Kristin Bauer van Straten ( Neubauer) is an American film and television actress, notable for her roles as vampire

Pamela Swynford De Beaufort Pamela Ravenscroft, known as Pamela Swynford De Beaufort in '' True Blood'', is a fictional character from '' The Southern Vampire Mysteries'' by author Charlaine Harris. She is a vampire, created by Eric Northman and co-owner of ''Fangtasia'' ...

on the HBO television series ''

True Blood ''True Blood'' is an American fantasy horror drama television series produced and created by Alan Ball. It is based on '' The Southern Vampire Mysteries'', a series of novels by Charlaine Harris. A reboot is currently in development. The ser ...

'', Jerry's girlfriend Gillian ("man hands") on ''

Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as a fictionalized version of himself and ...

'', and as Maleficent in the ABC series '' Once Upon a Time''.

Personal life

Bauer van Straten was born Kristin Neubauer in

Racine, Wisconsin Racine ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Racine County, Wisconsin, United States. It is located on the shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Root River. Racine is situated 22 miles (35 km) south of Milwaukee and approximately 60 ...

. She is of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

descent. During childhood, she played sports, rode horses, and fired shotguns. She graduated from The Prairie School in Wind Point. Bauer van Straten studied

fine arts In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwor ...

at Washington University in St. Louis, as well as in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

and at

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

’s

Parsons The New School for Design Parsons School of Design, known colloquially as Parsons, is a private art and design college located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. Founded in 1896 after a group of progressive artists broke away from established Manha ...

in her youth, but decided to become an

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

and moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

, where she has been living since she began acting in 1994. She continues to draw and

paint Paint is any pigmented liquid, liquefiable, or solid mastic composition that, after application to a substrate in a thin layer, converts to a solid film. It is most commonly used to protect, color, or provide texture. Paint can be made in many ...

. Her works include commissioned

portrait A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this ...

s. On August 1, 2009, she married musician Abri van Straten.

Acting career

In 1995, Bauer van Straten had her first regular role in a television series, as Maggie Reynolds on '' The Crew''. Other recurring roles include Geneva Renault in ''Total Security'', Candy Cooper in '' That's Life'', Rebecca Colfax in '' Dirty Sexy Money'', and Belinda Slypich in '' Hidden Hills''. Perhaps her best known film role was in '' Dancing at the Blue Iguana'' in 2000. Bauer van Straten played a porn star appearing as the featured act at a

strip club and performed an extended nude dance. In 2001, she starred in the award-winning short film ''Room 302'', and in 2004 she had a minor role in the film ''

50 First Dates ''50 First Dates'' is a 2004 American romantic comedy drama film directed by Peter Segal and starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore with Rob Schneider, Sean Astin and Dan Aykroyd in supporting roles. It follows the story of Henry, a womanizing m ...

'', which starred

Adam Sandler Adam Richard Sandler (born September 9, 1966) is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, producer and singer. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1990 to 1995, before going on to star in numerous Hollywood films, those of wh ...

. In the

animated series An animated series is a set of animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can have eith ...

'' Justice League'', she supplied the voice of the

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

Mera. She has also made a number of guest appearances in several television shows, including '' LA Law'', ''

'', '' Everybody Loves Raymond'', '' Dark Angel'', '' Two and a Half Men'', '' Star Trek: Enterprise'', ''

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', also referred to as ''CSI'' and ''CSI: Las Vegas'', is an American procedural forensics crime drama television series that ran on CBS from October 6, 2000, to September 27, 2015, spanning 15 seasons. This wa ...

'', ''

Desperate Housewives ''Desperate Housewives'' is an American comedy-drama soap opera television series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. It aired for eight seasons on ABC from October 3, 2004, until May 13, 2012, for a t ...

'', and '' George Lopez''. She famously appeared in a ''

'' episode (''

The Bizarro Jerry "The Bizarro Jerry" is the 137th episode of the American television sitcom '' Seinfeld''. This was the third episode of the eighth season, originally airing on the NBC network on October 3, 1996. The title and plot extensively reference Bizarro ...

'') as Gillian, Jerry's girlfriend with "man hands", although the actual "man hands", seen only in close-ups, belonged to a member of the production crew. From 2008 to its conclusion in 2014, Bauer van Straten played the vampire

on the HBO fantasy drama series, ''

''. On December 8, 2009, ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corporat ...

'' confirmed she had been promoted from recurring status to a series regular. In 2011, she was cast in the fantasy television series '' Once Upon a Time'' as the evil fairy Maleficent (the

wicked fairy godmother The Wicked Fairy is the antagonist of '' Sleeping Beauty''. In some adaptations she is known as Carabosse, and she is named Maleficent in Walt Disney media. Role in the tale In Charles Perrault's '' Sleeping Beauty'', published in 1697 in '' H ...

, using the name from Disney's ''Sleeping Beauty''), the rival of the Evil Queen of Snow White.

Activism

Bauer van Straten carries out

conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and manageme ...

work to improve the treatment of

animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and go through an ontogenetic stage ...

s. In 2011, she teamed with the Animal Legal Defense Fund in an unsuccessful fight to release Tony, a

Siberian Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living Felidae, cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily pr ...

who has been kept as a roadside attraction at the Tiger Truck Stop in

Grosse Tête, Louisiana Grosse Tête (; ) is a village in Iberville Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 647 at the 2010 census, and 731 at the 2019 American Community Survey. The village name is French for "Big Head". Grosse Tête is part of the Bat ...

since 2000. She worked with Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine to promote cosmetics that are not tested on animals. She is a vegetarian and has used her platform to support shelter animals by promoting adoption. Bauer van Straten also encourages people to live more sustainably and be more eco-friendly.

Filmography

Film

Television

Music videos

Podcasts

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Straten, Kristin Bauer American film actresses American television actresses American voice actresses People from Racine, Wisconsin Actresses from Wisconsin American people of German descent Living people Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts alumni 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Year of birth missing (living people)