Sarah Jane Steele is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 actress who got her first break into the film

Film

A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

 industry by beating thousands of young hopeful females for the role of Bernice in the 2004 film, Spanglish

Spanglish (film)

Spanglish is a 2004 American comedy-drama film written and directed by James L. Brooks, and starring Adam Sandler, Paz Vega, and Téa Leoni. It was released in the United States on December 17, 2004 by Columbia Pictures and by Gracie Films, and in other countries over the first several months of...

.

Life and career

Steele was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...

; her father, George, is a doctor specializing in nutrition and diet. Steele graduated with the class of 2006 from The Episcopal Academy

The Episcopal Academy

The Episcopal Academy, founded in 1785, is a private, co-educational school for grades Pre-K through 12. In 2008, it relocated from its Merion, Pennsylvania campus and Devon, Pennsylvania satellite campus to its new campus in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania...

, a well-received private school

Private school

Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...

 in southeast Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

. She graduated from Columbia University

Columbia University

Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...

 in the City of New York in 2011 with a B.A. in Comparative literature

Comparative literature

Comparative literature is an academic field dealing with the literature of two or more different linguistic, cultural or national groups...

. She continues to live in Brooklyn with other young professionals.

After her breakout role in Spanglish

Spanglish (film)

Spanglish is a 2004 American comedy-drama film written and directed by James L. Brooks, and starring Adam Sandler, Paz Vega, and Téa Leoni. It was released in the United States on December 17, 2004 by Columbia Pictures and by Gracie Films, and in other countries over the first several months of...

, Steele continued acting for a short while, appearing on an episode of Law & Order

Law & Order

Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...

and appearing in two films, Mr. Gibb

Mr. Gibb

Mr. Gibb is a 2006 American dark comedy drama film starring Tim Daly and Hayden Panettiere.-Plot:...

, which co-stars Hayden Panettiere

Hayden Panettiere

Hayden Leslie Panettiere is an American actress and singer, best known as cheerleader Claire Bennet on the NBC television series Heroes. She began her acting career by playing Sarah Roberts on One Life to Live , and Lizzie Spaulding on Guiding Light , before starring at age 10 as Sheryl Yoast in...

, Tim Daly and Dan Hedaya

Dan Hedaya

Daniel G. “Dan” Hedaya is an American character actor. He often plays sleazy villains or uptight, wisecracking individuals; three of his best-known roles are as Italian Mafia boss Tony Costello in Wise Guys, a cuckolded husband in the Coen brothers' crime thriller Blood Simple, and the scheming...

 and Margaret, which co-stars Matt Damon

Matt Damon

Matthew Paige "Matt" Damon is an American actor, screenwriter, and philanthropist whose career was launched following the success of the film Good Will Hunting , from a screenplay he co-wrote with friend Ben Affleck...

, Matthew Broderick

Matthew Broderick

Matthew Broderick is an American film and stage actor who, among other roles, played the title character in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Adult Simba in The Lion King film series, and Leo Bloom in the film and Broadway productions of The Producers.He has won two Tony Awards, one in 1983 for his...

, Anna Paquin

Anna Paquin

Anna Helene Paquin is a Canadian-born New Zealand actress. Paquin's first critically successful film was The Piano, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1994 at the age of 11 – the second youngest winner in history...

, Mark Ruffalo

Mark Ruffalo

Mark Alan Ruffalo is an American actor, director, producer and screenwriter. He starred in films such as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Zodiac, Shutter Island, Just Like Heaven, You Can Count on Me and The Kids Are All Right for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best...

, and Allison Janney

Allison Janney

Allison Brooks Janney is an American actress, best known for her role as C.J. Cregg on the television series The West Wing.- Personal life :...

. Steele was recently on the New York stage in an off-Broadway production of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, which ran for a few months at the Acorn Theatre.

In 2007-2008 she appeared in the off-Broadway play Speech & Debate.

She also recently appeared on Gossip Girl

Gossip Girl (TV series)

Gossip Girl is an American teen drama television series based on the book series of the same name written by Cecily von Ziegesar. The series was created by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, and premiered on The CW on September 19, 2007...

as Jenny Humphrey's rival at Cotillion and Eric van der Woodsen's friend as Kira Abernathy.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2004	Spanglish Spanglish (film) Spanglish is a 2004 American comedy-drama film written and directed by James L. Brooks, and starring Adam Sandler, Paz Vega, and Téa Leoni. It was released in the United States on December 17, 2004 by Columbia Pictures and by Gracie Films, and in other countries over the first several months of...	Bernice 'Bernie' Clasky
2006		Amber Jinxs
2006	Law & Order Law & Order Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...	Katie White	Episode: "Cost of Capital"
2008	Man	Maggie
2008		Girl with Jacket
2008	Law & Order: Criminal Intent Law & Order: Criminal Intent Law & Order: Criminal Intent is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it was also primarily produced. Created and produced by Dick Wolf and René Balcer, the series premiered on September 30, 2001, as the second spin-off of Wolf's successful crime drama...	Tessa Nobile	Episode: "Legacy Legacy (Law & Order: Criminal Intent episode) -Plot summary:In this episode, Detectives Goren and Eames investigate the case of Paul Phillips, a student at an elite private school, found dead, hanging from overhead pipes in the boiler room.... "
2008	Old Days	Carla
2009	Gossip Girl Gossip Girl (TV series) Gossip Girl is an American teen drama television series based on the book series of the same name written by Cecily von Ziegesar. The series was created by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, and premiered on The CW on September 19, 2007...	Kira Abernathy	Episode: "They Shoot Humphreys, Don't They? They Shoot Humphreys, Don't They? "They Shoot Humphreys, Don't They?" is the 52nd episode of the CW television series, Gossip Girl. It was also the ninth episode of the show’s third season. The episode was written by Amanda Lasher and directed by Alison MacLean. The episode was considered very polemic according to the Parents... " Episode: "The Debarted The Debarted (Gossip Girl) "The Debarted" is the 55th episode of the CW television series, Gossip Girl. It was also the twelfth episode of the show's third season. The episode was written by executive producer and one of the series' creator Stephanie Savage and directed by Jason Ensler... "
2010	Please Give Please Give Please Give is a 2010 dark comedy film written and directed by Nicole Holofcener and starring Catherine Keener. It is the fourth film Keener and Holofcener have made together...	Abby
2010	Monkeywrench		Video
2010	Margaret	Becky	Completed

External links

• BroadwayWorld.com interview with Sarah Steele, November 1, 2007