Biography: Monica Keena

Monica C. Keena (born May 28, 1979) is an American actress, known for her role as Abby Morgan on Dawson's Creek.

Biography

Early life

Keena was born in New Jersey or Brooklyn, New York City, New York, the daughter of Mary, a nurse, and William Keena, a financial sales manager. ^{She was raised in Brooklyn, and has an older sister named Samantha. During her early childhood (and again at the end of high school), Monica attended Saint Ann's School (New York City), a progressive private school in Brooklyn Heights. Monica auditioned for acceptance into LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts at the age of thirteen. Although she chose the drama department as her preference, she was accepted in both the dramatic and the vocal arts departments. Soon after starting her classes at LaGuardia, Keena played in her first role in a short film entitled Burning Love.}

Career

Keena went on to portray the character Bertha in a stage reading of Strindberg's The Father with Al Pacino, and had her first starring role playing Snow White against Sigourney Weaver's wicked queen in the folktale-inspired Snow White: A Tale of Terror. She has appeared in numerous television and movie projects including the TBS Original Movie First Daughter and Crime and Punishment in Suburbia which appeared at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival.

Monica appeared in the film While You Were Sleeping with Sandra Bullock, The Simian Line with Harry Connick Jr. and Lynn Redgrave, and Bad Girls From Valley High with Julie Benz and Jonathan Brandis in his final film role before his death in 2003 (the film was eventually released straight to DVD in 2005). In 2003 she played the heroine, Lori Campbell, in Freddy vs. Jason. In 2006 she played Celia in the film Left in Darkness.

Keena had a recurring role as Abby Morgan on Dawson's Creek and a starring role on the short-lived Undeclared as the college student Rachel. Monica also had guest roles on series such as Law & Order, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Homicide: Life on the Street, Feds, and Entourage. On the hit ABC medical drama Grey's Anatomy, Monica appeared in an episode of the second season titled "Into You Like A Train," in which she played Bonnie, a patient who was severely injured in a massive train accident. Monica later reappeared in the third season episode "Some Kind of Miracle," reprising her role as Bonnie.

Personal life

She dated Shane West during the year 1999. Was featured as #78 in Maxim Magazine's "Hot 100 of 2002" supplement. (2002 Keena lives in New York while not working on film or movie roles.)

Filmography

• A Promise Kept: The Oksana Baiul Story (1994) (TV) .... Oksana Baiul
• Law & Order (1 episode, "Performance", 1995) .... Corey Russell
• While You Were Sleeping (1995) .... Mary Callaghan
• Ripe (1996) .... Violet
• Feds (1 episode, "Somebody's Lyin", 1997) .... Tina Walters
• Homicide: Life on the Street (1 episode, "Double Blind", 1997) .... Billie Rader
• Snow White: A Tale of Terror (1997) .... Lilliana "Lilly" Hoffman
• The Devil's Advocate (1997) .... Alessandra Cullen
• Strike! (1998) .... Tinka Parker
• Dawson's Creek (14 episodes, 1998-1999) .... Abby Morgan
• First Daughter (1999) (TV) .... Jess Hayes
• The Simian Line (2000) .... Marta
• Crime and Punishment in Suburbia (2000) .... Roseanne Skolnick
• Orange County (2002) .... Gretchen
• King of the Hill (2 episodes, "I Never Promised You an Organic Garden" and "Night and Deity", 2003) .... Rain/Maria and Becky/Bartender (voice)
• Undeclared (17 episodes, 2001-2003) .... Rachel Lindquist
• Freddy vs. Jason (2003) .... Lori Campbell
• Bad Girls from Valley High (2005) .... Brooke
• Man of the House (2005) .... Evie
• Law & Order: Criminal Intent (1 episode, "Death Roe", 2005) .... Beatrice Onorato Mailer
• Long Distance (2005) .... Nicole Freeman
• Entourage (6 episodes, "Talk Show", "Date Night", "The Scene", "New York", "The Boys Are Back in Town" and "My Maserati Does 185", 2004-2005) .... Kristen
• I Love the '80s 3-D (unknown episodes, 2005) .... Herself
• HBO: The Making of The Sopranos: Road to Respect (2006) (TV) .... Trishelle
• Without a Trace (1 episode, "More Than This", 2006) .... Heidi Peyton
• Fifty Pills (2006) .... Petunia
• The Lather Effect (2006) .... Hot Girl
• Left in Darkness (2006) (V) .... Celia
• CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (1 episode, "Built to Kill, Part 2", 2006) .... Madeline
• The Sopranos: Road to Respect (2006) (VG) .... Trishelle (voice)
• All She Wants for Christmas (2006) (TV) .... Judith "Noelle" Dunn
• Ghost Whisperer (1 episode, "Deja Boo", 2007) .... Holly Newman
• Grey's Anatomy (2 episodes, "Into You Like a Train" and "Some Kind of Miracle", 2005-2007) .... Bonnie Crasnoff
• Brooklyn Rules (2007) .... Amy
• Loaded (2008) .... Brooke
• Corporate Affairs (2008) .... Snowy Egret
• The Narrows (2008) .... Gina
• Night of the Demons (2009) .... Maddie (post-production)

References

1. "Where Are They Now?: Monica Keena". fridaythe13thfilms.com.