Early life

Phoenix was born in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal

Durban

Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...

, South Africa to a family of Irish and Dutch descent. Her father, a Quantum Mechanics lecturer and former skydiver, is a descendant of 19th century immigrants from Tullylish

Tullylish

Tullylish is a small village and townland in County Down, Northern Ireland. It sits on the River Bann, along the main road between the towns of Banbridge and Portadown. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 105 people...

, Ireland. Growing up, Phoenix excelled at a variety of activities, including dance, athletics, and music. At an early age, she was enrolled in a ballet class at the behest of her mother; it lasted for 10 years.

Modelling career

Phoenix started her career at the age of 15 and has starred in (and is the face of) commercials for American Swiss Jewellery, Nivea

Nivea

Nivea is a global skin- and body-care brand that is owned by the German company Beiersdorf. The company was founded on March 28 1882 by pharmacist Carl Paul Beiersdorf. In 1900, the new owner Oskar Troplowitz developed a water-in-oil emulsion as a skin cream with Eucerit, the first stable emulsion...

, Alberto VO5, multi-billion dollar Aria (Casino) (Las Vegas), Transitions lenses, Volvic

Volvic (mineral water)

Volvic is a brand of mineral water. Its source lies just to the north of the Puy de Dôme. The water's distinctive mineral content is due to the nearby volcano which last erupted in 5760 BC....

 and Veet

Veet

Veet, formerly called Neet and Immac, is a current trademark of chemical depilatory internationally-sold products manufactured by Reckitt Benckiser Hair removal creams, mousses and gels, and waxes are produced under this brand...

. She worked as an international fashion model for Munich Models, Why Not Model Agency - Milan, Model Management - Hamburg, Ice Model Management - Cape Town and Success Models - Paris. In September 2005, 2006 and in 2010, she was the cover girl of Cosmopolitan

Cosmopolitan (magazine)

Cosmopolitan is an international magazine for women. It was first published in 1886 in the United States as a family magazine, was later transformed into a literary magazine and eventually became a women's magazine in the late 1960s...

magazine. She has also known as a daredevil after she starred in the European TV ad for Fa showergel, skydiving topless from the heavens. She was then chosen to be the cover girl in the German men's magazine Maxim

Maxim (magazine)

Maxim is an international men's magazine based in the United Kingdom and known for its pictorials featuring popular actresses, singers, and female models, sometimes pictured dressed, often pictured scantily dressed but not fully nude....

and then the cover girl for American Maxim the year after. Tanit has also been on the covers of men's magazine FHM and frequently been shot for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue

Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue

The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue is published annually by Sports Illustrated. It features fashion models wearing swimwear in exotic locales. According to some, the magazine is the arbiter of supermodel succession. In addition, the issue is a media nexus that in 2005 carried in advertising....

, Marie Claire

Marie Claire

Marie Claire is a monthly women's magazine first published in France but also distributed in other countries with editions specific to them and in their languages. While each country shares its own special voice with its audience, the United States edition focuses on women around the world and...

, Shape and GQ magazines.

Acting career

Phoenix began her acting career with a brief appearance as one of Jared Leto's

Jared Leto

Jared Joseph Leto is an American actor, director, producer, occasional model and musician. Leto has appeared in both big budget Hollywood films and smaller projects from independent producers and art houses. He rose to prominence for playing Jordan Catalano in the teenage drama My So-Called Life...

 girlfriends in Lord of War

Lord of War

Lord of War is a 2005 French-German-American action drama film written and directed by Andrew Niccol and starring Nicolas Cage. It was released in the United States on September 16, 2005, with the DVD following on January 17, 2006 and the Blu-ray Disc on July 27, 2006.Cage plays an illegal arms...

, and had her second role the Canadian mystery series Charlie Jade

Charlie Jade

Charlie Jade is a science fiction television program filmed mainly in Cape Town, South Africa. It stars Jeffrey Pierce in the title role, as a detective from a parallel universe who finds himself trapped in our universe. This is a Canadian and South African co-production filmed in conjunction with...

as Malachi's associate in the episode "Things Unseen", then the following year starred opposite Wesley Snipes

Wesley Snipes

Wesley Trent Snipes is an American actor, film producer, and martial artist, who has starred in numerous action films, thrillers, and dramatic feature films. Snipes is known for playing the Marvel Comics character Blade in the Blade film trilogy, among various other high profile roles...

 in the horror film

Horror film

Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...

 Gallowwalker

Gallowwalker

Gallowwalker is an horror western film directed by Andrew Goth and starring Wesley Snipes, Riley Smith and Tanit Phoenix. Co-stars include wrestler Diamond Dallas Page. Shooting has been completed, but the release date is still unknown.- Plot :...

. In 2010, she starred in the horror film Lost Boys: The Thirst

Lost Boys: The Thirst

Lost Boys: The Thirst is a 2010 horror film directed by Dario Piana and stars Corey Feldman, Tanit Phoenix and Jamison Newlander. It is the second sequel to the 1987 vampire horror film The Lost Boys.-Plot:...

and the action

Action film

Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...

 film Death Race: Frankenstein Lives

Death Race: Frankenstein Lives

Death Race 2 is a film directed by Dutch filmmaker Roel Reiné, written by Tony Giglio and Paul W. S. Anderson, and starring Luke Goss, Ving Rhames, Tanit Phoenix, Danny Trejo and Sean Bean...

opposite Sean Bean

Sean Bean

Shaun Mark "Sean" Bean is an English film and stage actor. Bean is best known for playing Boromir in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and, previously, British Colonel Richard Sharpe in the ITV television series Sharpe...

, Ving Rhames

Ving Rhames

Irving Rameses "Ving" Rhames is an American actor best known for his work in Bringing Out the Dead, Pulp Fiction, Baby Boy, Don King: Only in America, and the Mission: Impossible film series.-Early life and education:...

 and Danny Trejo

Danny Trejo

Dan "Danny" Trejo is an American actor who has appeared in numerous Hollywood films, most notably in roles as an antagonist, or anti-hero.-Early life:...

. Tanit has just completed filming the comedy

Comedy

Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...

 Spud

Spud (film)

Spud is a South African film directed by Donovan Marsh, based on the novel of the same name by John van de Ruit. The film stars Troye Sivan as the title character. It was released in South Africa on 3 December 2010.-Plot:...

opposite John Cleese

John Cleese

John Marwood Cleese is an English actor, comedian, writer, and film producer. He achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report...

 in South Africa. Phoenix is currently in Los Angeles, filming a 13-part contemporary film noir series, season 1 and 2 of Femme Fatales

Femme Fatales (TV series)

Femme Fatales is an anthology TV series based on the men's magazine of the same name and produced by Cinemax.-Episodes:-External links:*...

, for Cinemax

Cinemax

Cinemax, sometimes abbreviated as simply "Max", is a collection of premium television networks that broadcasts primarily feature films, along with softcore erotica, original action series, documentaries and special behind-the-scenes features. Cinemax is operated by Home Box Office, Inc., a...

/HBO, where she has been cast as lead actress, and in Safehouse

Safe House (2012 film)

Safe House is an upcoming action thriller film directed by Daniel Espinosa, starring Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds. It is set for release on February 10, 2012 in North America by Universal Pictures. Filming took place in Cape Town, South Africa...

where she has a minor role alongside Denzel Washington

Denzel Washington

Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. is an American actor, screenwriter, director, and film producer. He first rose to prominence when he joined the cast of the medical drama, St. Elsewhere, playing Dr...

 and Ryan Reynolds

Ryan Reynolds

Ryan Rodney Reynolds is a Canadian film and television actor, best known for his roles in such films as National Lampoon's Van Wilder, Waiting..., The Amityville Horror, Just Friends, Definitely, Maybe, The Proposal, Buried, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and Green Lantern.One of his best known...

.

Phoenix was a finalist for the title role in the TV series version of Wonder Woman, but lost the role to actress Adrianne Palicki

Adrianne Palicki

Adrianne Palicki is an American actress best known for her role as Tyra Collette on the NBC television series Friday Night Lights.-Early life:...

.

Filmography

Year	Film	Credited as
		Actress	Role
2005	Lord of War Lord of War Lord of War is a 2005 French-German-American action drama film written and directed by Andrew Niccol and starring Nicolas Cage. It was released in the United States on September 16, 2005, with the DVD following on January 17, 2006 and the Blu-ray Disc on July 27, 2006.Cage plays an illegal arms...		Candy
	Crazy Monkey Presents Straight Outta Benoni		Megan Alba
2008	Maya		Alexandria
2010	Gallowwalker Gallowwalker Gallowwalker is an horror western film directed by Andrew Goth and starring Wesley Snipes, Riley Smith and Tanit Phoenix. Co-stars include wrestler Diamond Dallas Page. Shooting has been completed, but the release date is still unknown.- Plot :...		Angel
	Lost Boys: The Thirst Lost Boys: The Thirst Lost Boys: The Thirst is a 2010 horror film directed by Dario Piana and stars Corey Feldman, Tanit Phoenix and Jamison Newlander. It is the second sequel to the 1987 vampire horror film The Lost Boys.-Plot:...		Gwen Lieber
	Spud Spud (film) Spud is a South African film directed by Donovan Marsh, based on the novel of the same name by John van de Ruit. The film stars Troye Sivan as the title character. It was released in South Africa on 3 December 2010.-Plot:...		Eve Wilson
	Vauxhall Crossed		MI6 Officer Daisy Scarlett
2011	Death Race 2		Katrina Banks
2012	Safehouse Safe House (2012 film) Safe House is an upcoming action thriller film directed by Daniel Espinosa, starring Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds. It is set for release on February 10, 2012 in North America by Universal Pictures. Filming took place in Cape Town, South Africa...

Television

Year	Title
2008	Charlie Jade as Malachi's associate #1
2009	The Philanthropist The Philanthropist (TV series) The Philanthropist is an American action drama series that premiered on NBC on Wednesday, June 24, 2009. The program is a limited summer series, principally filmed in South Africa. It opened to strong ratings, but saw a drop in viewers in subsequent weeks. The Philanthropist is a Carnival Films...  as Lap Dancer
2011	Femme Fatales Femme Fatales (TV series) Femme Fatales is an anthology TV series based on the men's magazine of the same name and produced by Cinemax.-Episodes:-External links:*...  as Lilith

External links

• Official site