Alternative Press Magazine

Name: Shiri Appleby
Age: 23
HQ: Los Angeles, CA

You may know her from:

Roswell, where she worked overtime to improve intergalactic relations by hooking up with a teen E.T. played by Jason Behr. Even though rumors circulated that the cast wasn't all happy near the show's end, Appleby focuses on the positive: "We were all really appreciative of the experiences we had. But we were also very young, and when you have a lot of drive, you want to get out there and see what else you can do."

You'll soon see her in:

Swimfan, where she'll play Jesse Bradford's girlfriend. But when the louse cheats on her with closet psycho Erika Christensen things turn all Fatal Attraction, high school-style. "There are a lot of really sexy moments in it," says Appleby. "And it's not a slasher film; it's much more emotional and psychological."

For three years, Shiri Appleby hung out with aliens on the TV show Roswell. Now she's looking to expand her professional and personal universe. J.R. Griffin tries to get into her inner space

Shiri Appleby is a nice girl. And she plays one on TV.

"Even when I was cast as a bad girl on Seventh Heaven, my hair was totally perfect and I had all this makeup on," says the friendly Southern California native. "It's still funny to me that I was cast as a gangster on that show."

It's not like being nice is a stretch for Appleby. The gal most known for her role as the alien-loving waitress on Roswell punctuates her comments with an effortless giggle, and openly reveals that she digs knitting, photography, backgammon, and a serious game of Uno. "Yeah, I knit on the set," she says. "It all sounds so uncool, though."

Appleby has been appearing in commercials and has had bit parts on TV shows like Doogie Howser, M.D. and Beverly Hills 90210 since age 4. But she also took a break from the biz to get the full high school experience. It paid off. Appleby was a cheerleader, worked on the yearbook, and was voted "Most Spirited". Keeping a balance between work and life is still important to the budding starlet.

"You forget that you have a life after working so hard on one show," says Appleby, who enjoys spending time with friends and backpacking through foreign countries. "You're like, 'Hey, there are relationships that need attention.'"

Appleby's career will get some attention when she appears in the upcoming teen psychological thriller Swimfan. Opposite Jesse Bradford and Erika Christensen, she's playing-guess what?-the sweet girlfriend.

"My character's nice, but I tried to make her a little more comfortable with her sexuality than Liz on Roswell was," says Appleby. "But I really want to play somebody my age who is dealing with what I'm dealing with now. There's a lot more to myself that I would like to express."

Hmm, does that mean there's something shady in her past? How about cavorting with would-be rock stars? Well, the Calabasas High graduate did go the same school as some of the guys in Incubus, Audiovent, and Linkin Park.

"I was in 6th grade, and the guys in Incubus were in 9th grade and played in Brandon [Boyd]'s parents' backyard," says Appleby. "I was like, 'Oh, my God! I'm at a high school party!' I was just so excited to be there. Now, looking back, it was the first time that Incubus played…I even went to a dance with Ben Einziger [of Audiovent], like a vice-versa dance where the girls ask the boys."

Hey, now this is getting good.

"We were just friends though."

Of Course.

September 2002
Alternative Press Magazine