Portia de Rossi is an Australian actress who was born on January 31, 1973 in Melbourne, Victoria. Her original birth name was Amanda Lee Rogers. She grew up in Grovedale, a suburb of Geelong, and while she was younger she worked as a model for both print and television advertisements. When she was 15 years old, she had her name legally changed to Portia de Rossi as part of her personal struggle at the time with her homosexuality. De Rossi studied for a time at the University of Melbourne's law school, but opted out and decided to pursue acting instead. Among the shows she has worked on are
Arrested Development ,
Nip/Tuck , and The Twilight Zone.
Nelle Porter is portrayed by Portia de Rossi in the Fox network's Emmy Award-winning television comedy series Ally McBeal.
(Photo courtesy of Aaron Rapoport)