Alice Evans
Evans during a tour of the Pentagon in 2006
Born
Alice Jane Evans

Bristol, England, United Kingdom
Citizenship
  • United Kingdom
  • United States[1]
OccupationActress
Years active1996–2015
2023–present
Spouse
​
​
(m. 2007; divorced 2023)​
Children2
ParentDavid Evans

Alice Evans is a British-American actress.

Early life

Evans was born in Summit New Jersey to mathematician David Evans and teacher Janet Evans. She was raised in Bristol, and attended Henbury school, along with her two brothers, Anthony and Philip.[2] She graduated from University College London with a 2:1 in French and Italian.[2]

Career

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.[3][4] Evans' mother died at age 59, the day before Evans's final screen test for the role, which introduced her to British viewers.

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, and Grimm. Evans also had a recurring turn as the villainous Esther on The Vampire Diaries[5] and The Originals.

Personal life

In 2001, Evans was residing in Paris with her fiancé Olivier Widmaier Picasso, a grandson of painter Pablo Picasso.[6][7][8] Evans first met actor Ioan Gruffudd during the filming of 102 Dalmatians.[9] They became engaged on New Year's Day 2006 and married on 14 September 2007 in Mexico.[10] They have two daughters, born in 2009 and 2013.[11] In January 2021, Evans announced their separation, which Gruffudd initiated.[12] In March 2021, Gruffudd filed for divorce from Evans.[13] In February 2022, Gruffudd was granted a temporary domestic violence restraining order against Evans;[14] he was then granted a three-year permanent restraining order in August 2022. In January 2023, Evans faced charges over allegedly breaching her restraining order on two counts. [15]

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 insinuated that her rejection would affect her and Gruffudd's careers.[16]

Select filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
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

Television

Year Title Role Notes
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"
1998-2000 Le Ragazze di Piazza di Spagna Nathalie [6 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

Video games

Year Title Role Notes
1996 MegaRace 2 Co-host of the racing show MegaRace 2 Her name is different each time it is mentioned.[17][18]

References

  1. ↑ Alice Evans' biodata, mtv.com; accessed 25 September 2014. Archived 24 December 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  2. 1 2 "Meet La Belle Anglaise" by Anna Pursglove, Evening Standard, 15 December 2000.
  3. ↑ Mia Sulpor (15 November 2000). "Disney lets dogs out". Variety. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  4. ↑ "102 Dalmatians (2000)". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved 15 November 2015.
  5. ↑ Shaunna Murphy (9 February 2012). "'The Vampire Diaries': Talk tonight's shocking twist, and find out what's next from producer Julie Plec". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2 June 2016. 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.
  6. ↑ "La jeune fille anglaise". www.telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
  7. ↑ WalesOnline (20 January 2002). "Ioan and Alice ring mystery". WalesOnline. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
  8. ↑ "A Picasso for £85: why the artist's grandson is raffling a masterpiece". the Guardian. 15 October 2013. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
  9. ↑ Ioan Gruffudd, Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, 21 February 2007.
  10. ↑ Mary Margaret (15 September 2007). "Fantastic Four Star Ioan Gruffudd Gets Married". People. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
  11. ↑ Andrew Asare (2 October 2013). "Ioan Gruffudd and Alice Evans welcome second child". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  12. ↑ Juneau, Jen (26 January 2021). "Alice Evans Tweets Husband Ioan Gruffudd 'Has Announced He Is to Leave His Family': We Are 'Confused and Sad'". People.com. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  13. ↑ "Welsh actor Ioan Gruffudd files for divorce from Alice Evans". South Wales Argus. 3 March 2021. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  14. ↑ Fernández, Alexia (16 February 2022). "Ioan Gruffudd Files for Domestic Violence Restraining Order Against Estranged Wife Alice Evans". People.
  15. ↑ Lewis, Isobel (28 January 2023). "Alice Evans 'facing arrest after missing court appearance' over ex Ioan Gruffudd's restraining order". independent.
  16. ↑ Kiefer, Halle (14 October 2017). "Actress Alice Evans Wonders What Effect Rejecting Harvey Weinstein Had on Her and Her Husband's Careers". Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  17. ↑ "Alice Evans". Lockerdome. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  18. ↑ "MegaRace 2 (DOS)". Moby Games. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
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