Sasha Alexander facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sasha Alexander
Alexander in 2012
Born	Suzana Drobnjakovic (1973-05-17) May 17, 1973 (age 52) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Southern California
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1997–present
Known for	Caitlin Todd in NCIS Maura Isles in Rizzoli & Isles
Spouse(s)	Luka Pecel ​ ​ (m. 1999; annulled 2003)​ Edoardo Ponti ​ ​ (m. 2007)​
Children	2
Relatives	Carlo Ponti (father-in-law) Sophia Loren (mother-in-law) Carlo Ponti Jr. (brother-in-law)

Suzana Drobnjakovic (Serbian Cyrillic: Сузана Дробњаковић), known as Sasha Alexander, is an American actress and TV director. She was born on May 17, 1973. Sasha is famous for her roles in popular TV shows.

She played Gretchen Witter in Dawson's Creek. She also appeared in movies like Yes Man (2008) and He's Just Not That Into You (2009). Sasha Alexander was a main character, Caitlin Todd, in the first two seasons of NCIS (2003–2005). From 2010 to 2016, she starred as Maura Isles in the TNT series Rizzoli & Isles. She also had a regular role in Shameless during 2015–2016.

Early Life and Education

Sasha Alexander was born Suzana Drobnjakovic in Los Angeles, California. Her family background is Serbian. She started acting in school plays when she was in seventh grade.

Sasha was also a talented ice skater. However, she had to stop skating because of a knee injury. She kept acting through high school and college. After that, she moved to New York City to perform in summer theater and Shakespeare plays. She went to the University of Southern California's School of Cinema-Television.

Acting Career Highlights

Sasha Alexander began her acting career in a few TV series. These included the medical drama Presidio Med and the drama Wasteland.

Rising to Fame

She became widely known when she joined the fourth season of Dawson's Creek. She played Gretchen Witter, who was the sister of Pacey Witter. Her character also dated the main character, Dawson. Sasha Alexander also appeared in an episode of the comedy series Greg the Bunny.

Movie Roles

Alexander acted in several films. These include Lucky 13 and All Over the Guy. She also appeared in He's Just Not That Into You as Catherine. Other movie roles include the independent film The Last Lullaby and Yes Man with Jim Carrey. She played Lucy in Yes Man.

Television Guest Appearances

Sasha Alexander has made guest appearances on many popular TV shows. She was District Attorney Robin Childs in an episode of CSI called "Alter Boys". She also appeared in an episode of Friends titled "The One with Joey's Interview". In Friends, she played a reporter who interviewed Joey Tribbiani.

Starring in NCIS

Sasha Alexander joined the cast of NCIS in 2003. She played Secret Service/NCIS Special Agent Caitlin "Kate" Todd. Her character took the place of Vivian Blackadder. The first official episode of NCIS, "Yankee White", aired on September 23, 2003.

Departure from NCIS

Alexander was on the show for two years. Her time on NCIS ended in May 2005. Her character, Kate, was killed by a terrorist in the final moments of the second season finale, "Twilight".

Sasha Alexander explained that she left the show because the work was very physically demanding. After NCIS, her roles in other TV series had fewer episodes. These new roles also required less physical effort. She returned as a special guest star in the two-part episode "Kill Ari". Her character, Caitlin Todd, also appeared in a "what if" scene for the 200th NCIS episode in 2012. This appearance used old footage.

Rizzoli & Isles and Other Roles

From 2010 to 2016, Sasha Alexander starred in the TNT series Rizzoli & Isles. She played Dr. Maura Isles for seven seasons. Dr. Isles was the Chief Medical Examiner for Massachusetts. She worked closely with the Boston Police Department. Alexander co-starred with Angie Harmon, who played Boston Homicide Detective Jane Rizzoli. Their characters were best friends on the show.

Shameless and Recent Work

In 2015, Alexander began a recurring role on Showtime's Shameless. She played Helene Runyon, a college professor. Her character had a close relationship with Lip Gallagher. This relationship caused problems in season six (2016).

In 2018, Alexander acted alongside Ludacris in the drama film The Ride. She also guest-starred in an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit called "Caretaker". In 2020, Alexander played Detective Chesler in the Netflix movie Dangerous Lies.

Since 2020, she has voiced the character Addie in the animated web-series Deathstroke: Knights & Dragons. In 2021, Sasha Alexander directed an episode of the Netflix show You called "Red Flag". She also directed an episode of Bull in 2022.

Personal Life

Sasha Alexander married Luka Pecel on September 18, 1999, but their marriage was later ended. She then married director Edoardo Ponti in 2007. Edoardo is the younger son of famous actress Sophia Loren and film producer Carlo Ponti.

Sasha and Edoardo have two children: a daughter named Lucia and a son named Leonardo. Actress Jessica Capshaw is Lucia's godmother. Sasha Alexander can speak English, Serbian, Italian, and some French.

Filmography

Film Roles

Television Roles

As Director

As Producer

Awards and Recognition

See also

In Spanish: Sasha Alexander para niños