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Alison Gertrude Larter was born February 28, 1976, in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. She and her sister Kristen both enjoyed a stable upbringing, and there was little to distinguish the young Ali from other children her age beyond her remarkable beauty.

By age 13, Ali Larter embarked on what would evolve into a fairly successful modeling career under the tutelage of the world-renowned Ford Modeling Agency. Ali's teenage years came to be spent in various locales, being whisked from one photo shoot to another. At 17, Ali Larter's profession brought her to

where she settled temporarily.

Ali Larter's homecoming to New Jersey proved a transient one, and at 19 she was on the road again, accompanying a boyfriend in his move to Los Angeles. While the relationship didn't last long, Ali's new home did, and after taking a brief sojourn in Australia (to put some time and space between her and her ex), she set up camp on the West Coast. On the advice of a friend, Ali Larter began taking acting classes, and was soon appearing in stage productions of

and

.

ali larter in esquire

While building a background in stage work certainly may have helped Ali Larter break into film, luck had a hand in launching her into the entertainment spotlight in a rather unlikely fashion. In November 1996,

magazine published a satirical stab at the Hollywood publicity machine in the form of a hoax profile of an "Allegra Coleman," touted in the feature as "Hollywood's Next Dream Girl." Ali Larter was chosen as the model to portray this fictional persona and immediately following the magazine's release,

's offices were flooded with calls from agencies seeking to represent the purported hot "new star."

Even after the hoax was revealed, its effects seemed to linger, and in a final ironic twist, Ali Larter found that she was still the object of agencies' wooing. With her

accelerated through widespread exposure, Ali Larter left the stage behind and began auditioning for film and television.

ali larter in varsity blues

Ali Larter's first professional role was in a 1997 guest spot on the television series

, which was followed by a number of other brief appearances on

and

. Her first feature film role came in the 1999 independent comedy

, a movie which, although critically well-received and the recipient of that year's Palm Springs Film Festival Award for Best Romantic Comedy, failed to capture a wide audience.

Ali Larter's next project alongside James Van Der Beek in

proved much more fruitful. In addition to the film's success at the box office, Ali Larter's appearance, at one point wearing nothing more than a few mounds of whipped cream, earned her an instant fan base. Her "Allegra Coleman" alias provided her with passage into the entertainment industry, but it was her role in

that secured her a place in it.

ali larter in final destination

Ali Larter's next two roles, as Melissa Joan Hart's costar in

and in the horror remake

, solidified her standing as one of Hollywood's hot young faces. Her following part in the teenie thriller

(2000) established her as one of the more talented among them. The movie turned out to be the sleeper hit of the year, and Ali Larter's performance as the pensive loner Clear Rivers was the object of much critical acclaim, in addition to winning her a Young Hollywood Award for Best Breakthrough Performance by a Female.

Ali Larter went on to make three films in 2001, as Jesse James' wife in the ill-fated

, a fitness guru on trial for murder in

, and a lesbian jewel thief in

. In 2003, she starred in

, and

came out two years later.

ali larter in heroes

Ali Larter has made it clear in interviews that she has no interest in returning to television and, given the progression of her career thus far, it would seem that she has no need to. But in 2006 she was offered a role on the new NBC drama

where she plays a former internet stripper from Las Vegas who exhibits superhuman strength.

But Ali Larter's new-found TV fame couldn't keep her off the big screen, as she spent 2007 starring in

,

and

ali larter is named no. 92 in 2008 top 99

Since Ali Larter's prominent role in

, her popularity and desirability have both risen considerably. Ali Larter's No. 92 position on AskMen.com's Top 99 Most Desirable Women list of 2008 is proof that she has what it takes to stay in the public eye.