Samantha Mathis was born in New York in 1970 to Bibi Besch, an aspiring actress at the time. Her first acting job was in a commercial for baby products with her mother. Since her parents divorced when she was only three years old, Samantha was very exposed to the acting industry from a very young age, which made her almost destined to become an actress. Samantha's first feature film was Pump Up the Volume (1990) opposite her on- and off-screen love at the time, Christian Slater. This movie also marked her first topless scene, but Samantha has now grown up and moved on to more demanding roles, such as the part of Terry Carmichael in the action-packed film Broken Arrow (1996).

Daughter of Bibi Besch.Dated Noah Wyle. [1995]Dated co-star Christian Slater during Pump Up the Volume (1990).Dated River Phoenix during The Thing Called Love (1993).Younger half-brother and half-sister appeared as extras in Super Mario Bros. (1993). Younger half-brother aspires to be a film director.Is a vegetarian.Accompanied River Phoenix to The Viper Room on the night he died.Friend of Sandra Bullock.Played a victim of John Travolta in The Punisher (2004). Previously, she played the love interest of the main hero in Broken Arrow (1996), in which the villain was also played by Travolta.Spoke fluent German from childhood, stemming from her Austrian royal ancestry.Granddaughter of Gusti Huber.Launched a successful on-line flora design firm called Succulent LA with designer and partner Ryann Davis. Five percent of the proceeds go to the Green Coast Foundation.Read for the role of Susannah in 'Legends of the Fall' and was considered, by Spielberg, for the role of Tinkerbell in 'Hook'.