Larisa Romanovna Oleynik (born June 7, 1981) is an American actress. She came to fame in the mid 1990s, after starring in the title role of the popular television series, The Secret World of Alex Mack, and has also appeared in theatrical films, including 1999's 10 Things I Hate about You. Throughout the 2000s, she has mostly appeared in lower-budget films.

During her period as a teen idol, Oleynik was described as "one of America's favorite 15-year-olds" and "the proverbial girl next door".

Biography

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Personal life

Oleynik was born in Santa Clara County, California, the only child of Roman Oleynik, an anesthesiologist, and Lorraine Allen, a former nurse. Her father's family is Russian (although "Oleynik" is a Ukrainian surname) and she was raised in the Russian Orthodox religion. She has cited No Doubt as her favorite band and used to play the piano. Oleynik grew up in the San Francisco area and began acting in a regional production of Les Misérables, after seeing an audition ad in a newspaper when she was eight years old. After appearing in the musical, she contacted an agent and began taking acting lessons. Oleynik attended Pinewood School and later Sarah Lawrence College, describing the latter as "the best decision I’ve made", and graduated in 2004.

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