The Merchant of Venice is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan taken out on behalf of his dear friend, Bassanio, and provided by a Jewish moneylender, Shylock, with seemingly inevitable fatal consequences.
Brook Kerr is an American actress, best known for her role as Whitney Russell on the NBC daytime soap opera Passions, which she portrayed from 1999 to 2007. Since 2020, she has portrayed Dr. Portia Robinson on the ABC daytime soap opera General Hospital.
Dawson's Creek is an American teen drama television series about the lives of a close-knit group of friends in the fictional town of Capeside, Massachusetts, beginning in high school and continuing into college. It ran for six seasons, from January 20, 1998, to May 14, 2003. The series starred James Van Der Beek as Dawson Leery; Katie Holmes as his best friend and love interest, Joey Potter; Joshua Jackson as their friend Pacey Witter; and Michelle Williams as Jen Lindley, a New York City transplant to Capeside. The show was created by Kevin Williamson and premiered on The WB as a mid-season replacement. It was produced by Columbia TriStar Television and was filmed in Wilmington, North Carolina. The series ended on May 14, 2003. A total of 128 episodes were produced, spanning six seasons.
Portia Lee James DeGeneres, known professionally as Portia de Rossi, is an Australian-American retired actress. She played Nelle Porter on the American drama series Ally McBeal (1998–2002), for which she won a Screen Actors Guild Award; Lindsay Bluth Fünke on the American television sitcom Arrested Development, and Elizabeth North on the American political thriller series Scandal (2014–2017). She is the founder and CEO of the art company The General Public.
Roxann Dawson, also credited as Roxann Biggs and Roxann Biggs-Dawson, is an American actress and director. She is best known for her role as B'Elanna Torres on the television series Star Trek: Voyager (1995–2001). In the 2000s, she transitioned to a career primarily as a director, and has directed numerous episodes of television series including Star Trek: Enterprise, Crossing Jordan, Cold Case, Heroes, The Closer, The Mentalist, The Good Wife, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Mercy Street, The Deuce and Foundation.
Rosario Isabel Dawson is an American actress. She made her feature-film debut in the 1995 independent drama Kids. Her subsequent film roles include He Got Game (1998), Josie and the Pussycats (2001), Men in Black II (2002), The Rundown (2003), Rent (2005), Sin City (2005), Clerks II (2006), Death Proof (2007), Seven Pounds (2008), Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010), Unstoppable (2010), Zookeeper (2011), Trance (2013), Top Five (2014), Zombieland: Double Tap (2019), and Clerks 3 (2022). Dawson has provided voice-over work for Disney/Marvel, Warner Bros./DC Comics, and ViacomCBS's Nickelodeon unit.
Suzana Drobnjakovic, known by her stage name Sasha Alexander, is an American actress and television director. She played Gretchen Witter in Dawson's Creek and has acted in films including Yes Man (2008) and He's Just Not That Into You (2009). Alexander played Caitlin Todd for the first two seasons of NCIS (2003–2005). From July 2010 through September 2016, Alexander starred as Maura Isles in the TNT series Rizzoli & Isles, and was a regular in Season 5 and 6 of Shameless in 2015–2016.
Bianca Lawson is an American actress. She is known for her regular roles in the television series Saved by the Bell: The New Class, Goode Behavior, Pretty Little Liars, and Rogue. She has also had recurring roles in the series Sister, Sister, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Steve Harvey Show, Dawson's Creek, The Secret Life of the American Teenager, The Vampire Diaries, Teen Wolf, and Witches of East End. In 2016, Lawson began starring in the Oprah Winfrey Network drama series Queen Sugar.
Maureen O'Brien is an English actress and author best known for playing the role of Vicki Pallister in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, although she has appeared in many other television programmes.
Jane Danson is an English actress. She is known for her portrayal of Leanne Battersby in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street, between 1997 and 2000, and from 2004 onwards. Her other television credits include Children's Ward (1995–1997), The Grand (1997) and The Bill (2002–2003). For her role on Coronation Street, Danson won the 2011 British Soap Award for Best Dramatic Performance.
Portia is a female protagonist in The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare. In creating her character, Shakespeare drew from the historical figure of Porcia — the daughter of Cato the Younger — as well as several parts of the Bible.
Viola Lynn Collins is an American actress. She has made television appearances in True Blood (2008), Manhunt: Unabomber (2017) and The Walking Dead (2021–2022), and is recognized for her roles in films such as X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) and John Carter (2012).
Portia Sullivan Reiners is an American actress. She has worked in theater, television, and film. Her television career includes the role of Britney Jennings on One Life to Live.
The Mighty B! is an American animated television series created by former SNL cast member Amy Poehler, Cynthia True, and Erik Wiese for Nickelodeon. The series centers on Bessie Higgenbottom, an ambitious Honeybee girl scout who believes she will become The Mighty B if she collects every Honeybee badge. Bessie lives in San Francisco with her single mother Hilary, brother Ben and dog Happy. Poehler provides the voice of Bessie, who is loosely based on the character Cassie McMadison, who Poehler played on the improvisational comedy troupes Upright Citizens Brigade and Second City before she joined the cast of Saturday Night Live.
Charlotte Dawson was a New Zealand–Australian television personality. She was known in New Zealand for her roles as host of Getaway, and in Australia as a host on The Contender Australia and as a judge on Australia's Next Top Model. In 2014, her death by suicide attracted Australasian-wide news coverage.
Portia Doubleday is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Sheeni Saunders in the film Youth in Revolt (2009), Chris Hargensen in the film Carrie (2013), and as Angela Moss in the USA Network television drama Mr. Robot (2015–2019).
Eva Gray is a stage and screen actress. Eva is known for her performance as Marilyn Monroe and also as Trudy Lite – International Celebrity Life Coach to the Stars, hosting the satirical television comedy series 'The Trudy Lite Show' and 'The Trudy Lite Chat Show'.
Latarsha Rose is an American film and television actress, best known for her role as Portia in the 2012 film The Hunger Games.
"The Changing of the Guardian" is the eleventh episode of the twenty-fourth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 519th episode overall. The episode was directed by Bob Anderson and written by Rob LaZebnik. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 27, 2013. The title "The Changing of the Guardian" is a pun on the term the changing of the guard.
The Merchant of Venice is a 1961 Australian television adaptation of the play by William Shakespeare that aired on 13 September 1961 in Sydney, and on 25 October 1961 in Melbourne.
