Isla Fisher

Background

Isla Lang Fisher was born on February 3, 1976 in Muscat, Oman. Her Scottish parents lived there because Fisher's father, a banker, worked for the United Nations. When Fisher was just a few months old, the family moved to Perth, Australia. Growing up down under, Isla Fisher got an early start in the entertainment industry. By the age of nine, she was already starring in television commercials. Her first, an extra spot in a lottery advertisement, led to several hours worth of intense excitement, hyperventilating and a near-fainting spell.

Isla Fisher Makes Her Way

With that kind of reaction, fame had to be in the cards. It was a slow and steady climb up the ladder, though. Before she introduced herself to Hollywood, Fisher appeared in several Australian television programs, including Bay Cove, Paradise Beach and Home and Away. After Home and Away, it was away to Paris for Fisher, who decided to enroll at at the renowned Jacques Lecoq Stage School, run by the physical theatre actor and mime artist. Despite not knowing much French, she graduated and moved on to London (see where we're going with the globetrotter credit?).

In London, Isla Fisher toured as part of the musical Summer Holiday, as well as a production of Australian playwright Louis Nowra's Cosi. She also starred as a rather saucy, updated version of Princess Jasmine in a pantomime version of Alladin and stretched her boundaries by appearing in the children's miniseries, Wavelength. Several other productions later, including a four part miniseries of Charles Dickens's Oliver Twist and several more stints on Australian television, Fisher set her sights on Hollywood.

Her big break came in the 2002 feature film Scooby Doo, in which she starred as Mary Jane, the object of Shaggy's affections. There could be no better way to make her mark than in a movie that resounded with young audiences across the country, but this was simply a stepping stone for Fisher. Her next big performance came in the critically acclaimed comedic film I Heart Huckabees. Though not a starring role, it was another step in the right direction.

Wedding Crashers and Beyond

Anyone who saw Wedding Crashers will likely remember it in great part due to Fisher's breakout performance as an aggressive, sex-obsessed young nymphomaniac. The role catapulted Fisher into the spotlight and allowed her to show off the comic chops she's always had in her arsenal. It also earned her an MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance. Since then, it's only been uphill for Fisher. She's made her mark in a variety of film genres, including the dramatic London, thriller film The Lookout and comedy Hot Rod. In 2008, she scored another hit with Definitely, Maybe, a comedy starring Ryan Reynolds. After shooting the year's Wedding Daze and recording a voice for Horton Hears a Who!, Fisher began work on Confessions of a Shopaholic, the film adaptation of Sophie Kinsella's hit novel about a shopping-obsessed young woman who can't seem to stop spending.

Personal Life

Though some of her relationships have been widely publicized overseas (notably her partnerships with English actor Darren Day and banking heir Anthony de Rothschild), Fisher has always managed to maintain a relatively quiet personal life. Her engagement to actor Sacha Baron Cohen (of Borat fame) is well known, but never quite the stuff of tabloid fodder. Both actors are fervently protective of their privacy.

The actress, who grew up without following a specific religion, converted to Judaism (Cohen's faith) after studying the subject for several years. Fisher gave birth to the couple's first child, Olive, on October 19, 2007.