Summer Bishil Bio

Summer Bishil was a Pasadena, California native. Her family and her left for Europe when she was only three years old. Summer attended British as well as American schools, while her family lived overseas, She returned to her home town of Pasadena just a few days shy of her birthday of 14. Enticed by the thought of acting since at the age of 5, Summer took her first acting class at the age 14. Nine months later, Summer made an agreement with an agent and a manager , and started to follow her dream full-time. In her spare time, she attends college and is striving to complete her degree. The actress was named one of the "Ten Actors to Watch" by Variety (2007). Nominee for Best Actress – Spirit Award. At age 14, Bishil started acting classes. In just one year, Bishil was signed to an employment contract by a management or agency. Bishil's first performance was on the brief-lived Nickelodeon show Just for Kicks, followed by appearances in other children's shows.Bishil's first big break came when she played the lead character in Alan Ball's film Towelhead in 2007 as an adaptation of the novel of the same title. Slate critic Dana Stevens said, "Her performance is the truest thing in a film that, in spite of its noble intentions, seems completely fake and mildly embarrassing, like an extended PSA about inappropriate touching." Bob Strauss, who writes for several Los Angeles newspapers, states that Bishil, "...is one among the top natural actors to come out in recent years." Gary Goldstein, in a September 12 Los Angeles Times, review of Towelhead stated that Summer Bishil ("...newcomer) provides a compelling and engaging performance in Jasira. "In 2009, she shot Wayne Kramer's project, Crossing Over, starring Harrison Ford, Ray Liotta and Ashley Judd, a portrayal that received some favorable notice from the Associated Press's Jay Reiner. She was selected to play Azula in M. Night Shyamalan's 2010 film The Last Airbender. This was supposed to be the main theme of the planned but never produced sequel.