Anastasia Baranova is a Russian-American actress, best known for her starring role as Jennifer "Scout" Lauer on the television series Scout's Safari

Scout's Safari

Scout's Safari is a children's television series that aired on the Discovery Kids Channel and Saturday mornings on NBC. The series was created by Thomas W...

.

Biography

Baranova was born in Moscow

Moscow

Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

, Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

, in what was then part of the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

. As a child, she began modeling in Moscow. In 1998, Baranova and her mother, Ata, moved from Russia to Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

 in the United States, where she continued to model. In 2000, mother and daughter moved to California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, where Baranova began her acting career. To learn the English language, she used the JumpStart

JumpStart

JumpStart is an educational media franchise for children, consisting mostly of educational games, produced by Knowledge Adventure. The series is distributed as Jump Ahead in the United Kingdom...

CD-ROM series and took speech and singing classes. She is fluent in both Russian and English.

, she lives in Los Angeles, California, and attends Chapman University

Chapman University

Chapman University is a private, non-profit university located in Orange, California affiliated with the Christian Church . Known for its blend of liberal arts and professional programs, Chapman University encompasses seven schools and colleges: Lawrence and Kristina Dodge College of Film and Media...

.

Career

Baranova began her acting career in 2002 with a small speaking role on the Disney Channel

Disney Channel

Disney Channel is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company. It is under the direction of Disney-ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney. The channel's headquarters is located on West Alameda Ave. in...

 series Lizzie McGuire

Lizzie McGuire

Lizzie McGuire is an American teen sitcom which premiered on the Disney Channel on January 12, 2001 and ended February 14, 2004. A total of 65 episodes were produced and aired. Its target demographic was preteens and adolescents...

. She then won the lead role for the Discovery Kids

Discovery Kids

Discovery Kids is an American website owned by Discovery Communications, Inc. created for children. Until October 10, 2010, it was an American digital cable specialty channel, owned by Discovery Communications with television programming for education of children. It was launched in October 1996...

/NBC

NBC

The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

 television series Scout's Safari

Scout's Safari

Scout's Safari is a children's television series that aired on the Discovery Kids Channel and Saturday mornings on NBC. The series was created by Thomas W...

, playing the character Jennifer Lauer. Filming began in July 2002, and primarily took place at locations around South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

. The series ran from October 2002 to February 2004, lasting two seasons and 26 episodes.

Baranova has had one- or two-episode appearances on several television series, including Joan of Arcadia

Joan of Arcadia

Joan of Arcadia is an American television fantasy/family drama telling the story of teenager Joan Girardi , who sees and speaks with God and performs tasks she is given. The series originally aired on Fridays, 8-9 p.m...

, Veronica Mars

Veronica Mars

Veronica Mars is an American television series created by Rob Thomas. The series premiered on September 22, 2004, during television network UPN's final two years, and ended on May 22, 2007, after a season on UPN's successor, The CW Television Network. Veronica Mars was produced by Warner Bros...

, Drake & Josh

Drake & Josh

Drake & Josh is an American sitcom that premiered on the Nickelodeon television network on January 11, 2004, which follows the lives of two stepbrothers. It stars Drake Bell and Josh Peck as stepbrothers Drake Parker and Josh Nichols, respectively. Both actors had played roles in The Amanda Show,...

, 7th Heaven

7th Heaven

7th Heaven is an American family drama television series, created and produced by Brenda Hampton. The series premiered on August 26, 1996, on the WB, the first time that the network aired Monday night programming, and was originally broadcast from August 26, 1996 to May 13, 2007...

, and Malcolm in the Middle

Malcolm in the Middle

Malcolm in the Middle is an American television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for the Fox Network. The series was first broadcast on January 9, 2000, and ended its six-and-a-half-year run on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes...

. She also appeared in the 2007 film Rise: Blood Hunter. In 2010, she made an appearance on the HDNet

HDNet

HDNet is a men's interest television channel in the United States, broadcasting exclusively in high-definition format and available via cable and satellite television...

 series Svetlana

Svetlana (TV series)

Svetlana is a comedy series starring Israeli-American comedienne Iris Bahr. It premiered on HDNet on May 27, 2010.-Plot:Svetlana is a woman of indeterminate age who arrived in Minnesota from the former Soviet Union as a mail-order bride. After leaving her husband Steve, she moves to Los Angeles...

.

She is a graduate of the Los Angeles-based school The Acting Corps.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2002	Lizzie McGuire Lizzie McGuire Lizzie McGuire is an American teen sitcom which premiered on the Disney Channel on January 12, 2001 and ended February 14, 2004. A total of 65 episodes were produced and aired. Its target demographic was preteens and adolescents...	Cara Gunther	Episode: "Over the Hill"
2002–2004	Scout's Safari Scout's Safari Scout's Safari is a children's television series that aired on the Discovery Kids Channel and Saturday mornings on NBC. The series was created by Thomas W...	Jennifer "Scout" Lauer	Series lead
2004	Joan of Arcadia Joan of Arcadia Joan of Arcadia is an American television fantasy/family drama telling the story of teenager Joan Girardi , who sees and speaks with God and performs tasks she is given. The series originally aired on Fridays, 8-9 p.m...	Exchange Student	Episode: "No Bad Guy"
2004–2005	Veronica Mars Veronica Mars Veronica Mars is an American television series created by Rob Thomas. The series premiered on September 22, 2004, during television network UPN's final two years, and ended on May 22, 2007, after a season on UPN's successor, The CW Television Network. Veronica Mars was produced by Warner Bros...	Lizzie Manning	Episodes: "Like a Virgin", "Green-Eyed Monster"
2005	Drake & Josh Drake & Josh Drake & Josh is an American sitcom that premiered on the Nickelodeon television network on January 11, 2004, which follows the lives of two stepbrothers. It stars Drake Bell and Josh Peck as stepbrothers Drake Parker and Josh Nichols, respectively. Both actors had played roles in The Amanda Show,...	Yooka	Episode: "We're Married"
2005	7th Heaven 7th Heaven 7th Heaven is an American family drama television series, created and produced by Brenda Hampton. The series premiered on August 26, 1996, on the WB, the first time that the network aired Monday night programming, and was originally broadcast from August 26, 1996 to May 13, 2007...	Lizzie Wheeler	Episode: "Ring Around the Rosie"
2005	Malcolm in the Middle Malcolm in the Middle Malcolm in the Middle is an American television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for the Fox Network. The series was first broadcast on January 9, 2000, and ended its six-and-a-half-year run on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes...	Sonja	Episode: "Blackout"
2007	Rise: Blood Hunter	Teen girl	Film
2010	Svetlana Svetlana (TV series) Svetlana is a comedy series starring Israeli-American comedienne Iris Bahr. It premiered on HDNet on May 27, 2010.-Plot:Svetlana is a woman of indeterminate age who arrived in Minnesota from the former Soviet Union as a mail-order bride. After leaving her husband Steve, she moves to Los Angeles...	Nastya	Episode: "Wish Fulfillment"
2011	Apocalypse, CA Apocalypse, CA Apocalypse, CA is a forthcoming American comedy movie. Written and directed by Chad Peter, the movie stars Nick Mathis, Erin Bodine and Anne McDaniels.- Plot :...	Giant interviewee 2	Film
2011	Rise of Nightmares Rise of Nightmares Rise of Nightmares is a survival horror video game developed and published by Sega for the Xbox 360. The game was revealed at the 2010 Tokyo Game Show, and is designed specifically for Kinect. It is the first M-rated Kinect game released....	Sacha / Tasha	Video game

External links