Biographies: Vinessa Shaw - Actor

Biographies

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Vinessa Shaw is an American actress and model best known for playing Max's crush and co-adventurer in Disney's 1993 classic "Hocus Pocus," an HIV-positive prostitute opposite Tom Cruise in Kubrick's "Eyes Wide Shut" (1999) and Josh Hartnett's manipulative ex-girlfriend in "40 Days and 40 Nights" (2002). Shaw was born in Los Angeles, California, on July 19, 1976, to Larry Shaw and actress Susan Damante-Shaw. She attended Barnard College in New York City, but dropped out to pursue acting. After "Hocus Pocus," Shaw acted in mostly independent films throughout the 1990s. Her film credits include "The Hills Have Eyes" (2006), "3:10 to Yuma" (2007), "Two Lovers" (2008) with Joaquin Phoenix and Gwenyth Paltrow, "Big Miracle" (2012) and Soderbergh's "Side Effects" (2013). Shaw was raised a Buddhist and is an adherent of the Nichiren Buddhist philosophy.

• 4 April 2013
• Ines Farag