Carly Pope catapulted to fame when she was cast on the teen drama series Popular. As the character Samantha “Sam” McPherson, she was perceived as stubborn, yet smart and witty. She was part of the school paper and often exposed hypocrisy and discrimination at Kenny High. As one of the less popular girls, she was initially Brooke’s (Leslie Bibb) enemy. But as Brooke's father and Sam's mother get romantically involved, the two teens eventually got along.

After the abrupt ending in 2001 of Popular, Pope concentrated on making movies. She was cast in films like Finder’s Fee, The Glass House, Orange County, and Various Positions. She resurfaced on the television circuit, appearing on miniseries, tele-films, and provided the voice of Amelia on the animated series Kim Possible. Later, she starred as Maya Kandinski on the mystery-drama The Collector from 2004 to 2005.

After a string of television appearances, she landed the lead role in the movie Sandra Gets Dumped as the character Sandra and later reprised her role in the follow-up film Sandra Goes to Whistler. She was also included in films like The French Guy, The Hamster Cage, Two for the Money and Break a Leg, Rosie. Most recently, she portrayed a high-profile lesbian drug dealer, Garbo, on the drama series Dirt, in which she starred in for 9 episodes.

This year, Pope has several upcoming movie projects. She stars in Beneath, a horror thriller co-produced by MTV Films and Paramount Classics. She plays the role of Vanessa, along with Nora Zahetner as the lead character Christy, Matthew Settle as John, and Gabrielle Rose as Mrs. Locke. Currently in post-production stages are her two films, The Cantina Bar Tales, a comedy about stories of love and screw-ups, and YPF, a fast-paced comedy about sexual encounters.

-Kris De Leon, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
(Photo Courtesy of Yahoo)