| Summer Glau |

Summer Glau at a 2005 Serenity Flanvention. |
| Born |
Summer Lyn Glau
July 24, 1981 (1981-07-24) (age 27)
San Antonio, Texas, U.S. |
| Occupation |
Actress |
| Years active |
2002–present |
Summer Lyn Glau (born July 24, 1981) is an American dancer and actress, known for playing River Tam in the short-lived science fiction series Firefly and follow-up movie Serenity, and for playing Cameron in the series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.
Biography
Early life
Glau was born in San Antonio, Texas, where she grew up with her two younger sisters, Christie and Kaitlin.citation needed She is of Scots-Irish and German descent.1 Her mother is a schoolteacher and her father a general contractor.2
Glau received a scholarship to a ballet company and was home-schooled from grades 3 to 12 to accommodate her ballet training.3 After a serious ankle injury ended her dancing career,4 Glau took time off from dancing to visit friends in Los Angeles, where she auditioned for several television commercials.citation needed Glau later moved to Los Angeles to pursue a more active acting career.
Career
Glau at CollectorMania 2007
Summer Glau at WonderCon 2008
Glau was classically trained as a ballerina4 and also studied tango and flamenco. A professional dancer since age 12, she appeared in several television commercials. Having relocated to Los Angeles in 2002, Glau's first television credit was a guest role as a ballerina on the 2002 episode "Waiting in the Wings" (episode 3x13) of the television series Angel. There she caught the eye of director Joss Whedon, who later cast her in his short-lived TV series Firefly as River Tam, a role she reprised for the show's feature film sequel, Serenity. Glau previously auditioned for the role as a Pink Ranger on one of the Power Rangers series before meeting Joss Whedon.5
Glau appeared on the episode "Love Conquers Al" (1x06) of the TV series Cold Case. She had a small role in the film Sleepover, in which she played a high school senior named Shelly. She also appeared in the CSI episode "What's Eating Gilbert Grissom?," and the second season of The Unit; portraying Crystal Burns, the girlfriend of Jeremy Erhart. In 2006, Glau played Tess Doerner, a paranoid schizophrenic returnee in the second season premiere of The 4400 (episode "Wake-Up Call"), and became an essential recurring character from Season 3 onwards. She also starred in the science fiction film Mammoth. Glau was cast in the ABC Family TV movie The Initiation of Sarah.
In Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, a series that debuted January 13, 2008, Glau plays the role of Cameron Phillips, a Terminator infiltration unit sent back to protect John Connor and Sarah Connor from Skynet.6 The seventh episode of the series, "The Demon Hand," included several scenes in which Glau (in character as Cameron) dances ballet.
Glau also guest starred as herself in episode 17 of the second season of The Big Bang Theory.
Personal life
Summer Glau has been involved in a number of charities, such as B.C. Women's Hospital & Health Centre7 where she autographed several teddy bears to be sold on eBay to help raise money for the Hospital. Glau is an animal lover and has shown support to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles,8 where she hand-painted a decorative pet bowl that was later sold on eBay to raise funds. She was also a vegetarian from 1995 to 2005. 9
Filmography
| Year |
Title |
Role |
Notes |
| 2002 |
Angel |
Prima Ballerina |
Television episode "Waiting in the Wings"
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| Firefly |
River Tam |
Television series, star, 14 episodes |
| 2003 |
| Cold Case |
Paige Pratt |
Television episode "Love Conquers Al"
|
| 2004 |
Sleepover |
Ticket Girl |
Feature film |
| CSI: Crime Scene Investigation |
Mandy Cooper |
Television episode "What's Eating Gilbert Grissom?"
|
| 2005 |
Serenity |
River Tam |
Feature film, star |
| 2006 |
Mammoth |
Jack |
Television film |
| The Initiation of Sarah |
Lindsey Goodwin |
Television film |
| 2006-2007 |
The Unit |
Crystal Burns |
Television episodes:
"Extreme Rendition,"
"Force Majeure,"
"Report by Exception,"
"The Broom Cupboard,"
"Johnny B. Good,"
"The Water is Wide,"
"Outsiders"
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| The 4400 |
Tess Doerner |
Television episodes:
"Wake Up Call,"
"The Ballad of Kevin and Tess,"
"Terrible Swift Sword,"
"Fifty-Fifty,"
"The Wrath of Graham,"
"Daddy's Little Girl,"
"Ghost in the Machine,"
"Tiny Machines"
|
| 2008- 2009 |
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles |
Cameron Phillips / Allison Young |
Television series, starring
Tied with Elizabeth Mitchell in winning the Saturn Award for Best Television Supporting Actress for portrayal of "Cameron". |
| 2009 |
The Big Bang Theory |
Herself |
Television series, guest starring |
Awards
Glau was voted Best Actress of 2005 by readers of SFX magazine and received a 2005 Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Serenity10. She was also runner up for Best Actress/Movie in the SyFy Genre Awards for 2006.11
In 2008, she received the Best Supporting Television Actress award at the 34th Saturn Awards for her performance as Cameron Phillips in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, 12 and was nominated for the Spike TV Scream Awards in the category Best Actress in a Science Fiction Movie or TV Show for the same role.13
References
External links
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The Terminator series |
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| Persondata |
| NAME |
Glau, Summer |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES |
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| SHORT DESCRIPTION |
Actress |
| DATE OF BIRTH |
July 24, 1981 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH |
San Antonio, Texas |
| DATE OF DEATH |
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| PLACE OF DEATH |
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