From Birth To Stardom

Amy was born March 25th, 1976 in Topanga Canyon, California. She was a relatively new arrival when she first gained notice for her supporting roles in the 1999 hit teen films "Varsity Blues" and "Outside Providence." With her blonde, carefree California girl good looks, the Los Angeles native got her start in TV-movies and made her feature debut in Stephen Kay's "The Last Time I Committed Suicide" screened at 1997's Sundance Film Festival. She was briefly seen in Paul Verhoeven's big-budget sci-fi actioner "Starship Troopers" and had an impressive turn in the vastly different, quirkily independent "How to Make the Cruelest Month." In the latter she played Dot, the graceful golden girl who seduces the one-time boyfriend of her sister, the troubled protagonist Bell (Clea DuVall). The by-the-numbers horror film "Campfire Tales" followed in 1998, along with the topically chilling but clumsily executed internet stalker thriller "Dee Snider's StrangeLand," written, produced and starring the titular Twisted Sister frontman as a deranged torturer who meets his victims in web chatrooms.

Amy would reach her widest audience with a co-starring role opposite James Van Der Beek in Brian Robbins' surprise box office hit "Varsity Blues." The actress played Jules Harbor, a girl who longs for life beyond her small town's high school football-obsessed culture but who, as sister of the injured star quarterback (Paul Walker) and girlfriend of his idealistic replacement (Van Der Beek), is tied to it. With her darkened hair, sad eyes and intelligent portrayal of the strong-willed Jules, Smart reminded audiences of Van Der Beek's "Dawson's Creek" co-star Katie Holmes. She would next be featured as Shawn Hatosy's upper-class love interest in Michael Corrente's poignant 1970s era comedy "Outside Providence." Based on Peter Farrelly's novel, the film followed a working-class teenaged boy (Hatosy) sent by his abrasive but loving father (Alec Baldwin) to a tony prep school after running into trouble at home.