Hollywood has mirrored the Camelot in which Shannyn Sossamon found herself in her breakthrough role as the leading lady in A Knight's Tale (2001). Shannyn, who credits her striking looks to an eclectic mix of French, Hawaiian, Dutch, Irish, Filipino and German was born Shannon Marie Kahololani Sossamon in Honolulu, Hawaii. At the age of one, Shannyn and her family moved to a new exotic locale: Reno, Nevada. Her youth was spent at a dance studio. At 17, promptly after high school graduation, she left her small town life for a career in dance in Los Angeles. She got distracted and started deejaying as a hobby with her then boyfriend in the local clubs around town. Paying her bills every month were her appearances in commercials. Acting was not high on the young dancer's priority list, aside from a series of commercials, not for lack of interest but for the fact that she was content with her life in L.A. as it was. It was in 1999, when Shannyn was helping a friend D.J. at a birthday party for Gwyneth Paltrow that a new chapter began in her fairy tale life. Francine Maisler, a casting director known for such films as The Usual Suspects (1995), spotted Shannyn. Shortly thereafter Shannyn found herself with the backing of an influential Hollywood name and one very important audition... A Knight's Tale (2001). She determined she wanted the lead role and after six call backs, beat out the competition. Admittedly, the dancer turned actress knew little of her Australian costar Heath Ledger but the two became friends during filming.

Born in Hawaii but grew up in Nevada.Was with her friend, who deejayed for Gwyneth Paltrow and Jake Paltrow's joint birthday party in Hollywood, when discovered by Brian Helgeland, director of A Knight's Tale (2001). Was in three commercials before being in the movies.5/29/03: Gave birth to her first son, Audio Science Clayton.2002: Ranked #55 in Stuff magazine's "102 Sexiest Women In The World".2002: Was featured as #33 in Maxim Magazine's "Hot 100 of 2002" supplement.Beat out Kate Hudson for the role of Lady Jocelyn in A Knight's Tale (2001).Is of French, Dutch, English, Irish, Hawaiian/Filipino and German descent; her maternal Grandmother is Hawaiian-Filipino, and her maternal Grandfather is English-German.1995: As an adolescent, she added the "y" in her first name. UpdateYou may report errors and omissions on this page to the IMDb database managers. They will be examined and if approved will be included in a future update. Clicking the 'Update' button will take you through a step-by-step process.Add resumeWith our Resume service you can add photos and build a complete resume to help you achieve the best possible presentation on the IMDb.Click here to add your resume and/or your photos to IMDb. Browse biographies section by nameA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z