Alison Lohman

Alison Marion Lohman (born September 18, 1979) is an American actress. She starred as Astrid in White Oleander (2002), and has appeared in Matchstick Men (2003), Where the Truth Lies (2005), The Big White (2005), Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (2005), Flicka (2006), and Drag Me to Hell (2009); as well as smaller parts in Big Fish (2003), Beowulf (2007), and Gamer (2009). She has also been on television shows such as Tucker and Pasadena.

Early life

Lohman was born and raised in Palm Springs, California, the daughter of Diane (née Dunham), a patisserie owner, and Gary Lohman, a Minnesota-born architect. She has one younger brother, Robert (born 1982). She has two cats, Monk and Clint. In her first school year, Lohman was diagnosed with combined type attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and put on medicine for it, which she still uses as an adult. Afterwards, she had straight A's in all her school subjects, except in drama, because she was too shy. At age nine, she played Gretl in The Sound of Music at the Palm Desert's McCallum Theater. Two years later, she won the Desert Theater League's award for "Most Outstanding Actress in a Musical" for the title role in Annie. By the age of 17, Lohman had appeared in 12 different major productions and had been a backing singer for the likes of Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope and the Desert Symphony.