Cassidy Freeman (born April 22, 1982)
is an American actress and musician. She is known for her roles as
Tess Mercer in
The CW
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...
's superhero drama ''
Smallville
''Smallville'' is an American superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produced by Millar/ ...
'', Amber Gemstone in the
HBO series ''
The Righteous Gemstones'', and Cady Longmire in
A&E's modern western ''
Longmire''.
Early life and education
Freeman was born in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...
,
to prominent Chicago-area attorneys Glynna and Lee Freeman, who also own a cattle ranch in
Montana
Montana () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West List of regions of the United States#Census Bureau-designated regions and divisions, division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North ...
. She is the youngest of four children, with three brothers, two of whom are voice actor
Crispin Freeman
Crispin Freeman is an American voice actor, voice director, and screenwriter who is best known for voicing characters in English-language dubs of Japanese anime, animation, and video games. Some of his prominent anime roles include Zelgadis Grayw ...
and musician Clark Freeman. Her third brother Ryan is adopted.
Her father is
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
. Her mother has
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
**Ger ...
,
English,
Scottish
Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including:
*Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland
*Scottish English
*Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
, and
Irish ancestry.
Freeman graduated from
The Latin School of Chicago
Latin School of Chicago is a selective private elementary, middle, and high school located in the Gold Coast neighborhood on the Near North Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. The school was founded in 1888 by Mabel Slade Vickery. Latin S ...
, and then ''
magna cum laude
Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some So ...
'' from
Middlebury College
Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalists, Middlebury was the first operating college or university in Vermont. The college currently enrolls 2,858 undergraduates from all ...
in 2005 with
degrees in theater and Spanish.
Career
Acting
Freeman has appeared in several
shorts
Shorts are a garment worn over the pelvic area, circling the waist and splitting to cover the upper part of the legs, sometimes extending down to the knees but not covering the entire length of the leg. They are called "shorts" because they ...
,
feature film
A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...
s and television series. She starred in the thriller film ''YellowBrickRoad'' which was written and directed by Andy Mitton and Jesse Holland. Freeman also played the character Veronica Sharpe in the award-winning short film ''Razor Sharp''. The film won "Best Action Film" at the 2007 Comic-Con International Independent Film Festival.
In September 2008, she began starring in
The CW
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...
's
Superman-inspired drama ''
Smallville
''Smallville'' is an American superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produced by Millar/ ...
'' where she played
Tess Mercer after the departure of
Michael Rosenbaum
Michael Owen Rosenbaum (born July 11, 1972) is an American actor and podcaster. He is known for portraying Lex Luthor on the Superman television series ''Smallville'', a role that ''TV Guide'' included in their 2013 list of "The 60 Nastiest Vil ...
's
Lex Luthor
Alexander Joseph "Lex" Luthor () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Lex Luthor originally appeared in '' Action Comics'' #23 (cover dated: ...
and continued in this role until the show ended in May 2011.
Freeman has appeared three times in the
CBS crime drama franchise
CSI. In October 2009, she appeared in ''
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' season 10, episode four, called "
Coup de Grâce
A coup de grâce (; 'blow of mercy') is a death blow to end the suffering of a severely wounded person or animal. It may be a mercy killing of mortally wounded civilians or soldiers, friends or enemies, with or without the sufferer's consent. ...
". In September 2011, she appeared in ''
CSI: NY'' season 8, episode one, called "
Indelible". In March 2012, she appeared in ''
CSI: Miami'' season 10, episode fifteen, called "
No Good Deed".
On January 13, 2012, Freeman was confirmed to be in The CW's fantasy drama ''
The Vampire Diaries
''The Vampire Diaries'' is an American supernatural teen drama television series developed by Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, based on the book series of the same name written by L. J. Smith. The series premiered on The CW on September 1 ...
'' as Sage in the third season. Between 2012 and 2017, Freeman starred as Cady Longmire in the
A&E and (later)
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...
crime drama ''
Longmire''.
Between 2016 and 2017, she played the Russian spy Eva Azarova in ''
NCIS: New Orleans''. She also starred in a crossover episode with its parent series ''
NCIS NCIS or N.C.I.S. may refer to:
Law enforcement
* National Criminal Intelligence Service, the predecessor to the Serious Organised Crime Agency of the United Kingdom
* Naval Criminal Investigative Service, a United States law enforcement and intelli ...
''. She co-starred alongside
Will Patton
William Rankin Patton (born June 14, 1954) is an American actor and audiobook narrator. He starred as Colonel Dan Weaver in the TNT science fiction series '' Falling Skies''. He also appeared in the films '' Remember the Titans'', '' Armageddo ...
in the fifth ''
The Purge'' movie ''
The Forever Purge'', which was released in 2021.
Music
Freeman, her brother Clark Freeman, and Andy Mitton formed a band called The Real D'Coy, in which Freeman sings and plays the piano.
Allegations against Jeremy Piven
In November 2017, Freeman accused actor
Jeremy Piven
Jeremy Samuel Piven (born July 26, 1965) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Ari Gold in the comedy series '' Entourage'', for which he won a Golden Globe Award and three consecutive Emmy Awards. He also starred in the Britis ...
of predatory behavior. Freeman accused Piven of trying to do something to her when she was young. She came forward with her allegations after actress Ariane Bellamar accused Piven of sexual harassment.
Personal life
In January 2022 Freeman announced that she was expecting her first child with her boyfriend Ben Ellsworth. Their daughter, Gigi Kaya Ellsworth was born on 6 February 2022.
Philanthropy
Freeman is an active member of the
Heal the Bay
Heal the Bay is a U.S. environmental advocacy group of activists based in Santa Monica, California. The focus is protecting coastal waters and watersheds of southern California, and is focused on Santa Monica Bay.
Heal the Bay is a 501(c)(3) ...
charity, which works toward cleaning up and protecting the West Coast waters. She also tutors children in Santa Monica as part of the Virginia Avenue Project.
Filmography
Film
Television
References
External links
*
*
Cassidy Freeman interview with
BuddyTV
BuddyTV is an entertainment-based website, which generates content about television programs and sporting events. The website publishes information about celebrity and related entertainment news through a series of articles, entertainment profile ...
(October 23, 2008).
Cassidy Freeman interviewwith ACED Magazine (November 25, 2008).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Freeman, Cassidy
1982 births
21st-century American actresses
Actresses from Chicago
American film actresses
American television actresses
Latin School of Chicago alumni
Living people
Middlebury College alumni
Singers from Chicago
21st-century American singers