BIOGRAPHY

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Rhona was born in Paddington on August 9, 1976. Her father, a surgeon named Anthony, and her mother, Nora, raised Rhona and her two brothers (one older, one younger) as Catholics. Anthony and Nora separated when Rhona was six, divorced when she was eight. Growing up with two brothers, Rhona was very much a tomboy doing gymnastics, javelin, hockey, and horse riding. But eventually, Rhona left London for Shaftesbury to attend St. Mary’s, a convent school; a decision she says was hers. Rhona was a mischievous student and was expelled for stealing communion wine. She was sent to Roedean, where she was asked to leave. (Rhona maintains she was blamed for things the other girls did.)

After returning to London, Rhona entered the club scene where drugs and drinking, though nothing hard, and odd jobs dominated her life for four years. Rhona lost interest in partying and enrolled in a three-year program at a prestigious drama school. But Rhona decided to leave after a year; she found herself labeled, thought the process was a bit pretentious, and just wanted to work. She found work right away, doing plays, Lara Croft and several television spots. But she found roles to be a bit ‘thin on the ground’ since she’s not a classic English Rose, and so she moved to America and was cast on hit series Party of Five (1999) within two weeks.

After filming a half season worth of episodes as English medical student Holly Marie Beggins, Rhona was cast in Beowulf. Originally warned away from the project, Rhona traveled to Romania to play Kyra, a princess trapped inside a castle. Rhona followed that with a role as a beautiful assassin on Secret Agent Man. Get Carter saw Rhona as a seedy criminal opposite Sylvester Stallone and Alan Cumming. Rhona made another big commitment by signing onto Gideon’s Crossing, a medical drama set in a Boston hospital, as Jewish Latina Dr. Alejandra Klein. Briefly returning to England, Rhona, a big fan of Sacha Baron Cohen, snagged a role in smash-hit Ali G Indahouse. She followed that with another hit, Sweet Home Alabama, a comedy starring Reese Witherspoon. Switching genres, Rhona was cast as Molly Poole in thriller Highwaymen, a remake of the classic about a serial killer. Next came The Life of David Gale, a Kevin Spacey/Kate Winslet drama about the death penalty in which Rhona has a small but important role as Berlin. Squeezing in one more comedy, Rhona filmed a brief role in Stuck On You with Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear. Somewhere in that busy schedule, she managed to buy and renovate a beautiful home in Los Angeles. Rhona described creating her home, which is near Venice Beach, as ‘poignant’.

While on Gideon’s Crossing, Rhona must’ve caught someone’s attention because she followed guest star Camryn Manheim to The Practice shortly after Gideon’s Crossing was cancelled. Rhona, along with William Shatner and James Spader, was brought in to shake up the final season of the wildly successful legal drama- and to star in the spin-off comedy Boston Legal. It was a successful move, and Rhona’s character Tara Wilson – a sharp-minded and witty paralegal – proved something of a fan favorite, as did her excellent chemistry with James Spader. But after a year and a half, Rhona departed the series. During this time, Rhona filmed a television movie called Spartacus. Rhona played Varinia, the wife of the titular character played by ER’s Goran Visnjic, and narrated the film.

2005 saw Rhona guest star on popular and controversial drama Nip/Tuck. The show, known for it’s frank depictions of sex, violence, and surgery, didn’t hold anything back during Rhona’s story arc. Playing an English detective tracking a serial rapist/mutilator named Kit McGraw, Rhona participated in one of the shows most written about and shocking seasons. Foursomes, eunuchs, murder, rape- Rhona fondly recalls her time on the show. Eventually, Rhona took a role in Canadian werewolf film Skinwalkers. Following that was The Number 23, a thriller starring Jim Carrey, and Shooter in which she played FBI Special Agent Alourdes Galindo.

Rhona was picked to play Major Eden Sinclair, a hardened Scottish-born special soldier living in Britain following an epidemic that leaves the country shunned by the rest of the world. After reports of survivors emerge, a team of soldiers led by Sinclair enters walled-off Scotland hoping to find a cure. Instead, they encounter a cannibalistic society of marauders and those who’ve taken refuge in the medieval castles. Shortly before filming began, Rhona’s mother died. Rhona has said that the aspect of the film that attracted her most was Sinclair’s search for her own mother. The film, titled Doomsday, turned Rhona into something of a cult favorite. While critics had mixed feelings about the film, fans certainly didn’t about Rhona. If an action/fantasy film was announced, Rhona’s name was suggested on forum boards and blogs across the internet.

Rhona’s most high-profile role to date came in Underworld: Rise of The Lycans. Rhona initially had no interest in the part of Sonja, believing she was being brought in as a replacement for the franchise’s previous leading lady Kate Beckinsale. But the studio head and the producer met with Rhona to convince her it would be a separate film and a separate role, and she agreed to sign on. When it was announced that Rhona would be playing Sonja, the internet buzzed and six thousand fans swarmed Comic Con, the largest crowd that year.

After back-to-back action films, Rhona took the role of Barbara Adkins in Stolen Lives. The mystery film sees Rhona as a bereaved mother trying to come to terms with the loss of her son. Rhona then played Katrien, a married cellist falling for another man, in relationship dramedy Separation City. Next came Rhona’s first comedy film in six years: Re-Uniting The Rubins. The film is about a dysfunctional Jewish family trying to reunite following the death of its matriarch.