Summer Bishil Bio

Summer Bishil was a Pasadena, California native. Her family and her relocated to the United States when she was just three. Summer attended American and British schools in the midst of her family living abroad. They returned to Pasadena just prior to her 14th birthday. In love with the idea of becoming an actress since the age of five, Summer took her first acting class when she was 14 years old. Nine months later, she signed with an agent/manager, and started her full-time job. She attends college on her own time, and is working to earn her degree. One of the young stars that were featured in Vanity Fair's cover story, "Hollywood's New Wave: The Hottest Kids in Hollywood" in August 2008.Was named one of the "Ten actors to Watch" by Variety (2007).Nominee for Best Actress - Spirit Award. Bishil started acting lessons at the age of fourteen. In just one year, Bishil was signed to an employment contract by a management or agency. Her first appearance was on the brief-lived Nickelodeon show Just for Kicks, followed by appearances on a variety of other children's shows.Bishil's breakthrough performance came as the lead actress in Alan Ball's film Towelhead in 2007, which was a re-telling of the novel of the same title. Slate critic Dana Stevens said, "Her performance is the most genuine thing in a film that, for all its good intentions, is completely fake and mildly embarrassing, like an extended PSA regarding inappropriate touching." Bob Strauss, a Los Angeles journalist for a newspaper, said that Bishil "...is among the top natural actors in recent years. Gary Goldstein in a September 12 Los Angeles Times review of the movie Towelhead and stated that "...newcomer Summer Bishil turns in a sly, thrilling performance as Jasira. She was the director of Wayne Kramer's Crossing Over project in 2009 with Harrison Ford and Ray Liotta. Jay Reiner of the Associated Press liked her portrayal. She was picked to play Azula in M. Night Shyamalan's 2010 film The Last Airbender, and was slated to be the subject of the planned , but never produced sequel.