Karolina Wydra (Polish pronunciation: [karɔˈlina vɨdra]; born March 5, 1981)[1] is a Polish-American actress and model. She played Dominika Petrova on the Fox medical drama series House, and vampire Violet Mazurski on the HBO dark fantasy series True Blood. Wydra has starred in the fantasy thriller After (2012), and the science fiction film Europa Report (2013). She portrayed Detective Dianne Kubek on ABC's short-lived crime drama series Wicked City and recurred as Izel in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Karolina Wydra | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 5, 1981 |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2008–present |
Early life and education
editWydra was born in Opole, Poland[2] with a rare left eye coloboma birth defect in which the iris of the eye does not grow closed during gestation.[3][better source needed]
Her mother and father were teachers of mathematics and art, respectively.[4] In 1992, she and her family emigrated to Orange County, California, where her parents set up a cleaning business.[4] Her parents separated in 2012, and her mother subsequently moved back to Poland.[4]
Career
editIn October 1997, Wydra won the Elite Lee Jeans Model Look Contest, which was hosted by Roshumba Williams and Dorian Gregory.[5] She has since appeared in print advertisements for brands such as Armani Exchange, Levi's Red, Calvin Klein, Smashbox Cosmetics, Dooney & Bourke, Charles David, Urban Decay, John Frieda, and Kenneth Cole.[6][7][8] Wydra has also appeared as a model on the cover of the German Elle magazine[9] and Oyster magazine.[10]
In 2006, Wydra starred in a Nespresso commercial with George Clooney.[11] In 2008, she co-starred in the comedy-drama film Be Kind Rewind, directed by Michel Gondry, and the sports drama film Sugar, directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck. She then co-starred in the 2011 romantic comedy film Crazy, Stupid, Love as Jordyn. From 2011 to 2012, she appeared on the seventh and eighth seasons of the Fox medical drama series House, playing the role of Dominika Petrova, an immigrant who marries House in order to obtain a green card.[12] Wydra then had a starring role in the 2012 fantasy thriller After, alongside Steven Strait.[13] The following year, she had a lead role as Katya Petrovna in the science fiction film Europa Report.[14] In March 2013, she was cast in the pilot of NBC's remake of the British drama series Bad Girls.[15]
In 2013 she starred in the Honda Acura ZDX commercial. In 2013, Wydra joined the cast of HBO's fantasy drama series True Blood as Violet Mazurski, a vampire who becomes Jason Stackhouse's girlfriend.[16][17] In the sixth season, Wydra was a recurring cast member, but was upgraded to the main cast for its seventh and final season.[18] In 2014, Wydra recurred as the character Mara Paxton on the fifth season of FX's drama series Justified, and guest starred as Agent Simone Taylor in an episode of the CBS drama series Scorpion. Wydra then co-starred alongside Aaron Eckhart in the Blumhouse Productions horror film Incarnate (2015), directed by Brad Peyton. In 2015, she joined the cast of ABC's crime drama series Wicked City as Dianne Kubek, a beautiful detective working undercover as a barmaid and drug dealer on the Sunset Strip.[19]
In April 2016, it was announced that Wydra had been cast in the Showtime series revival of Twin Peaks.[20] In August 2016, she joined the Amazon Studios drama series Sneaky Pete in a recurring role.[21]
Personal life
editWydra lives in Los Angeles.
She has one older brother, an accountant, who lives in London.[4]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Be Kind Rewind | Gabrielle Bochenski | |
| 2008 | Sugar | Raquel | |
| 2011 | Crazy, Stupid, Love | Jordyn | |
| 2012 | After | Ana | |
| 2012 | Eugene | Alice | Short |
| 2013 | Europa Report | Katya Petrovna | |
| 2016 | Incarnate | Anna Ember | |
| 2019 | A Score to Settle | Simone |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Christina | Episode: "Ten Count" |
| 2011–2012 | House | Dominika Petrova | Recurring role |
| 2012 | Bad Girls | Kelly | Unaired pilot |
| 2013–2014 | True Blood | Violet Mazurski | Main role |
| 2014 | Justified | Mara Paxton | Recurring role |
| 2014 | Scorpion | Agent Simone Taylor | Episode: "Revenge" |
| 2015 | Wicked City | Dianne Kubek | Main role |
| 2017 | Sneaky Pete | Karolina | Recurring role |
| 2017 | Quantico | Sasha Barinov | Recurring role |
| 2017 | Twin Peaks | Chloe | Episode: "Part 9" |
| 2017 | MacGyver | Vera Kazakova | Episode: "Roulette Wheel Wire" |
| 2019 | Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. | Izel | Recurring role (Season 6) 7 episodes |
| TBA | Untitled Vince Gilligan TV series | Ana | Main role |
Other credits
editStage
edit| Year | Title | Role | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | French Waitress and Other Plays | Kasia | Electric Lodge, Los Angeles | Segment: "Poland" |
Commercials
edit- (2006) Nespresso…What Else?
References
edit- ^ "Person Details for Karolina I Wydra, "United States Public Records, 1970-2009"". FamilySearch.
- ^ "Karolina Wydra: From House to True Blood". Fikklefame. March 27, 2013. Retrieved August 14, 2014.
- ^ "Karolina Wydra Biography". IMDb. Retrieved 2018-09-13.
- ^ a b c d "EJ Podcast #046 with Karolina Wydra". EJScott.com. August 16, 2014.
- ^ "Bodies in Motion". Los Angeles. Google Books. October 1997.
- ^ "Karolina Wydra". Fashion Model Directory. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
- ^ "Model Karolina Wydra for Urban Decay Cosmetics". Scott Nathan Photos.
- ^ "Charles David: Fall 2003". LeBook.com.
- ^ "Karolina Wydra on the cover of German Elle magazine". Fikkle Fame. March 27, 2013.
- ^ "Good Morning Sunshine". Oyster. September 6, 2010.
- ^ "'House', felizmente casado con Karolina Wydra". Heraldo.es. April 18, 2012. Archived from the original on August 20, 2014. Retrieved August 14, 2014.
- ^ Gelman, Vlada (April 3, 2012). "Hot Shots: House's Wife Dominika Returns to Take Down [Spoiler]!". TVLine.
- ^ Kemp, Stuart (June 17, 2013). "Ryan Smith's 'After' Starring Karolina Wydra Gets North American Deal". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
- ^ Ellingson, Annlee (August 6, 2013). "Europa Report: Movie Reviews". Paste.
- ^ Lee, Ben (March 2, 2012). "Amy Smart, Karolina Wydra sign up for NBC's 'Bad Girls' remake". Digital Spy.
- ^ Richenthal, Matt (March 26, 2013). "Karolina Wydra to Portray Eric-Like Vampire on True Blood". TV Fanatic. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
- ^ Sims, Andrew (March 26, 2013). "'True Blood' season 6 casts 'House' actress Karolina Wydra in 'badass' role". Hypable. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
- ^ Ausiello, Michael (March 26, 2013). "True Blood Exclusive: House Actress Joins Season 6 Cast as Badass Vamp". TVLine. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
- ^ Goldberg, Lesley (March 3, 2015). "'True Blood' Alum Boards ABC's 'L.A. Crime' Anthology". The Hollywood Reporter.
- ^ Ausiello, Michael (April 25, 2016). "Twin Peaks Revival: Complete Cast List Revealed (and It's Bananas)". TVLine.
- ^ Petski, Denise (August 2, 2016). "'Sneaky Pete' Casts Karolina Wydra & Pej Vahdat In Recurring Roles". Deadline Hollywood.
External links
edit- Karolina Wydra at Film Web (in Polish)
- Karolina Wydra at IMDb
- Karolina Wydra at Rotten Tomatoes