Carla Gugino facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Carla Gugino
Gugino in 2013
Born	(1971-08-29) August 29, 1971 (age 52) Sarasota, Florida, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1988–present
Partner(s)	Sebastián Gutiérrez (1996–present)
Relatives	Carol Merrill (aunt)

Carla Gugino (/ɡʊˈdʒiːnoʊ/ guu-JEE-noh; born August 29, 1971) is an American actress. After appearing in Troop Beverly Hills (1989) and This Boy's Life (1993), she received recognition for her starring roles in the Spy Kids trilogy (2001–2003), Night at the Museum (2006), American Gangster (2007), Righteous Kill (2008), Race to Witch Mountain (2009), Sally Jupiter in Watchmen (2009), Sucker Punch (2011), Amanda Popper in Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011), San Andreas (2015), Gerald's Game (2017), and Gunpowder Milkshake (2021).

Gugino also starred in the crime drama series Karen Sisco (2003), the science fiction series Threshold (2005–2006), the crime drama series Jett (2019), and the supernatural horror miniseries The Haunting of Hill House (2018), The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020) and The Fall of the House of Usher (2023).

Early life

Gugino was born in Sarasota, Florida, to Carl Gugino, an orthodontist of Italian descent, and a mother of English-Irish descent described as "Bohemian." Her parents separated when she was two, after which she travelled between her father and half-brother Carl Jr.'s home in Sarasota, and her Paradise, California, home, to which her mother moved her when she was four.

She has said of her upbringing, "I lived in a tepee in Northern California and a van in Big Sur. With my dad, I lived in a beautiful house with a swimming pool and a tennis court and went to Europe for the summers. So I feel like I lived two childhoods." She worked as a teenage fashion model, and took acting classes at the suggestion of her aunt, former Let's Make a Deal spokesmodel Carol Merrill. She eventually came to support herself, and with her parents' support, was legally emancipated by the time she was 16.

Career

Gugino's television work during the late 1980s and early 1990s included appearances on Good Morning, Miss Bliss, Saved by the Bell, Who's the Boss?, ALF, Doogie Howser, M.D., The Wonder Years, Webster and a recurring role on Falcon Crest. In film, Gugino appeared in the Shelley Long film Troop Beverly Hills (1989), and she co-starred with Pauly Shore in the romantic comedy Son in Law (1993). She appeared in the video to Bon Jovi's 1994 song "Always".

In 1995, Gugino appeared as Nan St. George (later the Duchess of Trevenick) with Greg Wise and James Frain in the BBC miniseries The Buccaneers, an adaptation of Edith Wharton's last novel. She played Ashley Schaeffer, Michael J. Fox's character's love interest, during the first season of the sitcom Spin City in 1996. She played opposite Nicolas Cage in Brian De Palma's Snake Eyes, and in Judas Kiss, which she also co-produced. She appeared as Dr. Gina Simon during the final season of the television medical drama Chicago Hope (1999–2000).

In 2001, she appeared as family matriarch Ingrid Cortez in the first Spy Kids film (as well as the film's two sequels in 2002 and 2003). That same year she appeared as Jet Li's love interest in the martial arts action thriller The One.

She starred in two short-lived TV series: ABC's Elmore Leonard crime drama Karen Sisco in 2003, and CBS' science fiction series Threshold in 2005. That same year, Gugino appeared as Lucille in the feature film adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novel Sin City. The following year, she appeared in the film Night at the Museum as Ben Stiller's love interest.

Gugino performed in the Roundabout Theatre Company play After the Fall opposite Peter Krause. In late 2006, she appeared in an Off-Broadway production of Tennessee Williams' Suddenly Last Summer opposite Blythe Danner.

Gugino appeared as Amanda, Vincent Chase's agent, in a dozen episodes of the cable television series Entourage. Gugino appeared in the May 2007 issue of Allure. That same year she appeared in the action-horror film Rise: Blood Hunter and the feature film American Gangster. The following year, she played the female lead in the thriller Righteous Kill, opposite Robert De Niro and Al Pacino.

From January 17 to February 17, 2009, Gugino starred as Abby in Eugene O'Neill's Desire Under the Elms at the Goodman Theater in Chicago, Illinois. Charles Isherwood of The New York Times praised Gugino's performance, saying, "Ms. Gugino displays a depth and range of expression that I cannot imagine any other actress achieving with such blazing honesty and wrenching truth. She is simply magnificent." During the first three months of 2009, three feature films premiered featuring Gugino: the thriller The Unborn, the film Watchmen, in which she played Sally Jupiter, and the adventure remake Race to Witch Mountain, in which she starred opposite Dwayne Johnson. That April, she received an Outer Critics Circle Award nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Play for her performance in Desire Under the Elms. .....

In 2011, Gugino appeared as Madame Vera Gorsky in Zack Snyder's action-fantasy film Sucker Punch alongside Abbie Cornish and Emily Browning. Gugino sang a duet with co-star Oscar Isaac, which appeared in the end credits and in the film's soundtrack. She also guest starred on the fourth season of Californication as Abby Rhodes, Hank Moody's attorney and love interest.

Gugino at WonderCon 2015

In mid-2012, Gugino had a lead role as Susan Berg, a Washington, D.C., investigative reporter, on the USA Network's miniseries Political Animals. In 2015, she had a lead role in the disaster film San Andreas, in which she once again starred opposite Dwayne Johnson.

Personal life

In 1996, Gugino began a relationship with her collaborator, Sebastián Gutiérrez. .....

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1989	Troop Beverly Hills	Chica Barnfell
1990	Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael	Young Roxy
1992	Murder Without Motive: The Edmund Perry Story	Allison Connors	Television film
1992	Private Matter, AA Private Matter	Mary Beth	Television film
1993	This Boy's Life	Norma
1993	Red Hot	Valentina
1993	Son in Law	Rebecca Warner
1994	Motorcycle Gang	Leann Morris	Television film
1995	Miami Rhapsody	Leslie
1996	Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco	Delilah	Voice
1996	War at Home, TheThe War at Home	Melissa
1996	Wedding Bell Blues	Violet
1996	Michael	Bride
1997	Lovelife	Amy
1998	Jaded	Megan 'Meg' Harris
1998	Snake Eyes	Julia Costello
1998	Judas Kiss	Coco Chavez
1999	Bonne Nuit	Carol Reeves	Television film
1999	Season for Miracles, AA Season for Miracles	Emilie Thompson	Television film
2001	Spy Kids	Ingrid Cortez
2001	The Centre of the World	Jerri
2001	The Jimmy Show	Annie O'Brien
2001	The One	T.K. / Massie Walsh
2001	She Creature	Lily	Television film
2002	Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams	Ingrid Cortez
2003	The Singing Detective	Betty Dark / Hooker
2003	Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over	Ingrid Cortez
2005	The Life Coach	Carla
2005	Sin City	Lucille
2006	Even Money	Veronica
2006	Night at the Museum	Rebecca
2007	The Lookout	Janet
2007	Rise: Blood Hunter	Eve
2007	American Gangster	Laurie Roberts
2008	Righteous Kill	Karen Corelli
2009	The Unborn	Janet Beldon
2009	Sparks	Robin	Short film
2009	Watchmen	Sally Jupiter / Silk Spectre
2009	Race to Witch Mountain	Dr. Alex Friedman
2009	The Mighty Macs	Cathy Rush
2009	Women in Trouble	Elektra Luxx
2009	Under the Hood	Sally Jupiter / Silk Spectre	Short film
2009	Apocrypha	Woman	Short film
2010	Elektra Luxx	Elektra Luxx / Celia	Credited as "Taryn Gugino"
2010	Tell-Tale	Femme Fatale	Short film
2010	Every Day	Robin
2010	Faster	Cicero
2011	I Melt with You	Officer Boyde
2011	Girl Walks into a Bar	Francine Driver
2011	Hide	D.D. Warren	Television film
2011	Sucker Punch	Dr. Vera Gorski
2011	Mr. Popper's Penguins	Amanda
2011	New Year's Eve	Spiritual Dr. Morriset	Segment: "Maternity Ward"
2012	Hotel Noir	Hanna Click
2013	By Virtue Fall	Actress
2013	Man of Steel	Kelor	Voice
2014	Match	Lisa Davis
2015	San Andreas	Emma Gaines
2016	Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice	Ship	Voice
2016	Wolves	Jenny Keller
2016	Bling	Catherine	Voice
2017	The Space Between Us	Kendra Wyndham
2017	Gerald's Game	Jessie
2018	Elizabeth Harvest	Claire
2021	Zack Snyder's Justice League	Ship	Voice
2021	With/In: Volume 2	Writer	Segment: "20 Questions"
2021	Gunpowder Milkshake	Madeleine
2024	Lisa Frankenstein	TBA	Post-production
TBA	Veo Veo A Family	Sandra	Short film; post-production
TBA	Heads of State	TBA	Filming

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1988	Webster	Heather	Episode: "Homecoming"
1988	Good Morning, Miss Bliss	Karen	1 episode
1988	Who's the Boss?	Jane	Episode: "Prom Night II"
1988	Saved by the Bell	Karen	Episode: "Summer Love"
1989	ALF	Laura	Episode: "Standing in the Shadows of Love"
1989–1990	Falcon Crest	Sydney St. James	11 episodes
1990	American Dreamer	Young Jessica	Miniseries
1990	Ferris Bueller	Ann Peyson	Episode: "Stand-In Deliver"
1991	Doogie Howser, M.D.	Sara Newman	Episode: "Planet of the Dateless"
1991	Wonder Years, TheThe Wonder Years	Sandy	Episode: "Triangle"
1992	Quantum Leap	Michelle Temple Cutter	Episode: "Ghost Ship – August 13, 1956"
1992	Davis Rules	Kathi	2 episodes
1994	Rebel Highway	Leann Morris	1 episode
1995	The Buccaneers	Nan St. George	Miniseries
1996, 1998	Spin City	Ashley Schaeffer	Main role (13 episodes)
1999	Hotel Alexandria	Unknown	Miniseries
1999–2000	Chicago Hope	Dr. Gina Simon	23 episodes
2003	Karen Sisco	Karen Sisco	Miniseries
2005–2006	Threshold	Dr. Molly Anne Caffrey	13 episodes
2007–2010	Entourage	Amanda Daniels	12 episodes
2011	Californication	Abby Rhodes	10 episodes
2012	Justified	A.D. Karen Goodall	Episode: "Cut Ties"
2012	Political Animals	Susan Berg	Miniseries
2012	New Girl	Emma	3 episodes
2015–2016	Wayward Pines	Kate Hewson	11 episodes
2015	The Brink	Joanne "Jo" Larson	Miniseries
2016	Roadies	Shelli Anderson	Miniseries
2017	Nashville	Virginia	Episode: "If Tomorrow Never Comes"
2018	Robot Chicken	Joyce Byers / Meg Altman	Voice, episode: "Mr. Mozzarella's Hamburger Skateboard Depot"
2018	The Haunting of Hill House	Olivia Crain	Miniseries
2019	Jett	Daisy "Jett" Kowalski	Miniseries
2020	Manhunt: Deadly Games	Kathy Scruggs	6 episodes
2020	The Haunting of Bly Manor	The Storyteller / Older Jamie	Miniseries
2021	Midnight Mass	Judge	Miniseries
2021	Leopard Skin	Alba Fontana	Miniseries
2023	The Fall of the House of Usher	Verna	Miniseries
TBA	The Girls on the Bus	Grace Gordon Greene	Main role

Key

Denotes works that have not yet been released

Music videos

Accolades

In 2009, Gugino was honored by the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF). During the Foundation's 34th Anniversary Gala in Washington, D.C., she received NIAF's Special Achievement Award for Entertainment, presented by her close friend, actress Connie Britton.

See also

In Spanish: Carla Gugino para niños