Amy Acker

Amy Louise Acker (born December 5th, 1976) is an American actress best known for her roles on TV series, Angel as Winifred Burkle and Illyria. She is also known for her role on Alias as Kelly Peyton, Dr. Claire Saunders on Dollhouse and Samantha 'Root' Groves on ''Person of Interest. ''

Early Life
Acker was born in Dallas, Texas to a homemaker mother and a lawyer father. She graduated from Lake Highlands High School in Dallas. She also earned a bachelor's degree in theater from Southern Methodist University.

In her junior year of college, Acker modeled for J. Crew's catalog. She also received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1999. She worked as a stage actress for several seasons, including a stint at American Players Theater in Spring Green, Wisconsin.

Career
Acker made her major TV debut on Angel starring as Winifred Burkle from the 2nd to the 5th season as well as portraying Illyria for the 5th and final season. She joined the cast of Alias in 2005 for the final season as villian, Kelly Peyton. The show include many guest-stars like Rutger Hauer (Lothos), Terry Cain (Mrs. Tishler), Tracy Middendorf (Christina Clarke), Lindsey Crouse (Maggie Walsh), Jennifer Tung (Unidentified Talamour female victim), Kevin West (Marcus), Anthony Cistaro (Trask/Ethros Demon), P.J. Marino (Peter Wilkers), Glenda Morgan Brown (Liam's mother), Sven Holmberg (Ty), Sharon Ferguson (Sineya), Leland Crooke (Lillian/Sebassis), Scott Donovan (Jerry), Stacey Scowley (Unidentified woman (Conversations with Dead People)|blond woman), Gina Torres (Jasmine), Braeden Marcott (Jacob Crane), Olga Vilner (Powerful one), Nick Jaine (Sahrvin Clan leader) and Mark Colson (Izzerial).

In the same year, Acker provided her voice for the character, Huntress on animated series, Justice League Unlimited.

Acker guest-starred on fellow Buffyverse actress, Alyson Hannigan's show, ''How I Met Your Mother. She was re-united with fellow Angel ''co-star, Alexis Denisof, who had a recurring part on the show.

She portrayed Dr. Claire Saunders/Whiskey, a recurring character, on Joss Whedon's show ''Dollhouse. ''She guest starred in 10 of the 13 episodes of the first season as well as 3 of the second season.

In 2010, Acker became a series regular on ABC's drama, Happy Town portraying Rachel Conroy. She also starred in the season one finale of Human Target as well as CBS's ''Person of Interest. ''

Acker appeared in horror movie, Cabin in the Woods in 2012. She also had other roles in sci-fi/fantasy shows such as Grimm, Warehouse 13, Supernatural and ''Once Upon a Time. She will also appear as Beatrice in Joss Whedon's, Much Ado About Nothing. ''

Personal Life
Acker married actor James Carpinello on April 25th, 2003 in California. She gave birth to son, Jackson James in 2005 and daughter, Ava Grace in 2006.

Trivia

 * She studied ballet, jazz and modern dancing for 13 years before moving onto acting. She underwent knee surgery  which ended her ballet career so began to study acting.


 * While on Angel she shared a trailer with co-star, J. August Richards.


 * Wore her own glasses when playing Winifred Burkle on Angel. 


 * Close friend of Neil Patrick Harris.

Quotes

 * "This is our first time meeting each other. She's pretty cool so I'm hoping Joss will maybe make me a witch or something too." - On meeting actress Alyson Hannigan when her character Willow Rosenberg crossed over to Angel. 


 * "I want to be strong and a vampire slayer."


 * "Looking back at my character, I've gotten to do about 12 different parts because I started out crazy in a potato sack in a demon dimension. Now I'm in charge of this multimillion dollar science lab. The journey between those points has really bought a lot of strength to the role." - On her character Fred Burkle on Angel.