"Teresa Palmer"

Teresa Mary Palmer (born 26 February 1986) is an Australian actress. She made her film debut in the suicide drama 2:37. Palmer was seen in The Grudge 2 in 2006, in December Boys, alongside Daniel Radcliffe, and in the 2008 children's fantasy Bedtime Stories, with Adam Sandler. She appeared in The Sorcerer's Apprentice in 2010, with Nicolas Cage and Jay Baruchel, and her films in 2011 include a turn as an alien in the sci-fi film I Am Number Four, and playing Topher Grace's love interest in Take Me Home Tonight. In 2013, she starred in the zombie love story, Warm Bodies, and the romantic war film, Love and Honor, opposite Liam Hemsworth.

Palmer was born and raised in Adelaide, South Australia. She is the only child of Kevin Palmer, an investor, and Paula Sanders, a former nurse and missionary. Her parents divorced when she was three. She has a stepmother, Kaaren Palmer, as well as two half-sisters and two stepbrothers, who lived with her father. Palmer stated to Interview that she "came from rather humble beginnings"; she lived in public housing with her mother, and grew up on her father's farm in the Adelaide Hills. Palmer was named after Mother Teresa by her mother, and has stated that she had a "tough upbringing" due to her mother's manic depression.

Palmer was a student at Mercedes College, a private Catholic day school, and won a local casting audition, "Search for a Movie Star", in 2003. Her first acting job was dressing up as Strawberry Shortcake and Santa's Little Helper on weekends for promotions in shopping centres near Adelaide. Palmer went to acting classes for a couple of years and appeared in a few television commercials. She was a fast food attendant at Hungry Jack's in Rundle Mall in 2005, before working at clothing retailers Supré, Mambo Australia, and Cotton On.

After graduating from high school, Palmer got a call from her local talent agent about appearing in a student film, 2:37. The director had seen her head shot on the acting agency's website and wanted her to be in the movie. Palmer thought that she would work in an animal rescue service, and eventually open her own animal welfare agency. She was accepted into university to study teaching and was taking a course on journalism, but had always dreamt of acting. Palmer quit university to work on the film.

Palmer had been an extra on Deck Dogz (2005), and other films shot in Adelaide. At the age of 18, she was cast by filmmaker Murali K. Thalluri in the independent Australian film 2:37. Palmer portrayed Melody in the film, a popular high school student who becomes suicidal after being impregnated by her brother. She was nominated for the 2006 Australian Film Institute Award for Best Lead Actress for her performance. She then signed with a talent agent in Sydney. A role in Wolf Creek (2005) followed, in a pool party scene.

Palmer starred in the psychological thriller Restraint, with English actor Stephen Moyer and Calvin Klein model Travis Fimmel. Shot on location around New South Wales in mid-2005, the film was written by Dave Warner and directed by David Denneen. Palmer was named an Australian "star of tomorrow" by Screen International that year. She then starred in December Boys, a coming-of-age film set in the 1960s, based on a novel by Michael Noonan. She played Lucy, who has a romance with Daniel Radcliffe's character on a remote beach resort. Palmer studied Dominique Swain's performance in Lolita (1997) to capture her character's overt sexuality. The film began shooting in November 2005 on the south coast of Australia.

2:37 premiered at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival in Un Certain Regard selection. The film received a standing ovation, a turning point for Palmer, giving her confidence in acting as a career. The trip to Cannes lead her to meet her manager, David Seltzer, and American talent agents. She signed with the William Morris Agency.

Palmer was cast to star with Tom Sturridge in her first American feature, Jumper, a science fiction film directed by Doug Liman. Her part was later recast when the lead characters were rewritten for older actors; her role went to Rachel Bilson. Palmer was devastated from losing the role and returned to Adelaide for a few months. She made her Hollywood feature film debut in The Grudge 2 in 2006, a horror sequel starring Amber Tamblyn and Sarah Michelle Gellar. Palmer described her character, Vanessa, as "the bitchy schoolgirl".

In early 2007, Palmer was cast as Tori Frederking in the comedy Take Me Home Tonight, starring Anna Faris, Dan Fogler and Topher Grace. Set in the 1980s, the film was directed by Michael Dowse and released in March 2011. Palmer starred in the film clip for the 2007 single "Breaking Up", by the band Eskimo Joe, shot in Newcastle. Palmer jumps into the sea with the band's singer, Kavyen Temperley.

Palmer relocated from Semaphore Beach in Adelaide to Los Angeles in May 2007 to further her career, and began auditioning for films. She stated that Los Angeles was "a big adjustment" and "very different" from her home in Australia. She went through a period of loneliness and depression, and considered going back home until she made friends there. In November 2007, Palmer was cast as the villain, Talia al Ghul, in the DC Comics superhero film, Justice League of America, alongside D.J. Cotrona, Adam Brody, Anton Yelchin, Common and Megan Gale. George Miller was set to direct the film, but it was cancelled by Warner Bros. due to script rewrite issues and the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike.

Palmer was the face of Sydney jeweller Jan Logan's "modern darling" collection in 2008. She was picked that year by Adam Sandler from an audition tape to play his love interest in the Walt Disney Pictures children's film, Bedtime Stories. She played an heiress, Violet Nottingham, starring alongside Guy Pearce and Courteney Cox. Sandler also put Palmer's mother and best friend in scenes in the film.

Palmer won the romantic lead in Disney's The Sorcerer's Apprentice, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Jon Turteltaub. The film was based on the animated film Fantasia (1940), which was inspired by a poem by Goethe. Palmer stayed in Manhattan's West Village while filming for six months. She played Becky Barnes, a college student who is pursued by Dave Stutler (Jay Baruchel), a physics student and apprentice to the wizard Balthazar (Nicolas Cage).

In 2009, Palmer formed the film production company Avakea Productions, with Australian actresses Tahyna Tozzi and Nathalie Kelley. She was a guest judge on MTV Australia, for the Sydney filmmaking talent contest, Optus one80project. She also filmed an ad campaign that year for the Australian jean store, Just Jeans, and became the face and spokesperson for the Jurlique cosmetics company.

In 2011, Palmer starred in the sci-fi adventure film, I Am Number Four, alongside Alex Pettyfer and Dianna Agron. She played Number Six, one of nine aliens hiding out on Earth because her home planet was destroyed. Her character was skilled in martial arts, rode a Ducati motorcycle, and could become invisible and walk through fire. She went through stunt training for the role, learning to perform flips, swordfight, and do wirework. The film was adapted from a novel that was the first of a six-part series. Palmer signed on to do three movies, if the film became a franchise.

Palmer was going to star in Fury Road, a sequel to the Mad Max series by Australian filmmaker George Miller, but didn't join the cast due to scheduling conflicts. The film was later postponed. Palmer starred in the short film Bear, directed by Nash Edgerton, which competed at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. She appeared opposite Joel Edgerton in the independent Australian drama-thriller, Wish You Were Here, directed by Kieran Darcy-Smith. The film began shooting in Sydney in November 2010, and premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. She also starred in a comedic short, "Quirky Girl", for the website Funny or Die, opposite Aaron Paul.

Palmer starred in the 2013 zombie film, Warm Bodies, produced by Summit Entertainment, and based on a young adult novel by Isaac Marion. She played Julie, a human who falls in love with a zombie (Nicholas Hoult). In February 2013, Palmer was announced as the "global face" of Artistry cosmetics. Palmer then starred in Love and Honor with Liam Hemsworth, an independent romance filmed in mid-2011 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The film is set in the 1960s during the Vietnam War, and was released in March 2013.

As of September 2010, Palmer was directing a documentary film about the Happy Africa Foundation, a Kenyan-based charity. As of December 2010, Palmer and actress Tahyna Tozzi were producing, writing and starring in a film titled Track Town, a 1990s road movie described as a hybrid of The Wackness and Thelma & Louise.

Palmer has a role in Cut Bank, an independent thriller starring Liam Hemsworth, Ben Kingsley, John Malkovich, and Michael Sheen. She will appear in Knight of Cups, directed by Terrence Malick, and starring Christian Bale. Palmer also joined the cast of Parts Per Billion, an ensemble film directed by Brian Horiuchi, and she will appear in Skum Rocks!, a rock musical starring Kevin Bacon and Matthew Broderick.

Palmer will star with Melissa Leo in The Ever After, directed by Mark Webber. Written by Palmer and Webber, it is a love story that explores the depths of marriage. The independent feature was scheduled to shoot in Los Angeles and New York from July–August 2013

Palmer has been the co-number one ticketholder, since 2009, of the Port Adelaide Football Club, along with Australian television presenter David Koch. It is a tradition for clubs to recognize a prominent supporter as the number one ticketholder. Palmer went to games with the team, spoke at functions, and performed a game-beginning coin toss. At the time, Palmer was dating then-Port Adelaide footballer, Stuart Dew.

In November 2012, Palmer and friend Phoebe Tonkin launched the health and wellness website Your Zen Life. As of March 2013, Palmer lives with her boyfriend, actor/director Mark Webber.

List of acting performances in film and television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2005	Wolf Creek	Pool Party People
2006	2:37	Melody	Nominated – Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
2006	The Grudge 2	Vanessa
2007	December Boys	Lucy
2008	Restraint	Dale
2008	Bedtime Stories	Violet Nottingham
2010	The Sorcerer's Apprentice	Becky Barnes	Major role
2011	I Am Number Four	Number Six
2011	Take Me Home Tonight	Tori Frederking
2011	Wish You Were Here	Steph McKinney
2011	Bear	Emelie	Short film
2011	Quirky Girl	Claire	Funny or Die comedic short
2013	Warm Bodies	Julie Grigio
2013	Love and Honor	Candace	Previously titled AWOL
2013	Knight of Cups
2013	Cut Bank
2013	Skum Rocks!
2014	Parts Per Billion	Anna

Awards and nominations

• 2006 Australian Film Institute Awards: Best Actress in a Leading Role for 2:37 (nominated)
• 2011 Australians in Film: Breakthrough Award, with Joel Edgerton and David Michôd.

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org