alice Evans (born 2 August 1968)[2] is a former British-American actress.
Alice Evans | |
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![]() Evans during a tour of the Pentagon in 2006 | |
Born | Alice Jane Evans (1968-08-02) 2 August 1968 (age 54) Summit, New Jersey, United States |
Citizenship |
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Occupation | Former Actress |
Years active | 1996–2015 |
Spouse | |
Children | 2 |
Parent(s) | David Evans Janet Evans |
Evans was born in Summit, New Jersey, to British parents, mathematician David Evans[3] and teacher Janet Evans. She was raised in Bristol, and attended Henbury school, along with her two brothers, Anthony and Philip.[4] She graduated from University College London with a 2:1 in French and Italian.[4]
After graduation, she enrolled at the Cours Florent in Paris. She gained work in French television, with her breakthrough role as French student Susan in the French sitcom, Elisa Top Modele, which ran for 18 months. Next, she went to Italy to play "Nathalie", in the 1998 Italian miniseries Le ragazze di Piazza di Spagna. Her first English-speaking role was in the Highlander episode 'Patient Number 7'. After making her first film, Monsieur Naphtali (1999), Oscar-winning director Claude Lelouch cast Evans as Macha in Une pour toutes (1999), alongside Samy Naceri and Anne Parillaud.
In 1999, Disney cast Evans alongside Glenn Close, Gérard Depardieu and her future husband, Ioan Gruffudd, in 102 Dalmatians.[5][6] Evans' mother died at age 59, the day before Evans's final screen test for the role, which introduced her to British viewers.[7]
After appearing in Blackball, she moved to Los Angeles in 2003. She has since appeared in both television and film, such as The Mentalist, Brothers & Sisters, Lost, Betty Broderick and Grimm. Evans also had a recurring turn as the villainous Esther on The Vampire Diaries[8] and The Originals. Following these roles, she started Alice Evans Designs on Etsy, began offering personal videos on Cameo and started begging on Twitter.
In 2001, Evans was residing in Paris with her fiancé Olivier Widmaier Picasso, a grandson of painter Pablo Picasso.[9] They were in a relationship for eight years until she broke their engagement by having an affair with Ioan Gruffudd.[10][11]
Evans first met actor Ioan Gruffudd during the filming of 102 Dalmatians.[12] They became engaged on New Year's Day 2006 and married on 14 September 2007 in Mexico.[13] They have two daughters, born in 2009 and 2013.[14] In January 2021, Evans announced their separation, which Gruffudd initiated.[15] In March 2021, Gruffudd filed for divorce from Evans.[16] In February 2022, Gruffudd filed for, and was granted, a Temporary Domestic Violence Restraining Order (TRO) against Evans.[17] In August 2022, following several violations of the TRO by Evans, Gruffudd was granted a 3 year Permanent Domestic Violence Restraining Order (PRO) against his estranged wife.
In 2017, following a slew of sexual assault allegations against film producer Harvey Weinstein, Evans claimed that 15 years prior, in 2002, Weinstein made sexual advances towards her, which she declined. Evans said that Weinstein intimated that her rejection would affect her career and Gruffudd's as well.[18]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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1999 | Une pour toutes | Macha Desachy | |
2000 | 102 Dalmatians | Chloe Simon | |
2001 | Ma femme s'appelle Maurice | Emmanuelle | |
2002 | The Abduction Club | Catherine Kennedy | |
2003 | Blackball | Kerry Speight | |
2004 | Fascination | Kelly Vance | |
2006 | Hollywood Dreams | Vida | |
2006 | The Christmas Card | Faith Spelman | |
2006 | Dangerous Parking | Etta | |
2013 | Liars All | Sandra |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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1996–99 | Elisa Top Modèle | Clara | 22 episode; aka Elisa |
1996 | Strangers | Charlotte | Episode: "Crash" |
1997 | Highlander: The Series | Kyra | Episode: "Patient Number 7" |
1998 | Au cœur de la loi | Muriel Highsmith | Episode: "En vert et contre tous" |
1998 | H | Sabri's Girlfriend | Episode: "Une belle maman" |
1998 | Le Ragazze di Piazza di Spagna | Nathalie | [unknown episodes] |
2001 | Best of Both Worlds | Diane Sullivan | [unknown episodes] |
2003 | CSI: Miami | Leslie Warner | Episode: "Bait" |
2006 | The Christmas Card | Faith Spelman | Television film |
2009 | Lost | Younger Eloise Hawking | 3 episodes |
2010 | The Mentalist | Ilsa Engels | Episode: “Red Letter” |
2011–12 | The Vampire Diaries | Esther Mikaelson | 6 episodes |
2012 | Grimm | Mia Gaudot | Episode: "Over My Dead Body" |
2014–15 | The Originals | Esther Mikaelson | 3 episodes |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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1996 | MegaRace 2 | Co-host of the racing show MegaRace 2 | Her name is different each time it is mentioned.[19][20] |
When Original vampire mama Esther (Alice Evans) returned to Mystic Falls after spending the last millennium six feet under, we knew she’d have some deeply hidden tricks up her sleeve.
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The Originals |
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