Danielle Harris facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Danielle Harris
Harris in 2014
Born	(1977-06-01) June 1, 1977 (age 48) Plainview, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Actress director producer
Years active	1985–present
Spouse(s)	David Gross ​ (m. 2014)​
Children	2

Danielle Harris (born June 1, 1977) is an American actress and filmmaker. She is famous for her roles in many horror movies, which has earned her the nickname "scream queen". A scream queen is an actress known for playing characters who often scream in scary situations.

Harris is well-known for appearing in four movies from the Halloween series. She played Jamie Lloyd in Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988) and Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989). She later returned to the series to play a different character, Annie Brackett, in Halloween (2007) and Halloween II (2009).

Besides horror movies, Harris started her career as a child actress. She appeared in popular films like Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead (1991), The Last Boy Scout (1991), and Free Willy (1993). Many people also know her as the voice of Debbie Thornberry in the animated TV show The Wild Thornberrys.

Early Life

Danielle Harris was born in Plainview, New York. She was raised by her mother, Fran, along with her sister, Ashley. When she was in elementary school in Florida, she won a beauty contest. The prize was a ten-day trip to New York City.

During her trip, she was offered modeling jobs. However, she turned them down because they were too far from her home in Florida. Later, her mother's job moved the family back to New York. There, Harris began working as a model and started appearing in TV commercials.

Acting Career

First Roles and Halloween

In 1985, when she was seven years old, Harris was cast as Samantha "Sammi" Garretson on the TV soap opera One Life to Live. She stayed on the show for three years.

After her early TV work, she auditioned for the role of Jamie Lloyd in Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers. She won the part and the movie came out in 1988. She returned for the sequel, Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers, the next year. Her performance as the scared but brave Jamie was praised by critics.

Looking back on making scary movies as a child, Harris said it was fun. She explained, "I knew we were making a movie and I knew that it was make believe... In between takes we would joke around and it was just fun."

1990s: Movies and Voice Acting

Harris signing autographs at a fan convention in 2008.

Throughout the 1990s, Harris acted in many movies and TV shows. In 1991, she starred in the comedy Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead. That same year, she played Darian Hallenbeck in the action movie The Last Boy Scout with Bruce Willis.

From 1992 to 1993, she had a recurring role as Molly Tilden on the popular sitcom Roseanne. In 1993, she appeared in the family movie Free Willy as the character Gwenie.

Her most famous role from this time was as a voice actress. Starting in 1998, she voiced the cool older sister, Debbie Thornberry, in the Nickelodeon cartoon The Wild Thornberrys. The show was about a family that traveled the world, and the main character, Eliza, could talk to animals. The show was very popular and ran for five seasons.

Return to Halloween and Other Roles

In the early 2000s, Harris continued to voice Debbie Thornberry in movies based on the show, including The Wild Thornberrys Movie (2002) and Rugrats Go Wild (2003).

In 2007, she returned to the Halloween series in Rob Zombie's remake of the original film. This time, she played a new character named Annie Brackett. She played Annie again in the 2009 sequel, Halloween II.

This return to horror movies led to many more roles in the genre. She starred in the Hatchet series as the main character, Marybeth, starting with Hatchet II in 2010. She also appeared in the vampire movie Stake Land (2010) and See No Evil 2 (2014).

Directing and Recent Work

Harris in a 2010 promotional image for the film Godkiller.

In 2013, Harris directed her first movie, a horror-comedy called Among Friends. She has continued to act in many films and TV shows. In 2019, she had a small role in Quentin Tarantino's movie Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

In 2021, she started a podcast with her friend and Halloween co-star Scout Taylor-Compton. The podcast is called Talk Scary to Me, where they discuss horror movies and their experiences.

Personal Life

In 2013, Harris got engaged to David Gross. They were married in Hawaii on January 4, 2014. The couple has two sons, born in 2017 and 2018.

When she was a teenager, Harris had a problem with an obsessed fan. The fan sent her many messages and bothered her. She took legal action to get a restraining order, which is a court order to keep someone away, to ensure her safety.

Selected Film and TV Roles

See also

In Spanish: Danielle Harris para niños