Alona Tal (, ; born ) is an Israeli actress and singer. She is known for her roles in ''

Veronica Mars ''Veronica Mars'' is an American teen neo-noir Mystery fiction, mystery Drama (film and television), drama television series created by screenwriter Rob Thomas (writer), Rob Thomas. The series is set in the fictional city, fictional town of Ne ...

'' as cheerleader Meg Manning, in ''

Supernatural Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...

'' as budding monster hunter

Jo Harvelle Joanna Beth Harvelle is a fictional character on The CW Television Network's drama/horror television series ''Supernatural'' portrayed by Alona Tal. Aspiring to be a hunter of supernatural creatures like her parents, she was introduced in the s ...

, as Sonya Lebedenko in the final season of ''

Burn Notice ''Burn Notice'' is an American espionage television series created by Matt Nix, which originally aired on the USA Network for a total of seven seasons from June 28, 2007, to September 12, 2013. The show stars Jeffrey Donovan, Gabrielle Anwar, ...

'', in '' SEAL Team'' as grad student Stella Baxter and as Kayla Craig in the Amazon Studios miniseries ''

Cross A cross is a religious symbol consisting of two Intersection (set theory), intersecting Line (geometry), lines, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of t ...

''.

Early life

Alona Tal was born and raised in

Herzliya Herzliya ( ; , / ) is an affluent List of Israeli cities, city in the Israeli coastal plain, central coast of Israel, at the northern part of the Tel Aviv District, known for its robust start-up and entrepreneurial culture. In it had a populatio ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. Her father Ami Tal is a computer professional of both

Sephardi Jewish Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...

and

Mizrahi Jewish Mizrahi Jews (), also known as ''Mizrahim'' () in plural and ''Mizrahi'' () in singular, and alternatively referred to as Oriental Jews or ''Edot HaMizrach'' (, ), are terms used in Israeli discourse to refer to a grouping of Jews, Jewish c ...

( Turkish-Jewish) descent, whose original surname was originally "Mizrahi"; whereas her mother Ayala (née Sabat) is a lawyer and is of

Ashkenazi Jewish Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that Ethnogenesis, emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium Common era, CE. They traditionally spe ...

(

Polish-Jewish The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Jews, Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the long pe ...

) descent. Both her parents were born in Israel. Her parents divorced when she was 9. She has two sisters as well as two half-sisters from her father's later relationship. She attended the Thelma Yellin High School in

Givatayim Givatayim () is a city in Israel east of Tel Aviv. It is part of the Gush Dan metropolitan area. Givatayim was established in 1922 by pioneers of the Second Aliyah. In it had a population of . The name of the city comes from the "two hills" on w ...

, Israel, majoring in theatre. She is

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

and has described herself as a "spiritual person". She served in the military theatre of the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

(IDF).

Career

Tal started her career after her military service, with a children's musical video tape in which she played an evil witch. Following that, she appeared in a commercial for a laundry detergent, and then appeared in the lead role in the Israeli film ''Lihiyot Kochav'' (''To Be A Star''). During the filming of the movie Tal was offered two roles in two different Israeli television shows, and she took both. The first was a soap opera named ''Tzimerim,'' about the life of a family that runs a hotel; the second one was ''

HaPijamot ''HaPijamot'' ( ; lit. ''The Pajamas'') is a sitcom on Israeli television about a struggling band determined to make it in the real world. The show ran on Arutz HaYeladim (The Children's Channel) and Channel 2 ( Keshet). Background The show fo ...

'' (''The Pyjamas''), a sitcom about a struggling band determined to make it in the real world. She took part in the first three seasons and later took part as a guest star which gave her the chance to show her musical talent. Although she was the main character only in the first three seasons, she appeared in the fourth season for several episodes. Tal also appeared in the music video for "Final Warning", by

Skylar Grey Holly Brook Hafermann (born February 23, 1986), known professionally as Skylar Grey, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. In 2004, Grey signed a publishing deal with Universal Music Publishing Group and a recording contract w ...

. Tal moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, where she recorded a song with Wyclef Jean (the song " Party to Damascus" has Tal singing the chorus in Hebrew). She landed a role on ''

,'' that of Meg Manning, one of Veronica Mars's few friends. She also played the recurring role

on the second, fifth, and seventh seasons of ''

.'' Tal also guest-starred on the

series finale A series finale is the final installment of an episodic entertainment series, most often a television series. It may also refer to a final theatrical sequel, the last part of a television miniseries, the last installment of a literary series, ...

of ''

Monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

'' as

Adrian Monk Adrian Monk, portrayed by Tony Shalhoub, is the title character and protagonist of the USA Network television series ''Monk (TV series), Monk''. He is a renowned former homicide detective for the San Francisco Police Department. He has obsessive� ...

's stepdaughter, Molly Evans. In 2010, she performed the voice of Catherine-B320 (also known as Kat) in the video game '' Halo: Reach.'' In 2013, she starred in the mystery series ''

Cult Cults are social groups which have unusual, and often extreme, religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals. Extreme devotion to a particular person, object, or goal is another characteristic often ascribed to cults. The term ...

''. She played the role of "Sonya" in the seventh and final season of ''

''. In November 2020, Tal was cast as Ivy in the second season of the drama series '' Truth be Told''.

Personal life

On March 23, 2005, Tal married American actor Marcos A. Ferraez. Tal announced on October 23, 2016, at a ''

'' panel that she was expecting her first child. She celebrated her pregnancy with a

baby shower A baby shower is a party to celebrate the Childbirth, delivery or Pregnancy, expected birth of a child. Practices vary greatly by culture, but it is often a rite of passage that celebrates through Gift, giving gifts and spending time together. Wh ...

on January 29, 2017. Guests included fellow Israeli actresses

Gal Gadot Gal Gadot (; born 30 April 1985) is an Israeli actress. She gained recognition for portraying Wonder Woman in the DC Extended Universe films (2016–2023). In 2018, Gadot was named one of ''Time''s 100 most influential people and ranked by ''F ...

and

Noa Tishby Noa Tohar Tishby (; ; born May 1975)) is an Israeli actress and activist. She appeared in a variety of American television shows and movies, including '' The Affair'', '' The Island'', ''Nip/Tuck'', ''Big Love'', ''NCIS'', and others. She is th ...

. She has two daughters, born in March 2017 and September 2022.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tal, Alona 1983 births American television actresses Israeli emigrants to the United States Israeli people of Polish-Jewish descent Israeli people of Turkish-Jewish descent 21st-century Israeli women singers Israeli film actresses Israeli television actresses Jewish Israeli actresses Jewish American actresses Jewish American musicians Living people People from Herzliya Israeli female military personnel 21st-century American actresses American film actresses Israeli Ashkenazi Jews Israeli Sephardi Jews Israeli Mizrahi Jews Thelma Yellin High School of Arts alumni Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute alumni