Teresa Mary Palmer[2] (born 26 February 1986) is an Australian actress. A prominent scream queen, she is known for her roles in horror films, as well as projects of other genres in both Australia and the United States.
Expanding her ventures, Palmer co-wrote and co-produced the drama film The Ever After (2014), in which she also starred, alongside her husband Mark Webber. She then starred in the supernatural drama series A Discovery of Witches (2018–2022) and the psychological thriller miniseries The Clearing (2023).
Early life
Palmer was born and raised in Adelaide, South Australia, the only child of Kevin Palmer, an investor, and Paula Sanders, a former nurse and missionary.
Her parents separated when she was three, and divorced in 1992 when she was six.[3] She has a stepmother, Karen Palmer, as well as two half-sisters and three stepbrothers, who lived with her father.[4][5] Palmer stated to Interview that she "came from rather humble beginnings";[6] she lived in public housing with her mother, while regularly visiting her father at his farm near Mylor in the Adelaide Hills (which she later purchased as an adult).[3][7][8] 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.[9][10]
After graduating from high school, Palmer thought that she would work in an animal rescue service, and eventually open her own animal welfare agency.[18] She was accepted into a university to study teaching and was taking a course on journalism, but had always dreamt of acting.[3][19] She got a call from an agent about appearing in a student film, 2:37.[6] The director had seen her head shot on the acting agency's website and wanted her to be in the movie. Palmer dropped out of the university to work on the film.[10]
Career
2005–2006: Beginnings in Australia
Palmer had been an extra on Deck Dogz (2005), and other films shot in Adelaide.[4][20] At the age of 18, she was cast by filmmaker Murali K. Thalluri in the independent Australian film 2:37,[21] about a tragic highschool suicide.[6] She was nominated for the 2006 Australian Film Institute Award for Best Lead Actress for her performance.[22] She then signed with a talent agent in Sydney.[4] A role
in a pool party scene followed in Wolf Creek (2005).
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.[23] Palmer was named an Australian "star of tomorrow" by Screen International that year.[24] 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 in a remote beach town. Palmer studied Dominique Swain's performance in Lolita (1997) to capture her character's overt sexuality.[25] The film began shooting in November 2005 on the south coast of Australia.[26] It was released on 14 September 2007 in the UK and US and 20 September 2007 in Australia[27] and received mixed reviews,[28] and failed at the box office.[29]
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.[31] Palmer was devastated from losing the role and returned to Adelaide for a few months.[10] 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."[25]The Grudge 2 was released in North America on 13 October 2006 (Friday the 13th)[32] to negative reviews[33] and grossed $70 million worldwide against its $20 million budget.[34]
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.[25] She went through a period of loneliness and depression, and considered going back home until she made friends there.[10]
Palmer was the face of Sydney jeweller Jan Logan's "modern darling" collection in 2008.[16] 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.[10] 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.[40] It was released on 25 December 2008 and received to negative reviews[41] but grossed $212 million worldwide on its $80 million budget.[42]
Palmer won the romantic lead in Disney'sThe Sorcerer's Apprentice, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Jon Turteltaub. The film was based on the relevant section of the animated film Fantasia (1940), which was set to a short symphonic poem for orchestra by Paul Dukas, L'apprenti sorcier (The Sorcerer's Apprentice, published in 1897, and by far, the best known of Dukas' compositions), all of which were inspired by the eponymous poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.[43] Palmer stayed in Manhattan's West Village while filming for six months.[44] 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).[45] It was released on 14 July 2010 to mixed reviews,[46] and grossed $215 million worldwide on its big $150 million budget.[47] In July 2010, Parade Magazine named the film No. 1 on its list of "Biggest Box Office Flops of 2010 (So Far)".[48]
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.[49] 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.[3][50]
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 "phase" her way through solid objects. She went through stunt training for the role, learning to perform flips, sword fight, 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.[30] The film was released in theatres on 18 February 2011, and was also released in the IMAX format.[51][52] It received generally negative reviews from critics[53] and grossed $149 million worldwide.[54]
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.[55][56] The film was later postponed.[57] Palmer starred in the short film Bear, directed by Nash Edgerton, which competed at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.[58]
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.[20][59] The film received positive reviews from critics.[60]
She also starred in a comedic short, Quirky Girl, for the website Funny or Die, opposite Aaron Paul.[61]
2013–present: Further recognition and horror films
Palmer starred in the 2013 zombie film, Warm Bodies, produced by Summit Entertainment, and based on a young adult novel by Isaac Marion.[62] She played Julie, a human who falls in love with a zombie (Nicholas Hoult).[63] It was released on 1 February 2013 in the United States and on 8 February 2013 in the United Kingdom. It opened to positive reviews[64] and grossed $116 million worldwide.[65]
In February 2013, Palmer was announced as the "global face" of Artistry cosmetics.[66] Palmer then starred in Love and Honor with Liam Hemsworth, an independent romance filmed in mid-2011 in Ann Arbor, Michigan.[67] The film is set in the 1960s during the Vietnam War, and was released in March 2013.[68] It had a limited release on 22 March 2013, receiving negative reviews[69] and only grossed $19 thousand.[70]
In 2018, Palmer began a starring role as Diana Bishop in the British supernatural drama series A Discovery of Witches. The series received positive reviews.[97] The following year, Palmer starred in the biographical sports film Ride Like a Girl, portraying Michelle Payne. The film was directed by Palmer's Hacksaw Ridge co-star Rachel Griffiths, in her feature film directorial debut.[98]
Palmer will star alongside Bella Heathcote and Philippa Northeast in the television adaptation of Sally Hepworth's novel The Family Next Door for the ABC. The six-part drama is being filmed in Victoria.[99]
Palmer began dating actor and director Mark Webber in late 2012 after contacting him via Twitter. They became engaged in August 2013,[101] and married on 21 December 2013 in Mexico.[102] She and Webber have two sons and two daughters together.[103][104][105][106] Palmer is also a stepmother to Webber's son from his previous relationship with actress Frankie Shaw.[107] The family resides in the Beachwood Canyon community of Los Angeles.[108]
In November 2012, Palmer and friend Phoebe Tonkin launched the health and wellness website Your Zen Life.[68] She co-founded a sister site to Your Zen Life called Your Zen Mama, with her friend, actress Sarah Wright.[109][110]
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