Summer Bishil

Last updated
Summer Bishil
Born
Summer Yasmine Bishil

(1988-07-17) July 17, 1988 (age 36)
Pasadena, California, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active2005–present

Summer Yasmine Bishil [1] (born July 17, 1988 [2] ) is an American actress. She first came to prominence starring as Jasira in the 2007 film Towelhead , for which she was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead. Over the following few years, she had small roles in films and TV series like The Last Airbender (2010) and 90210 (2011) before starring in the short-lived ABC series Lucky 7 (2013). She starred as Margo Hanson on the Syfy fantasy drama series The Magicians from 2015 to 2020.

Contents

Early life

Bishil was born in Pasadena, California [1] [3] and is the youngest of three children. Her mother is of half-Mexican descent while her father is of Indian ancestry. [4] [5] In 1991, when Bishil was three years old, the family moved to Saudi Arabia and then to Bahrain, [5] [3] [6] where she and her brother attended British and American schools.

The September 11 attacks prompted her family to return to the United States. [5] They moved to a Mormon community in San Diego where she attended a regular public high school for a week. [5] [6] Because of the post-9/11 tension in the U.S., her schoolmates did not welcome her kindly. [5] She stated that the return was not easy: "I hated it. I was called a whore on the first day of school, and somebody said they thought my dad funded terrorism. I just knew that nobody was ever going to want to be my friend there. I had panic attacks the first year of my life here." [6] The family later moved to Arcadia, where her mother home schooled her. [5] [6] She took classes at Citrus College in Glendora, California. [4]

Career

Bishil started acting lessons at age 14. Within a year, she was signed to a contract with a manager and agency. Bishil's first role was on the short-lived Nickelodeon television show Just for Kicks , followed by appearances in several other children's shows.

Bishil's breakthrough performance [7] came as the lead in Alan Ball's film, Towelhead in 2007, an adaptation of the novel of the same name. Slate critic Dana Stevens said, "Her performance is the truest thing in a movie that, for all its good intentions, feels thoroughly phony and mildly embarrassing, like an extended PSA about inappropriate touching." [8] Bob Strauss, who writes for several Los Angeles newspapers, states that Bishil, "...is one of the finest natural film actresses to emerge in years." [9] Gary Goldstein in a September 12 Los Angeles Times review of the movie Towelhead, stated that, "...newcomer Summer Bishil turns in a gutsy, quietly riveting performance as Jasira." [10]

In 2009, she filmed Wayne Kramer's project, Crossing Over , starring Harrison Ford, Ray Liotta and Ashley Judd, [11] a portrayal that received some favorable notice from Associated Press 's Jay Reiner. [12] She was chosen to portray Azula in M. Night Shyamalan's 2010 film The Last Airbender , and was planned to be the focus of the planned but never-produced sequel. [13]

In 2013, Bishil was cast as Samira one of the lead roles on the short-lived ABC drama Lucky 7 . [14] [15] In late 2014, Bishil was cast in the role of Margo Hanson in the Syfy drama series The Magicians , [16] which ended after five seasons.

Filmography

Film roles
YearTitleRoleNotes
2007 Towelhead Jasira Maroun
2009 Crossing Over Taslima Jahangir
2010 Mooz-lum Iman
2010Public RelationsSara
2010 The Last Airbender Azula Cameo
2013Pop StarPriscilla
2018 Under the Silver Lake The Girlfriend
Television roles
YearTitleRoleNotes
2005 Days of Our Lives StaceyEpisode #1.10164
2006 Just for Kicks StaceyEpisode: "Premiere Episode: Part 2"
2006 Drake & Josh TabithaEpisode: "Josh Runs Into Oprah"
2006 Hannah Montana RachelEpisode: "Good Golly, Miss Dolly"
2006 Return to Halloweentown AneesaTelevision film
2009 Three Rivers Karen RollinsEpisode: "Good Intentions"
2010 The Whole Truth Michelle PennerEpisode: "Young Love"
2011 90210 Leila Shirazi4 episodes
2013 Lucky 7 SamiraMain role; 8 episodes
2013 Blast Vegas SerenaTelevision film
2014 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Heba SalimEpisode: "Criminal Stories"
2015 iZombie Eliza MarquetteEpisode: "Flight of the Living Dead"
2015–2020 The Magicians MargoMain role; 65 episodes

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryWorkResultRefs
2008 Young Hollywood Awards One to Watch Towelhead Won [17]
2008 Independent Spirit Awards Best Female Lead TowelheadNominated [18] [19]

Related Research Articles

<i>The Sixth Sense</i> 1999 film by M. Night Shyamalan

The Sixth Sense is a 1999 American psychological thriller film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. It stars Bruce Willis as a child psychologist whose patient claims he can see and talk to the dead.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M. Night Shyamalan</span> American filmmaker (born 1970)

Manoj Nelliyattu "M. Night" Shyamalan is an American filmmaker. His films often employ supernatural plots and twist endings. The cumulative gross of his films exceeds $3.3 billion globally. Shyamalan has received various accolades, including nominations for two Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards and a Golden Globe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pamela Adlon</span> American actress (born 1966)

Pamela Adlon is an American actress, writer and director. She is known for voicing Bobby Hill in the animated comedy series King of the Hill (1997–2010), for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award. She also voiced Baloo in Jungle Cubs (1996–1998), the title role in the Pajama Sam video game series (1996–2001), Lucky in 101 Dalmatians: The Series (1997–1998), Margaret "Moose" Pearson in Pepper Ann (1997–2000), Ashley Spinelli in Recess (1997–2001), Otto Osworth in Time Squad (2001–2003), and Brigette Murphy in Milo Murphy's Law (2016–2019), among numerous others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aimee Garcia</span> American actress (born 1978)

Aimee Sandimés Garcia López de Ordóñez is an American actress and writer. She is known for her television roles as Veronica Palmero on the ABC sitcom George Lopez, Yvonne Sanchez on the CBS period drama Vegas, Jamie Batista on the Showtime drama Dexter and Ella Lopez on the Fox/Netflix drama Lucifer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elizabeth Mitchell</span> American actress (born 1970)

Elizabeth Mitchell is an American actress. She is best known for her lead role as Juliet Burke on the ABC mystery drama series Lost (2006–2010), for which she received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination. Mitchell also had lead roles on the television series V (2009–2010), Revolution (2012–2014), Dead of Summer (2016), and The Santa Clauses (2022–present), for which she received a Children's and Family Emmy Award nomination. She had recurring roles on the television series ER (2000–2001), Once Upon a Time (2014), The Expanse, and Outer Banks (2021–present).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sharon Lawrence</span> American actress (born 1961)

Sharon Elizabeth Lawrence is an American actress. From 1993 to 1999, she starred as Sylvia Costas in the ABC drama series, NYPD Blue. The role garnered her three Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series, and Satellite Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama. She received three additional Emmy Awards nominations for her later television performances.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mireille Enos</span> American actress

Marie Mireille Enos is an American actress known for the lead role as homicide detective Sarah Linden in the drama series The Killing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blinding Edge Pictures</span> American thriller film production company

Blinding Edge Pictures is an American film and television production company, founded in 1998 by M. Night Shyamalan. The company is known for producing films, such as the Unbreakable series, Signs, The Village, The Happening, After Earth, The Visit, Old and Knock at the Cabin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allison Miller</span> American actress (born 1985)

Allison Miller is an Italian-born, American actress. She is best known for playing Michelle Benjamin on the NBC series Kings, Skye Tate on the Fox series Terra Nova, Carrie on the NBC series Go On, and Dr. Maggie Bloom in ABC's A Million Little Things. She starred as Laura Larson on the Syfy television series Incorporated.

<i>The Last Airbender</i> (film) 2010 film by M. Night Shyamalan

The Last Airbender is a 2010 American action adventure fantasy film written, co-produced, and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. Based on the first season of the Nickelodeon animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005–08), the film stars Noah Ringer, Dev Patel, Nicola Peltz, Jackson Rathbone, Shaun Toub, Aasif Mandvi, and Cliff Curtis. The plot follows Aang, a young Avatar who must master all four elements of air, water, fire, and earth and restore balance to the world while stopping the Fire Nation from conquering the Water Tribes and the Earth Kingdom.

Johanna Braddy is an American actress. She played the leading role in the 2009 horror film The Grudge 3, and has appeared in Pop Rocks (2004), Hurt (2009), Easy A (2010), Paranormal Activity 3 (2011), and The Levenger Tapes (2011). She starred as Jenny Matrix in the web series Video Game High School from 2012 to 2014. In 2015, Braddy co-starred as Anna Martin in the Lifetime dark comedy-drama series Unreal. She also starred as Shelby Wyatt in the ABC thriller series Quantico.

Alicia Erian is an American novelist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avan Jogia</span> Canadian actor (born 1992)

Avan Tudor Jogia is a Canadian actor, singer, author and director. He first received recognition for portraying Danny Araujo in the television film A Girl Like Me: The Gwen Araujo Story (2006). After moving to the United States in his late teens, he landed various television roles on television series such as Caprica (2009–2010).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seychelle Gabriel</span> American actress

Seychelle Suzanne Gabriel is an American actress. On television, she is best known for portraying Lourdes Delgado in Falling Skies (2011–2014) and voicing Asami Sato in The Legend of Korra (2012–2014). She has also appeared in the films The Spirit (2008), The Last Airbender (2010), Honey 2 (2011), Sleight (2016), and Blood Fest (2018).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sera Gamble</span> American television writer and producer (born 1983)

Sera Gamble is an American television writer and producer, best known for her work on Lifetime/Netflix's You, the Syfy's The Magicians and The CW's Supernatural.

<i>After Earth</i> 2013 American science fiction film

After Earth is a 2013 American post-apocalyptic action-adventure film co-produced and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, who co-wrote the script with Gary Whitta. The film was loosely based on an original story idea by Will Smith about a father-and-son trip in the wilderness before it was eventually reworked into a sci-fi setting, taking place 1,000 years in the future where humans evacuated Earth to another planet due to a massive environmental catastrophe. It is the second film after The Pursuit of Happyness (2006) that stars real-life father and son Will and Jaden Smith; Will Smith, his wife Jada Pinkett Smith, his brother-in-law Caleeb Pinkett, and business partner James Lassiter also produced the film via their company Overbrook Entertainment while Columbia Pictures distributed the film. The film was co-produced by John Rusk, who was also the first assistant director on this film as well as on many of Shyamalan's other films.

<i>Mistresses</i> (American TV series) American mystery drama soap opera television series

Mistresses is an American mystery drama soap opera television series based on the 2008–10 British series of the same name, about the lives of four female friends and their involvement in an array of illicit and complex relationships. This adaptation was developed by K. J. Steinberg, and stars Alyssa Milano, Rochelle Aytes, Yunjin Kim, Jes Macallan, and Jennifer Esposito in the lead roles. The series was originally set to premiere on May 27, 2013. However, ABC announced that Mistresses would premiere on June 3, 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olivia Taylor Dudley</span> American actress

Olivia Taylor Dudley is an American actress. She is known for her horror film roles such as Chernobyl Diaries (2012), The Vatican Tapes (2015) and Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension (2015), for her television roles such as the Syfy fantasy series The Magicians, and for her work in the internet sketch group 5-Second Films.

<i>The Magicians</i> (American TV series) 2015 American fantasy television series

The Magicians is an American fantasy television series that aired on Syfy, based on the homonymous trilogy of novels by Lev Grossman. Michael London, Janice Williams, John McNamara, and Sera Gamble serve as executive producers. A 13-episode order was placed for the first season in May 2015, and the series premiered on December 16, 2015, as a special preview. In January 2019, Syfy renewed the series for a fifth and final season, which ran from January 15 to April 1, 2020. In the show, students at a secretive school of magic find that the magical world is more dangerous than they realized.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jodie Turner-Smith</span> British actress, model (born 1986)

Jodie Turner-Smith is a British actress. She made her feature film debut in The Neon Demon (2016) and has since acted in Queen & Slim (2019), After Yang (2022), and White Noise (2022). She is also known for her television roles in the TNT series The Last Ship (2017), 2024 Apple TV+ series Bad Monkey, the Syfy series Nightflyers (2018), and for portraying the title role in the Channel 5 series Anne Boleyn (2021).

References

  1. 1 2 "Summer Bishil". TV Guide . Retrieved February 23, 2017.
  2. ↑ "Summer Bishil". Hollywood.com. Retrieved February 23, 2017.
  3. 1 2 Jones, Michael (October 19, 2007). "Summer Bishil – 'Nothing is Private' starlet living the dream". Variety . Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  4. 1 2 O'Sullivan, Michael (March 13, 2009). "Summer Bishil Aims to Play Against Type". The Washington Post . Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Summer Bishil - Biography". Yahoo! Movies Canada. Archived from the original on January 7, 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Abramowitz, Rachel (September 3, 2008). "In suburbia, a world of woes". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved March 6, 2022.
  7. ↑ Rechtshaffen, Michael (September 12, 2007). "Towelhead". The Hollywood Reporter . Associated Press . Retrieved March 6, 2022. In a head-turning breakthrough performance, 19-year-old Summer Bishil (who looks much younger) is the budding adolescent in question...
  8. ↑ Stevens, Dana (September 12, 2008). "Towelhead; It's no fun being a sexually curious, biracial teenager in Houston". Slate . Retrieved March 6, 2022.
  9. ↑ Strauss, Bob (September 13, 2008). "'Towelhead' is Meant to Provoke". redOrbit. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  10. ↑ Goldstein, Gary (September 12, 2008). "It's awkward, like puberty". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved March 6, 2022.
  11. ↑ McCarthy, Todd (February 16, 2009). "Review: 'Crossing Over'". Variety . Retrieved June 1, 2016. More bracing, although again nothing new, is the sorry fate of a Bangladeshi teenager (Summer Bishil, "Towelhead") who has the audacity to present a not-unsympathetic view of the 9/11 hijackers to a school class.
  12. ↑ Reiner, Jay (February 17, 2009). "'Crossing Over'". The Hollywood Reporter . Associated Press . Retrieved March 6, 2022. Summer Bishil, star of Alan Ball's "Towelhead," is affecting as a Muslim girl whose rash actions tear her family apart.
  13. ↑ Warmoth, Brian (July 6, 2010). "'Last Airbender 2' Will Be 'Darker,' M. Night Shyamalan Says". MTV News . Archived from the original on June 13, 2014. Retrieved June 1, 2016. His description of the story implies that Summer Bishil's character from the film currently in theaters has plenty left to do onscreen as Aang (Noah Ringer) continues his fight against the Fire Nation.
  14. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (March 1, 2013). "ABC Pilot 'Lucky 7' Casts Four Co-Leads, Fox's 'Enisted' Enlists Two Co-Leads". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  15. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (May 10, 2013). "UPDATE: ABC Picks Up 'Once Upon A Time' Spinoff, 'Mixology', 'The Returned', 'Killer Women', 'Lucky 7', 'Betrayal', 'Trophy Wife', Cullen Bros, 'Influence', 'The Goldbergs', 'Super Fun Night', 'S.H.I.E.L.D.' To Series". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  16. ↑ Noonan, Kevin (December 8, 2014). "SyFy's 'The Magicians' Adds 'Towelhead' Star Summer Bishil". Variety . Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  17. ↑ Hollywood Life, Volume XIX, No. 1. Spring 2008. Retrieved July 21, 2008.
  18. ↑ O'Hehir, Andrew (December 4, 2008). "Oscar season's bewildering kickoff". Salon . Retrieved June 1, 2016. This year's prize went to Melissa Leo for "Frozen River." She was also nominated in the Spirits' female lead category, along with Summer Bishil for "Towelhead," Anne Hathaway for "Rachel Getting Married," Tarra Riggs for "Ballast" and Michelle Williams for "Wendy and Lucy."
  19. ↑ "Indie Spirit Awards actor/actress nominees". Variety . December 30, 2008. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.