Yvonne Strahovski info

Yvonne Strahovski (born Yvonne Strzechowski; 30 July 1982) is an Australian actress. Born in Australia to Polish immigrant parents, Strahovski speaks Polish and English. After graduating from the University of Western Sydney, she featured in a number of Australian television shows before starring as Sarah Walker in the American television series Chuck.

Early life

Strahovski was born in Campbelltown, a suburb of Sydney, as Yvonne Strzechowski to Peter and Bozena Strzechowski. Her parents had emigrated from Warsaw, Poland. She adopted the more phonetic spelling of Strahovski as her stage name at Chuck, which was at producer Josh Schwartz's behest for the sake of easier pronunciation. Strahovski's father is an electronic engineer, and her mother works as a lab technician. Strahovski started acting when she played Viola in a school production of Twelfth Night.

She spent her high school years attending Santa Sabina College, Strathfield. She graduated from University of Western Sydney's Theatre Nepean in 2003

Career

Strahovski started her career in Australia appearing in film and TV roles, including a turn on satirical show Double the Fist and a part as Freya Lewis in the Australian drama series headLand. She has also appeared in Channel Nine's Sea Patrol.

She sent in her audition tape for the show Chuck while in the United States auditioning for roles in other shows, namely NBC's 2007 series Bionic Woman. She sent in an audition tape while waiting to hear from the other two jobs. She was contacted by the producers of Chuckthe next day to come in to "run lines" with Zachary Levi. The producers called her back a week later letting her know she had been cast asSarah Walker. Six months later, she moved to the United States.

Strahovski speaks fluent Polish and employed it in a brief exchange with a colleague in the Chuck episode "Chuck Versus the Wookiee" and again in the episodes "Chuck Versus the Three Words" and "Chuck Versus the Honeymooners". Although she portrays an American in the series, she briefly spoke in a "Hollywood" Australian accent in the episode "Chuck Versus the Ex" .

Strahovski appears in Mass Effect Galaxy, Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3 as the voice of Miranda Lawson. Strahovski had her face scanned and animated so she could portray Lawson in Mass Effect 2. Strahovski voices Aya Brea in the English version of the Parasite Evespinoff, The 3rd Birthday, which was released on March 2011 for the PlayStation Portable. She also appeared in a CollegeHumor sketch in April 2011, parodying the music styles of Katy Perry, Ke$ha, and Lady Gaga.

Strahovski appeared in the 2011 film Killer Elite, alongside Jason Statham, Clive Owen, and Robert De Niro. In May 2011, she joined the comedy My Mother's Curse, opposite Seth Rogen and Barbra Streisand.
In 2010, Strahovski received the Teen Choice Award for Choice Action TV Actress for Chuck, as well as a nomination for Spike Video Game Awards for Best Performance by a Human Female for Mass Effect 2. In 2011, Strahovski was nominated again for the Teen Choice Awardsfor Choice Action TV Actress. In 2011, Cosmopolitan Magazine (Australia) awarded Strahovski the Fun Fearless Female of the Year along with Favorite TV Actress. In November 2011, she was cast as the female lead in I, Frankenstein.

Trivia

Sent in her audition tape for the show Chuck (2007) in the United States while in the states doing an audition for two other shows (see special features of disk 3 of Chuck(2007) Season 1 "Chuck's World". She sent in an audition tape while waiting to hear from the other two jobs. She was contacted by the producers of Chuck (2007) the next day to come in to "run lines" with Zachary Levi A.K.A. Chuck Bartowski/Charles Carmichael. The chemistry was undeniable and the producers of Chuck (2007) called her back a week later letting her know she got the job. Six months later, she moved to the United States and was cast as the leading lady on Chuck (2007) three days later.

Ranked #24 in Wizard magazine's Sexiest Women of TV list (March 2008).

Was a straight-A student in school.

Had a nose ring for five years and says that the hole is still visible from close-up.

Is of Polish descent.

Speaks fluent Polish.

Yvonne's parents immigrated to Australia from Warsaw, Poland. After her acting success, they moved to the USA to be near her. All of of Yvonne's remaining relatives reside in Poland.

Yvonne's last name, Strahovski, is close to phonetic spelling of how to pronounce her actual last name, Strzechowski.

Ranked #77 in Maxim's Hot 100 of 2010.

Ranked #50 in the 2011 FHM (Australia) list of "100 Sexiest Women in the World".

Ranked #35 in Maxim's Hot 100 of 2012. (May 2012).

Won the prestigious Theatre World Award for her Broadway Debut performance in Golden Boy. Strahovski received rave reviews for her portrayal of Lorna Moon.

In 2011, Cosmopolitan Magazine (Australia) awarded Strahovski the Fun Fearless Female of the Year along with Favorite TV Actress.

In December 2012, she made her Broadway debut in a revival of Clifford Odets' "Golden Boy", for which she won a Theatre World Award.

Yvonne Strahovski is a supporter of PETA and appeared in an ad for their "Adopt, Don't Buy" campaign.

Yvonne Strahovski was honored, along with Liam Hemsworth, for her work in international roles with the 2012 Australians in Film Breakthrough Award.

Ranked #46 in Maxim's Hot 100 of 2013.

Filmography

 Year                    Film                                     Role                      Notes

2007           Gone                                           Sondra                    As Yvonne Strzechowski

2009           Persons of Interest                        Lara                       Short filmAs Yvonne Strzechowski

2008           The Plex                                       Sarah

2008            The Canyon                                 Lori

2009            I Love You Too                                    Alice

2010            Matching Jack                             Veronica

2010            LEGO: The Adventures                Peg Mooring            Voice Straight-to-DVD

                    of Clutch Powers 

2011            Killer Elite                                              Anne

2011            The Outback                               Miranda                     Voice (Filming)

2012            The Guilt Trip                                         Jessica                       Post-production