Biography
A mainstay of sitcoms, crime procedurals, and fantasy series alike, Dawn Olivieri spent years building up her television résumé with one-off parts before becoming a recognizable star. The actress first achieved household familiarity thanks to substantial roles on "Heroes" (NBC 2006-2010) and "The Vampire Diaries" (The CW 2009-17), but cemented her notability with a major part on the dramedy series "House of Lies" (Showtime 2012-16). More than capable of handling any genre or stylistic tone, Olivieri didn't take long to establish herself as a practical ubiquity across the small screen world. Dawn Olivieri was born on February 8, 1981 in St. Petersburg, Florida. In the early days of her acting career, Olivieri accumulated minor appearances on popular television series like "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (CBS 2000-), "Veronica Mars" (UPN/The CW 2004-07), and "How I Met Your Mother" (CBS 2005-2014). Within a year of her first television roles, Olivieri made her feature debut in the horror film "Devil's Den" (2006). Olivieri's first major recurring part on a TV series began in the fourth season of the supernatural drama "Heroes" (NBC 2006-2010), on which she played a tattooed carnival worker with the ability to read and connect with the emotions of those around her. Following the cancelation of the series, Olivieri worked on the animated Marvel Comics series "The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes" (Disney XD 2010-13), voicing Iron Man/Tony Stark's business partner and love interest Pepper Potts. For her next major live action role Olivieri again favored the realm of the supernatural, though traded in superheroes for the undead. Olivieri took on a recurring role on "The Vampire Diaries" (The CW 2009-17), appearing throughout the second season as mortal woman Andie Star. Her work on the popular series gave way to an even larger role on the award-winning premium cable dramedy "House of Lies" (Showtime 2012-16), on which Olivieri played the unbalanced ex-wife of series star Don Cheadle's equally disjointed character. Thanks to a newfound acclaim achieved by her "Vampire Diaries" and "House of Lies" roles, Olivieri took to relaunching her big screen career. She appeared at the head of smaller thrillers, including "Missionary" (2013) and "Plush" (2013), as well as in the supporting casts of Oscar-nominated studio productions like "American Hustle" (2013).
