Daphne Zuniga
Zuniga was born in Berkeley, California. Her father, Joaquin Zuniga, originally from Guatemala,
is an emeritus professor of philosophy at California State University, East Bay.
Her mother is a Unitarian minister, of Polish and Finnish descent.
Zuniga became interested in acting in high school, performing in a
variety of school plays. In her early teens she attended the Young
Conservatory program of the American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) of San Francisco. After her parents divorced, Zuniga moved with her mother and sister from Berkeley to Reading, Vermont. She graduated from Woodstock Union High School in Woodstock, Vermont, in 1980. After high school she studied Theater Arts at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
Career
Television
Zuniga is best known for playing Jo Reynolds in the 1990s television series
Melrose Place. Her television career began nearly ten years earlier when she appeared in several episodes of
Family Ties (1984) as a girlfriend of Alex P. Keaton. She also co-starred with Lucille Ball in the drama
Stone Pillow in 1985 and was in the 1995 miniseries
Degree of Guilt.
She was one of many voice actors for the animated television series
Stories from My Childhood (1998). Zuniga had a lead role in the mini-series
Pandora's Clock (1996).
In 2004-2005, Zuniga appeared in a recurring role in
American Dreams. She was on the show
Beautiful People on ABC Family in 2005-2006. In 2007, she starred in the fifth season premiere of the drama
Nip/Tuck.
She starred in several made for television movies including
Secret Lives (2005),
The Obsession (2006),
Christmas Do-Over (2006),
Mail Order Bride (2008) and
On Strike for Christmas (2010).
Zuniga reprised her role as Princess Vespa from the 1987 film
Spaceballs, by voice-over in the television spin-off
Spaceballs: The Animated Series. She also reprised her role from
Melrose Place in an updated version, but it was short-lived as the series was cancelled after just one season in 2009-10.
2007-2012, Zuniga has appeared in the CW network series
One Tree Hill. She played the cold-hearted mother Victoria Davis.
Film
Zuniga's film work has continued in parallel with her television work
throughout much of her career. Her first two movies were sorority slasher films
The Dorm That Dripped Blood (1981) and
The Initiation (1983, with Hunter Tylo), followed by
Vision Quest (1985). In 1985, she starred opposite John Cusack in
The Sure Thing. She next starred in the 1986 cult film
Modern Girls. She was a lead in the 1987 Mel Brooks film
Spaceballs, the 1988 film
Last Rites, the 1989 films
Gross Anatomy (with Matthew Modine), and
The Fly II (with Eric Stoltz) and
Staying Together (with Sean Astin). She starred in
Artificial Lies (2000),
Enemies of Laughter (2000),
Dog Gone (2003),
A-List (2006),
Christmas Do-Over (2006) and
Seducing Charlie Barker (2010), directed by Amy Glazer. She starred in
A Family Thankgving with Faye Dunaway. In 2012, she stars on 3 movies :
Changing Hearts with Brad Johnson,
Birds of Paradise with Ryan Guzman and
Vanished with Nicholas R. Grava.
Other media
In the 1994, Zuniga appeared in the release of a video for Bob Seger's previously released 1976 hit "Night Moves". In the video version of the song, she and a pre-Friends Matt LeBlanc
are shown in a 1960s drive-in theater, where Zuniga as a dark, edgy
young woman becomes a visual fascination for LeBlanc as a clean-cut
young man.
She co-produced and co-directed (with Steven Latham) the 2007
documentary "The Future We Will Create: Inside the World of TED" - a
look at the annual Technology, Entertainment and Design conference held in Monterey, California.
In February and March 2008, Zuniga appeared onstage in a production of
The Scene by Theresa Rebeck, at the San Francisco Playhouse.
She currently stars in the scripted web series
Novel Adventures, which premiered November 3, 2008 from CBS Interactive.
Personal life
Her younger sister Jennifer Zuniga is also an actress, debuting in the 1992 film
A Woman, Her Men, and Her Futon.
In 2004, Zuniga suffered from mercury poisoning, which she attributed to overconsumption of fish. She said she had eaten sushi
four times in the week prior to being taken to the emergency room and
that her symptoms included weak memory, headaches, crying spells, skin
rashes and mild depression. After her diagnosis, Zuniga stopped consuming fish.
Zuniga has supported several environmental campaigns. In 2009, she was appointed by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa
to the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles River Revitalization
Corporation, a not-for-profit development corporation charged with
catalyzing sustainable development along the Los Angeles River.
Filmography
Notes |
1982 |
The Dorm That Dripped Blood |
Debbie |
|
1983 |
Quarterback Princess |
Kim Maida |
TV movie |
1984 |
Family Ties |
Rachel Miller |
Episode: "Double Date"
Episode: "The Graduate" |
1984 |
The Initiation |
Kelly (Terry) |
|
1985 |
Vision Quest |
Margie Epstein |
|
1985 |
The Sure Thing |
Alison Bradbury |
|
1985 |
Stone Pillow |
Carrie Lang |
TV movie |
1986 |
Modern Girls |
Margo |
|
1987 |
Spaceballs |
Princess Vespa |
|
1988 |
Last Rites |
Angela |
|
1989 |
The Fly II |
Beth |
|
1989 |
Staying Together |
Beverly Young |
|
1989 |
Gross Anatomy |
Laurie Rorbach |
|
1989 |
Nightmare Classics |
Irene Marlowe |
Episode: "The Eyes of the Panther" |
1992 |
Mad at the Moon |
Young Mrs. Miller |
|
1992 |
Prey of the Chameleon |
Patricia / Elizabeth Burrows |
|
1992–1996 |
Melrose Place |
Jo Reynolds |
110 episodes |
1993 |
Eight Hundred Leagues Down the Amazon |
Minha |
|
1993 |
The Hidden Room |
Elizabeth Mahern |
Episode: "The Faithful Follower" |
1994 |
Charlie's Ghost Story |
Ronda |
|
1994 |
Cityscrapes: Los Angeles |
Chantal |
|
1994 |
Models Inc. |
Jo Reynolds |
Episode: "Pilot" |
1995 |
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child |
Cinderella (voice) |
Episode: "Cinderella" |
1995 |
Degree of Guilt |
Teresa 'Terri' Peralta |
TV movie |
1996 |
Pandora's Clock |
Dr. Roni Sanders |
TV movie |
1997 |
Loss of Faith |
Claire Hainey |
TV movie |
1997 |
Naked in the Cold Sun |
Rini |
|
1997 |
Johnny Bravo |
Gabrielle (voice) |
Episode: "I Used to Be Funny/My Fair Dork/'Twas the Night" |
1997 |
Dead Man's Gun |
Lillian / Tanya |
Episode: "Black Widow" |
1997 |
Stand-ins |
Shirley |
|
1997 |
Spin City |
Carrie |
Episode: "Hot in the City" |
1998 |
Spin City |
Carrie |
Episode: "It Happened One Night" |
1998 |
Stories from My Childhood |
|
Episode: "Ivan and His Magic Pony" |
1999 |
The Outer Limits |
Juliette Kagan |
Episode: "Essence of Life" |
1999 |
Batman Beyond |
Lula (voice) |
Episode: "Once Burned" |
2000 |
Batman Beyond |
April (voice) |
Episode: "April Moon" |
2000 |
Artificial Lies |
Karen Wettering |
|
2000 |
Stark Raving Mad |
Dr. Anne Russo |
Episode: "Therapy" |
2000 |
Enemies of Laughter |
Judy |
|
2003 |
Ghost Dog: A Detective Tail |
Amanda Morton |
TV movie |
2003 |
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit |
Emma Dishell |
Episode: "Abomination" |
2003 |
Eve |
Mrs. King |
Episode: "Twas the Fight Before Christmas" |
2004–2005 |
American Dreams |
Shelly Pierce |
14 episodes |
2005 |
Secret Lives |
Jill Thompson |
|
2005–2006 |
Beautiful People |
Lynn Kerr |
16 episodes |
2006 |
A-List |
Tina |
|
2006 |
The Obsession |
Deborah Matthews |
TV movie |
2006 |
Christmas Do-Over |
Jill |
TV movie |
2007 |
Nip/Tuck |
Carly Summers |
Episode: "Carly Summers" |
2007–2009 |
Spaceballs: The Animated Series |
Princess Vespa (voice) |
12 episodes |
2008 |
Mail Order Bride |
Diana McQueen |
|
2008 |
Novel Adventures |
Laura French |
8 episodes |
2008–2012 |
One Tree Hill |
Victoria Davis |
42 episodes |
2009 |
Melrose Place |
Jo Reynolds |
Episode: "Windsor" |
2010 |
Melrose Place |
Jo Reynolds |
Episode: "Santa Fe" |
2010 |
Seducing Charlie Barker |
Stella |
|
2010 |
A Family Thanksgiving |
Claudia |
TV movie |
2010 |
On Strike for Christmas |
Joy Robertson |
TV movie |
2012 |
Changing Hearts |
Christine |
|
2012 |
Birds of Paradise |
Elana |
|
2012 |
Vanished |
|