Summer Glau (; born July 24, 1981) is an American actress best known for her roles in science fiction and fantasy television series: as
River Tam in ''
Firefly'' (2002) and its continuation film ''
Serenity'' (2005), as
Tess Doerner in ''
The 4400'' (2005–2007), as
Cameron in ''
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles'' (2008–2009), and as
Isabel Rochev / Ravager in ''
Arrow
An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers c ...
'' (2013–2014).
Early life
Glau was born in
San Antonio
San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...
,
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
, where she grew up with her two younger sisters Kaitlin and Christie. She is of Scots-Irish and German ancestry.
Glau received a scholarship to a ballet company and was
homeschooled from grades 3 to 12 to accommodate her ballet training.
In addition to her classical ballet training, she has studied
tango
Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries from a combination of Arge ...
and
flamenco
Flamenco () is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the Gitanos, gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and Region of Murcia, ...
.
When Glau first moved to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
in the early 2000s, she spent her time as a traveling dancer, living off paychecks from corporate events, weddings, and resort gigs.
Career
Early career: 2002-2008
Glau's first television credit was a guest role on a 2002
episode
An episode is a narrative unit within a larger dramatic work or documentary production, such as a serial (radio and television), series intended for radio, television or Streaming media, streaming consumption.
Etymology
The noun ''episode'' is ...
of the television series ''
Angel
An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...
''. In the episode, she was a prima ballerina who danced the titular character
Giselle by
Adolphe Adam
Adolphe Charles Adam (; 24 July 1803 – 3 May 1856) was a French composer, teacher and music critic. A prolific composer for the theatre, he is best known today for his ballets ''Giselle'' (1841) and ''Le corsaire'' (1856), his operas ''Le post ...
.
Having met director
Joss Whedon
Joseph Hill "Joss" Whedon ( ; born June 23, 1964) is an American screenwriter, director, producer, comic book writer, and composer. He is best known as the creator of several television series: the supernatural drama ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer' ...
in ''
Angel
An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...
'', Glau was later cast in Whedon's critically acclaimed but short-lived TV series ''
Firefly'' as
River Tam, a role she later reprised for the show's feature film sequel ''
Serenity''. Her portrayal of River Tam, a girl who was intellectually gifted but mentally unstable due to being subject to government experimentation to create an assassins program, was widely praised and garnered her a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2006. For her fight scenes in ''
Serenity'', she underwent 6 months of rigorous
wushu
Wushu may refer to:
Martial arts
* Chinese martial arts, the various martial arts of China
* Wushu (sport)
Wushu () (), or kung fu, is a competitive Chinese martial art. It integrates concepts and forms from various traditional and modern ...
training in
Alhambra
The Alhambra (, ; ) is a palace and fortress complex located in Granada, Spain. It is one of the most famous monuments of Islamic architecture and one of the best-preserved palaces of the historic Muslim world, Islamic world. Additionally, the ...
. In an interview, Glau indicated having previously auditioned for the role of a Power Ranger (White Wild Force Ranger Alyssa Enrilé) in ''
Power Rangers Wild Force
''Power Rangers Wild Force'' is a television series and the tenth season of Power Rangers. It is also the anniversary season of the ''Power Rangers'' franchise, based on the 25th Super Sentai series ''Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger'', which itself ...
'' but lost to actress
Jessica Rey before meeting Whedon.
After ''
Serenity'', Glau appeared on the episode "Love Conquers Al" of the
TV series
A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming platf ...
''
Cold Case
''Cold Case'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series. It ran on CBS from September 28, 2003, to May 2, 2010. The series revolved around a fictionalized Philadelphia Police Department division that specializes in invest ...
''. She had a small role in the film ''
Sleepover'', in which she played the
high school senior Shelly. She also appeared in the ''
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' episode "What's Eating Gilbert Grissom?", and season two of ''
The Unit'' as
Crystal Burns (the girlfriend of
Jeremy Erhart from Michigan).
In 2006, Glau played
Tess Doerner, a
paranoid
Paranoia is an instinct or thought process that is believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety, suspicion, or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of con ...
schizophrenic
Schizophrenia () is a mental disorder characterized variously by hallucinations (typically, Auditory hallucination#Schizophrenia, hearing voices), delusions, thought disorder, disorganized thinking and behavior, and Reduced affect display, f ...
returnee in season two's
premiere
A premiere, also spelled première, (from , ) is the debut (first public presentation) of a work, i.e. play, film, dance, musical composition, or even a performer in that work.
History
Raymond F. Betts attributes the introduction of the ...
of ''
The 4400'', and became a recurring character from season three onwards. She also starred in the
horror comedy film ''
Mammoth
A mammoth is any species of the extinct elephantid genus ''Mammuthus.'' They lived from the late Miocene epoch (from around 6.2 million years ago) into the Holocene until about 4,000 years ago, with mammoth species at various times inhabi ...
'' and was cast in the
ABC Family
American cable television, cable and satellite television network Freeform (TV channel), Freeform was originally launched as the CBN Satellite Service on April 29, 1977, and has gone through four different owners and six different name changes dur ...
TV movie ''
The Initiation of Sarah''.
In ''
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles'', a series that debuted in early 2008, Glau played the role of
Cameron Phillips, a reprogrammed
Terminator infiltration unit sent back by future
John Connor
John Connor is a fictional character and the male protagonist of the Terminator (franchise), ''Terminator'' franchise. Created by screenwriter, writer/film director, director James Cameron, the character is first referred to in the 1984 film ''Th ...
to protect John's younger self and his mother
Sarah Connor from
Skynet. The series' seventh episode, "The Demon Hand", featured several scenes in which Glau (in character as Cameron) dances
ballet
Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...
, including one set to
Chopin's
Nocturne in C# Minor. Glau also played
Allison Young (Cameron's human doppelgänger) in the second-season episodes "Allison from Palmdale" and "
Born to Run". In 2008, she won the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress on Television for her portrayal of Cameron.
2009-present
Glau guest starred as herself in a 2009
episode
An episode is a narrative unit within a larger dramatic work or documentary production, such as a serial (radio and television), series intended for radio, television or Streaming media, streaming consumption.
Etymology
The noun ''episode'' is ...
of the
CBS situation comedy
A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...
''
The Big Bang Theory
''The Big Bang Theory'' is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady for CBS. It aired from September 24, 2007, to May 16, 2019, running for 12 seasons and 279 episodes.
The show originally centered on five charact ...
''. In the episode, she encountered the protagonists on a train ride from
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
to
Oakland
Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...
, and
Howard
Howard is a masculine given name derived from the English surname Howard. ''The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names'' notes that "the use of this surname as a christian name is quite recent and there seems to be no particular reason for ...
,
Raj, and
Leonard
Leonard or ''Leo'' is a common English language, English masculine given name and a surname.
The given name and surname originate from the Old High German ''Leonhard'' containing the prefix ''levon'' ("lion") from the Greek wikt:Λέων#Greek, Λ ...
fought awkwardly for her affections.
On August 26, 2009, Glau joined the cast of Joss Whedon's ''
Dollhouse'' for 4 episodes in season two. She portrayed Bennett, the programmer for a rival Dollhouse. She also portrayed the protagonist Lindsey in the 2010 film ''
Deadly Honeymoon'' and supporting character Maggie in the 2011 film ''
The Legend of Hell's Gate: An American Conspiracy'', which was filmed close to her residence in
Boerne
Boerne ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Kendall County, Texas, United States, in the Texas Hill Country. Boerne is known for its German Texan, German-Texan history, named in honor of German author and satirist Ludwig Börne by the German Fo ...
,
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
. She also guest starred as Greta in a 2010 episode of the TV series ''
Chuck
Chuck () is a masculine given name or a nickname for Charles or Charlie. It may refer to:
People
Arts and entertainment
* Chuck Alaimo, American saxophonist, leader of the Chuck Alaimo Quartet
* Chuck Barris (1929–2017), American TV produce ...
'', reuniting with her ''
Firefly'' co-star
Adam Baldwin.
In 2011, Glau portrayed the leading role of Orwell in NBC's ''
The Cape'', a mysterious blogger who assisted the main character in crime fighting activities. On July 11, 2011, Glau was cast on ''
Alphas'' as Skylar Adams, a recurring alpha with outstanding intellectual ability and mother to Zoe Adams, and a former acquaintance of Dr. Rosen and Nina. Moreover, she voiced
Kara Zor-El in the DC Comics original animated movie ''
Superman/Batman: Apocalypse''.
In 2012, Glau played the main character Christine in the
Hallmark
A hallmark is an official Mark (sign), mark or series of marks struck on items made of metal, mostly to certify the content of noble metals—such as platinum, gold, silver and in some nations, palladium. In a more general sense, the term ''Wikti ...
film ''
Help for the Holidays'', an elf who went on a special assignment to help a family regain their Christmas spirit. In 2013, Glau was a female lead in the horror comedy film ''
Knights of Badassdom'', in which she took up
larping. During this time, she also had minor guest appearances on the TV series ''
Grey's Anatomy
''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series focusing on the personal and professional lives of surgical internship (medicine), interns, residency (medicine), residents, and attending physician, attendings at the fictional ...
'' and ''
Hawaii Five-0''.
In the CW superhero series ''
Arrow
An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers c ...
'', Glau portrayed the recurring antagonist
Isabel Rochev (Ravager) in its second season in 2013. She also guest starred as Olivia Frampton in season 2 of the black comedy series ''
NTSF:SD:SUV::''. In 2014, Glau appeared in all 12 episodes of the TV series ''
Sequestered'', portraying a juror who seemed to have been involuntarily brought into larger conspiracy.
Glau rejoined her ''
Firefly'' co-star
Nathan Fillion when she guest starred in the web series ''
Con Man'' (2015) as Martina and in ''
Castle
A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...
'' as Kendall Frost, an aspiring private detective who rivaled Fillion's protagonist.
In 2018-2019, Glau was cast in the recurring role of Miss Jones on the
Netflix
Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
crime drama series ''
Wu Assassins''. Furthermore, she provided narration in the Realm audio podcast Ctrl-Alt-Destroy, in which the protagonist was a video game designer who discovers that the game she created has been stolen as part of a top secret project.
Glau has also been featured in the short films ''Inside the Box'' and ''Dead End'', as well as in the web series ''
Jeff 1000'' (portraying herself as the friend of a robot named Jeff) and ''The Human Preservation Project''.
Personal life
Glau has been married to Val Morrison since 2014, whom she met on the set of ''
Hawaii Five-0''. In January 2015, Glau gave birth to her first daughter. She gave birth to her second daughter in October 2017.
Outside of film and TV, Glau has participated in a wide variety of comic conventions across the United States and the world. She has also been an advocate for the science fiction fan community, such as through a promotional video for the
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
Sci-fi World (to be opened in 2024). She has also supported wind energy in the 175th Anniversary of the Texas Revolution video series directed by Michael Cerny.
In an interview from 2012, Glau has mentioned that one of her favorite movies during childhood was ''
Camelot'', and that she would be interested in acting in period pieces, such as in those written by
Jane Austen
Jane Austen ( ; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for #List of works, her six novels, which implicitly interpret, critique, and comment on the English landed gentry at the end of the 18th century ...
.
Filmography
Film
Television
Online media
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Glau, Summer
1981 births
21st-century American actresses
Actresses from San Antonio
American ballerinas
American female dancers
American dancers
American film actresses
American people of German descent
American people of Scotch-Irish descent
American television actresses
American voice actresses
Living people