Name: Cristina Ricci
Nick Name: Squant
Sex: F
Nationality: American
Date: February 12, 1980
Birth Place: Santa Monica, California
Occupation: actress

"If I hadn't gone into acting, I would have been one of those weird runaways on Hollywood Boulevard. No, it'd be uglier. I'd probably be dead." - Christina Ricci

This Santa Monica, California native has the feel of another Jodie Foster about her. She's been appearing in films since she was 10 and at the age of 17 turned in a very adult-like, accomplished and complex performance in The Ice Storm. "I'm serious about acting," Ricci says. "I don't want to do cheesy films. I want to do things that have integrity. I don't want to be just another kid who did a couple of movies."

The youngest of four children born to a lawyer and realtor, Ricci grew up in a house where her father (who was a psychiatrist before becoming a lawyer) practiced psychiatry, specializing in shrieking therapy. During the sessions, she could hear the therapies through the vents in her room, and would act them out in front her mother. Her performance at age eight in a school play caught the attention of a local theater critic, who suggested to her parents that she consider an acting career.

A year later, Ricci made her debut film in Mermaids (1990), winning a Young Artist Award as Best Young Actress in a Supporting Role. She decided to skip schooling in the art of acting and just continued her career. "I don't have any training, and I don't believe in training. Of course, people who don't have any training always say that."

She soon became an actress in demand and was cast in a number of films, including The Addams Family (1991) (and the sequel, Addams Family Values), Casper (1995), Now and Then (1995), That Darn Cat (1997), Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998), 200 Cigarettes (1999), Sleepy Hollow (1999) and Bless the Child (2000).

Although she seems like a girl who is granted everything, Ricci has had her share of disappointment as well. She has been turned down for many roles including Lolita in Lolita (1997), Batgirl in Batman and Robin, Rose in Titanic as well as roles in Jurassic Park and Little Women.

Unlike so many child stars, Ricci didn't fade into oblivion when she entered into adulthood. "I think the main reason a lot of child stars don't make it is that it's hard to see someone as cute and then all of a sudden see them as having more depth. I guess I was just lucky that, when I was little, nobody thought I was that cute."

In 2003, Ricci decided to try her hand at directing with The Speed Queen (2004), also starring in the film in the lead role as Marjorie Standiford, a woman only hours away from her execution on death row.