Lauren Cohan was born on 1982 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. When she was younger she lived in Cherry Hill Township, New Jersey, though eventually she moved to the United Kingdom. While living in Britain, she studied at the University of Winchester, also known as King Alfred’s College, and eventually graduated with a BA degree in English Literature and Drama. Cohan then toured briefly with a theater company that she co-founded during her stay at the university. Later on, she split her time and work between Los Angeles and London, and has been involved in a number of film and television projects.
Lauren Cohan made her major movie debut playing Sister Beatrice in the 2005 film Casanova. The Lasse Halstrom-directed film starred Heath Ledger as the title character, joined by Sienna Miller, Jeremy Irons and Oliver Platt. Cohan was also seen in The Quiet Assassin that year, which was a short comedy by Alex Hardcastle. In 2006, she appeared in the sequel to National Lampoon’s Van Wilder, titled Van Wilder 2: The Rise of Taj. Her role was that of Charlotte “Charlie” Higginson , which she played opposite Kal Penn and Glen Barry. Cohen then accepted a part in the soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful, and appeared in one of its episodes as an employee of Forrester Creations. She continued her career with the film Young Alexander the Great, playing Leto opposite Sam Heughan. In 2007, she was chosen for the role of Bela Talbot in the CW paranormal drama series Supernatural. Bela is a dangerous but attractive thief who helps out the Winchester boys despite her fondness for drinking and money. Lauren Cohan followed this up by taking on the role of Emily Fulton in Float, a comedy about the owner of an ice cream shop forced to think about his priorities.
(Photo courtesy of CW)
-Lauren loves rock music. She enjoys listening to Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix.
-Lauren takes kick boxing classes.
-Aside from acting, Lauren has done some directorial and writing work for plays.
-Lauren initially auditioned for the role of Ruby in Supernatural. The role was eventually given to Katie Cassidy.
-I have a very weak stomach for horror. I need curtains on the front windows of my house because that heightens the whole fear factor.
-My character is basically a mercenary. So she's out as a solo artist. She has her own agenda, and she's very centered and focused on what she's doing. She has her hands on a lot of the stuff the boys need, and she sells it. And she's very much about negotiating. And sparks may fly between her and the boys. Sparks may fly between Ruby and the boys. I think there's going to be some fighting before there's any romance.
-I really miss doing stage though, I really do. I actually prefer that, hands down to anything else and I can do it in bits and pieces but it's not that easy to commit to a play. Life's much easier if you can get work in TV or film so I don't know. I'll have a summer hiatus so maybe that's when I can do it.