Samantha Mathis

Born: 12 May 1970
Where: Brooklyn, New York, USA

As an adaptation of one of the biggest computer games of all time, Samantha Mathis must have figured The Super Mario Bros movie was her ticket into the A-list.

Unfortunately for Mathis, the movie was one of the all time greatest flops, and her career has been an up and down affair ever since, without ever hitting the heights that her early work promised.

Born in 1972 to actress Bibi Besch, Mathis began acting at the tender age of 6 months with her mother in a commercial for baby products.

Her early introduction to the world of acting was maintained throughout her childhood.

After the divorce of her parents at the age of 3, Mathis was exposed to the industry on a regular basis, conditioning her to become an actress in later life.

Her first major roles came on US television. Though the shows were not particularly successful, Mathis was well prepared for her first TV movies and in 1990 she appeared opposite her boyfriend, the up and coming actor that was Christian Slater, in Pump Up The Volume.

Over the next three years Mathis¿ career stuttered, with her only major role being voice work on Ferngully ¿ The Last Rain Forest.

When 1993¿s Mario Bros. Came along, it was a much needed boost for her career. The unfortunate failure of the movie forced Mathis to rethink her projects. Her next movie, The Thing Called Love was the second time she found herself working with her boyfriend of the time. This time it was River Phoenix.

Mathis was with the tragic actor on the fateful night in which he overdosed on a cocktail of drink and drugs. It was a night that affected her terribly and a night that some say she never recovered from. Mathis has never spoken of that night in public.

Ironically, the years after the incident that robbed the world of a fine acting talent, saw Mathis play some of her best work.

She appeared alongside Winona Ryder in Little Women, as well as Michael Douglas in The American President.

Another leading role came in the form of Jack And Sarah, a Brit rom-com that starred Richard E. Grant while 1996¿s Broken Arrow saw her partner up with Christian Slater once again, this time in a John Woo action movie.

Her next big screen appearance will be alongside Thomas Jane in The Punisher Jane.