June 2, 1979

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Morena Baccarin was born on June 2, 1979 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. At the age of 10, she moved to Greenwich Village, New York with her family. As a child, she was already exposed to the world of acting because her mother was Brazilian actress Vera Setta. Morena studied at the La Guardia High School for the Performing Arts in New York and attended the prestigious Juilliard School, where she starred in a number of plays including Mary Stuart, The Seagull, The Importance of Being Ernest and Love’s Labours Lost.

In 2001, she made her film debut in the independent movie Perfume, following it up with a lead role in the acclaimed Way Off Broadway. This earned her rave reviews and the Best Actress award at the Wine Country Film Festival. The next year, she worked on another indie feature, Rodger Dodger. Her interaction with film stars Campbell Scott and Isabella Roselline was what inspired her to head off to Los Angels. She has also worked alongside Natalie Portman, becoming her understudy in the acclaimed Central Park production of The Seagull.

She was later discovered by writer/director Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. Baccarin was cast as a regular on the show Firefly as Inara Serra, and next reprised her role in the series’ ensuing film Serenity in 2005. That year, she also provided the voice for Black Canary in several episodes of the animated Justice League Unlimited. From 2003 to 2004, she was cast in the show Still Life, before she became a guest star in The O.C. This was followed by roles in Kitchen Confidential, How I Met Your Mother, Justice and Las Vegas. Baccarin has also been seen on episodes of the sci-fi series Stargate SG-1. In 2007, she joined the cast of the TNT series Heartland as the bright and diligent Nurse Jessica Kivala. The actress’ other works include Sands of Oblivion, Dirt and The Boy in the Box.


(Photo courtesy of TNT)

Morena Baccarin was born on June 2, 1979 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She studied at the La Guardia High School for the Performing Arts in New York and attended the prestigious Juilliard School, where she starred in a number of plays including Mary Stuart, The Seagull, The Importance of Being Ernest and Love's Labours Lost. During her time on the independent film, Rodger Dodger, Baccarin's interaction with film stars Campbell Scott and Isabella Rosellini inspired her to head to Los Angeles. This turned out to be a fruitful move for her when writer/director Joss Whedon, who created Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its offshoot, Angel , cast her as a regular on his show Firefly and its ensuing film, Serenity.

Inara Serra, played by Morena Baccarin on Firefly, is a licensed Companion who is trained and skilled in various forms of love-making. She struck a deal with Serenity captain, Malcolm Reynolds, to rent one of the cargo ship shuttles as her home and center of business. Inara, who left the Companion House on Sinhon to become independent, has blended well the most of the crew although she constantly struggles with her love-hate relationship with Malcolm.



(Photo courtesy of FOX)

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Morena Baccarin

Morena Baccarin

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