Real Name : Monica C. Keena
Nick Name : Monikers
Birth : 28 May 1979, Brooklyn, New York, USA
Height : 5' 1"
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Monica Keena was born in New Jersey on May 28, 1979, to Bill and Mary Keena and was little sister to Samantha, the Keenas' first daughter. Growing up, Monica shone in all things arts. Dance, singing, acting, and drawing. At 13, Keena enrolled in the prestigious LaGuardia school for acting and made it. At age 15, she had a small role in her first film, and that was followed by a series of TV movies such as _First Daughter (1999) (TV)_ (qv) and the _A Promise Kept: The Oksana Baiul Story (1994) (TV)_ (qv). Monica starred in her first movie, _Ripe (1996)_ (qv), at 16 and considers that her favorite role as of now. In 1998, she premiered on the WB's _"Dawson's Creek" (1998)_ (qv) as truth telling Abby Morgan and later left the show when she "got bored playing one character." Today Monica continues to make movies like _Freddy vs. Jason (2003)_ (qv), Cheer Up, and _Fifty Pills (2006)_ (qv). In her free time, she enjoys skating.
Biography written by: Dave
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- A Promise Kept: The Oksana Baiul Story (1994) (TV) [Oksana Baiul] <5>
- All She Wants for Christmas (2006) (TV) [Judith 'Noelle' Dunn] <1>
- Bad Girls from Valley High (2005) [Brooke] <2>
- Brooklyn Rules (2007) [Amy] <16>
- Corporate Affairs (2008) [Snowy Egret] <31>
- Crime and Punishment in Suburbia (2000) [Roseanne Skolnick] <1>
- Fifty Pills (2006) [Petunia] <6>
- First Daughter (1999) (TV) [Jess Hayes] <3>
- Freddy vs. Jason (2003) [Lori Campbell] <3>
- HBO: The Making of 'The Sopranos: Road to Respect' (2006) (TV) [Trishelle]
- Left in Darkness (2006) (V) [Celia] <1>
- Loaded (2008) [Brooke] <3>
- Long Distance (2005/I) [Nicole Freeman] <1>
- Man of the House (2005/I) [Evie] <5>
- Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy (2010) (V) [Herself]
- Night of the Demons (2009) [Maddie] <3>
- Orange County (2002) [Gretchen] <36>
- Remnants (2010) [Elizabeth]
- Ripe (1996) [Violet] <1>
- Snow White: A Tale of Terror (1997) (TV) [Lilliana 'Lilly' Hoffman] <3>
- Strike! (1998) [Tinka Parker] <7>
- The 2001 Billboard Music Awards (2001) (TV) [Herself]
- The Devil's Advocate (1997) [Alessandra Cullen] <51>
- The Lather Effect (2006) [Warm Leatherette Babe #1] <15>
- The Narrows (2008) [Gina] <5>
- The Simian Line (2000) [Marta] <5>
- The Sopranos: Road to Respect (2006) (VG) (voice) [Trishelle] <9>
- While You Were Sleeping (1995) [Mary Callaghan] <11>
- "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (2000) {Built to Kill: Part 2 (#7.2)} [Madeline] <16>
- "Dawson's Creek" (1998) {A Perfect Wedding (#2.18)} [Abby Morgan] <11>
- "Dawson's Creek" (1998) {Alternative Lifestyles (#2.3)} [Abby Morgan] <11>
- "Dawson's Creek" (1998) {Be Careful What You Wish For (#2.16)} [Abby Morgan] <11>
- "Dawson's Creek" (1998) {Crossroads (#2.2)} [Abby Morgan] <11>
- "Dawson's Creek" (1998) {Detention (#1.7)} [Abby Morgan] <9>
- "Dawson's Creek" (1998) {Full Moon Rising (#2.5)} [Abby Morgan] <11>
- "Dawson's Creek" (1998) {High Risk Behaviour (#2.10)} [Abby Morgan] <11>
- "Dawson's Creek" (1998) {Rest in Peace (#2.19)} [Abby Morgan] <11>
- "Dawson's Creek" (1998) {Road Trip (#1.9)} [Abby Morgan] <9>
- "Dawson's Creek" (1998) {Sex, She Wrote (#2.11)} [Abby Morgan] <11>
- "Dawson's Creek" (1998) {Tamara's Return (#2.4)} [Abby Morgan] <11>
- "Dawson's Creek" (1998) {The Dance (#2.6)} [Abby Morgan] <11>
- "Dawson's Creek" (1998) {The Election (#2.9)} [Abby Morgan] <11>
- "Dawson's Creek" (1998) {Uncharted Waters (#2.12)} [Abby Morgan] <11>
- "Entourage" (2004) {Date Night (#1.4)} [Kristen] <8>
- "Entourage" (2004) {My Maserati Does 185 (#2.2)} [Kristen] <7>
- "Entourage" (2004) {New York (#1.8)} [Kristen] <8>
- "Entourage" (2004) {Talk Show (#1.3)} [Kristen] <8>
- "Entourage" (2004) {The Boys Are Back in Town (#2.1)} [Kristen] <7>
- "Entourage" (2004) {The Scene (#1.7)} [Kristen] <7>
- "Feds" (1997) {Somebody's Lyin (#1.5)} [Tina Walters]
- "Ghost Whisperer" (2005) {Deja Boo (#2.13)} [Holly Newman] <5>
- "Grey's Anatomy" (2005) {Into You Like a Train (#2.6)} [Bonnie Crasnoff] <11>
- "Grey's Anatomy" (2005) {Some Kind of Miracle (#3.17)} [Bonnie Crasnoff] <17>
- "Homicide: Life on the Street" (1993) {Double Blind (#5.18)} (as Monica Kenna) [Billie Rader]
- "I Love the 80's 3-D" (2005) [Herself]
- "King of the Hill" (1997) {I Never Promised You an Organic Garden (#7.18)} (voice) [Rain/Maria]
- "King of the Hill" (1997) {Night and Deity (#7.21)} (voice) [Becky/Bartender]
- "Law & Order" (1990) {Performance (#5.14)} [Corey Russell] <8>
- "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" (2001) {Death Roe (#4.15)} [Beatrice Onorato Mailer] <10>
- "Private Practice" (2007) {Eyes Wide Open (#3.19)} [Kayla] <17>
- "Private Practice" (2007) {Pulling the Plug (#3.18)} [Kayla] <16>
- "Private Practice" (2007) {Triangles (#3.17)} [Kayla] <14>
- "Robot Chicken" (2005) {President Hu Forbids It (#4.14)} (voice) [Executive/Woman]
- "Undeclared" (2001) {Addicts (#1.3)} [Rachel Lindquist] <4>
- "Undeclared" (2001) {Eric Visits (#1.2)} [Rachel Lindquist] <4>
- "Undeclared" (2001) {Eric Visits Again (#1.6)} [Rachel Lindquist] <4>
- "Undeclared" (2001) {Eric's POV (#1.16)} [Rachel Lindquist] <4>
- "Undeclared" (2001) {God Visits (#1.17)} [Rachel Lindquist]
- "Undeclared" (2001) {Hal and Hillary (#1.15)} [Rachel Lindquist] <4>
- "Undeclared" (2001) {Hell Week (#1.8)} [Rachel Lindquist] <4>
- "Undeclared" (2001) {Jobs, Jobs, Jobs (#1.10)} [Rachel Lindquist] <4>
- "Undeclared" (2001) {Parents' Weekend (#1.11)} [Rachel Lindquist]
- "Undeclared" (2001) {Prototype (#1.1)} [Rachel Lindquist] <4>
- "Undeclared" (2001) {Rush and Pledge (#1.7)} [Rachel Lindquist] <4>
- "Undeclared" (2001) {Sick in the Head (#1.4)} [Rachel Lindquist] <4>
- "Undeclared" (2001) {So You Have a Boyfriend (#1.9)} [Rachel Lindquist] <4>
- "Undeclared" (2001) {The Assistant (#1.5)} [Rachel Lindquist] <4>
- "Undeclared" (2001) {The Day After (#1.13)} [Rachel Lindquist] <4>
- "Undeclared" (2001) {The Perfect Date (#1.14)} [Rachel Lindquist] <4>
- "Undeclared" (2001) {Truth or Dare (#1.12)} [Rachel Lindquist]
- "Without a Trace" (2002) {More Than This (#4.20)} [Heidi Peyton] <8>
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- "Stuff" (USA), March 2002, Vol. 5, Iss. 3, pg. 118, by: Matt Coppa, "Teacher's Pet"
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- "Playboy" (USA), August 2003, Vol. 50, Iss. 8, pg. 17-18, by: staff, "Babe of the Month: Monica Keena"
- "Movieline" (USA), June 2000, Vol. XI, Iss. 9, pg. 16, by: Michael Atkinson, "Hype: Monica Keena"
- "Glamour" (USA), June 2000, pg. 76, by: Claire Connors, "60 Second Profile: Monica Keena"
- "TV Guide" (USA), 30 January 1999, Vol. 47, Iss. 5, pg. 42, by: Jennifer Graham, "The Bad Influence"
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- "Stuff" (USA), March 2002, Vol. 5, Iss. 3, pg. 116-120, by: Craig Dechristo, "Teacher's Pet"
- "Playboy" (USA), February 2002, Vol. 49, Iss. 2, pg. 161, by: James Smeal, "Grapevine: Monica Pops Out"
- "Maxim" (USA), May 2001, Iss. Special, pg. 9, by: Deborah Feingold, "Maxim Hot 100 2001: #60"
- "Celebrity Sleuth" (USA), 2000, Vol. 13, Iss. 8, pg. 48-49, by: staff, "Up The Creek: Abby Morgan"
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- Was featured as #78 in Maxim Magazine's "Hot 100 of 2002" supplement. (2002)
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- "I think my 8-year-old-self would be really proud of me that I'm finally kicking the crap out of these guys." -- on working on _Freddy vs. Jason (2003)_ (qv).
- "If I won an Oscar I'd first thank my mother. She's always been the most supportive of me. She's been there for me my whole life."
- "I'm really short and because regular pants don`t fit me right I always get to wear my own clothes on my shows like Undeclared and Dawsons Creek.
- Josh is so funny. He was such a practical joker on the set. He used to moon us a lot. I mean he still does... I'm just not there to see it.
- "I don't like these teeny-bopper movies that have no substance. I'd just as soon not work at all."
- "I was offered a TV movie during the last two weeks of high school but turned it down,I didn't want to have my diploma mailed to me!"
- "I worked with Jimmy DeBello and Vincent Kartheiser, and their real names are the same names they use in the movie. So, when we would all be filming a scene, sometimes they would call me Monica instead of my character's name and we would have to do the whole scene over. "
- "I'm a slob. I'm one of the messier people in the world. My house is a mess all the time. I have no idea how it gets this messy. My dishes get so dirty I consider just buying new ones. And the laundry! Sometimes I have to borrow clothes from wardrobe before the weekend so I can have jeans to wear when I'm doing the laundry. "
- "It's pretty overwhelming to know that people can call up Moviefone and find out where your movie is playing.I went to the movies the other night and just stood in front of a huge poster of me.It was so weird."
- "Since I've been in Los Angeles shooting the show, I've been going with friends to this really cool old roller rink. I like it 'cause it's fun to do something normal in Los Angeles like that-drink Cokes, eat pizza, and skate."
- "When you see stars at parties, it doesn't dawn on you that it's them. I've seen big celebs and want to say "Don't I know you?" I don't consider myself a celeb or running in the same circles. I don't expect any one to know me. But it's always flattering when it happens"
- I don't hang out with lots of famous people or go to big Hollywood parties. I still have the same friends that I had in high school. I would rather hang out with the people who liked me when I was a nerd in high school than the people who just want to know me because of the roles I've played. Lately, so many people have come out of the woodwork and said, "Hey, now you can hang out with us, and be in with the in crowd."I really avoid those people.
- I love acting but it can be hard. People have the tendency to want to make you into a cliche, to dress a certain way, be a certain weight, look a certain way. If you don't fit into those categories, it's almost like you're secondary.
- I worked with Jimmy DeBello and Vincent Kartheiser, and their real names are the same names they use in the movie. So, when we would all be filming a scene, sometimes they would call me Monica instead of my character's name, Roseanne. We would have to do the whole scene over.
- "I stopped eating. I got very skinny and looked sickly. I was having a panic attack at the age of 8. Whenever it got dark, I would freak out. And kids are so cruel, because I remember telling my two best friends about it: "I think I heard Freddy Krueger in my room last night." And they would be like, "Really? Because he was in my room and his claw was pulling down my covers."
- "I'm a Gemini, so I have two personalities. I was really silly. I did crazy Woody Allen voices all the time, but I was also very shy around boys. And I had the older boyfriend. I met up recently with guys I knew in high school, and they said, "I used to have a crush on you, but you had that stupid older boyfriend." And they're really cute now!"
- "Judy Garland is my favorite. I know all her songs and have seen all of her movies."
- "In many horror movies from the past, the women have always just been sex objects, there only to look pretty and get murdered. But my character is the leader and the strongest person in the group. It's exciting; it's like an action movie. It's a very strong part for a young woman. I felt like Lara Croft."
- "I've only seen two horror movies in my life, and one of them was Nightmare on Elm Street, when I was about eight years old. And it scared me so much that I couldn't sleep for two or three months. So I always swore I would never do a horror movie. It was very cathartic to be working with Freddy and to realize he's not a real person. Robert Englund is a really sweet guy under all the make-up."
- "I went to college so my parents would feel more secure about acting. It's a fallback. I have a degree if I wake up tomorrow and decide that acting just isn't my bag anymore. My dad really doesn't appreciate my acting too much. After Crime and Punishment in Suburbia I think he had come to the conclusion that Drama Camp every summer was actually a camp where I learned how to fake orgasms. But I'd rather fake orgasms than be working a 9-5 and coming home disgusted about my job."
- "The only things I've ever stuck with are school and acting. Probably the only two things I've ever been truly passionate about. The only two things that haven't let me down, the only things that I know won't break me."
- "My mom called this morning to make sure I was still alive, that I haven't been mugged, that I haven't been raped. She likes it when I have people over so that I'm not alone. Somehow she's under the illusion that the buddy system works for home invasion. Psychos are too lazy to kill four people as opposed to one. I love my mom. She just has issues."
- "I had read the script, really liked it and was very impressed with Rob at our first meeting,I'm also really good friends with Vincent Kartheiser, who plays Vincent, and we had talked about how great it would be to work together. It's the first role I think I've ever been offered, so it was nice."
- "In the second grade, I went to a friend's house and we snuck into the original Nightmare on Elm Street. I was absolutely terrified for a month, because I had never been allowed to watch movies like this. My mother had to take me to the pediatrician to figure out why I wasn't sleeping or eating."
- "My grandmother and my mother raised me, and we always shopped at the Salvation Army. We'd find things that were really cheap, so it's hard for me to justify spending a lot of money on material things."
- "Tommy Lee's talent is amazing. In playing our father figure, our protector, he got to play these sweet emotional scenes that made me want to cry. Whenever I was in scenes with him, he made me miss my own dad."
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- Says that her film _Ripe (1996)_ (qv) is the movie that she is most proud of.
- Has been rollerskating and skatebording since a young child.
- Her favorite actress is Judy Garland and her favorite movie is _The Wizard of Oz (1939)_ (qv).
- Only spent 2 1/2 years in her High School because she was constantly filming.
- Sister Samantha is two years older.
- Was raised in Brooklyn, New York, and still lives in the city.
- Gives 'Kathy Bates (I)' (qv) and 'Jennifer Jason Leigh' (qv) credit for her still being in the acting business.
- Posed for Maxim, Stuff Magazine and FHM.
- Favorite shows are _"The Simpsons" (1989)_ (qv) and _"Charmed" (1998)_ (qv).
- Did a screen test with 'Al Pacino' (qv).
- Character Rachel Lindquist was based on her.
- Claims she is anti doing anything physical.
- Doesn't let fame affect her personal life
- Enjoys writing and is an English major.
- Has a fear of the dark.
- Her own teenage friendships suffered when she traveled for acting work.
- Is good friends with actor 'Vincent Kartheiser' (qv).
- Takes writing classes.
- Won an award in 7th grade for reciting the poem "Casey at the Bat".
- As a young child, she was always drawing, painting, dancing and singing.
- Monica auditioned for acceptance into LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts, made famous around the world by _"Fame" (1982)_ (qv). She was accepted into both the vocal and dramatic arts department, choosing drama as her preference.
- Monica has always found an outlet for her creativity. As a child, she immersed herself in classes, determined to perfect her craft in drawing, painting, singing and dance
- She has performed at the Heights Players in Brooklyn in Little Women (as Beth) and The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe as Lucy (alongside actor 'Tim Realbuto' (qv)).
- Is friends with actress 'Meredith Monroe' (qv).
- Her parents enrolled her in prep schools to keep her sheltered from the "wild life", little did they know that would lead her on a string of rebellion through her early teens.
- Despite playing the "dumb girl" in movies and TV, she actually graduated with a 4.0 GPA and was considered gifted in intelligence and arts.
- During the New York run of the highly controversial film Ripe,stars Monica Keena and Daisy Eagan would regularly attend screenings so they could meet the fans that saw it and get reactions.
- Her Mom and Grandmother raised her when she was growing up.
- She took her grandmother to the _Freddy vs. Jason (2003)_ (qv) premiere.
- The school she attended in Brooklyn Heights, Saint Ann's, was recently named #1 school in the country by The Wall Street Journal.
- Requested that her character, Abby Morgan be written out of _"Dawson's Creek" (1998)_ (qv) as her boyfriend at the time was living in New York and she didn't like being in Wilmington, North Carolina, where the show filmed.
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