Emmanuelle Vaugier
Umm, September 2004

Emmanuelle Vaugier is hot. No, we don’t mean hot-looking. Although it cannot be denied by any man with two eyes that this brunette actress is possessed of smoldering good looks. She is obviously incredibly beautiful. But when we say that she is hot, we mean career-wise hot. She is currently one of the stars of One Tree Hill, on the Warner Brothers Network, where she also starred in the hit series Smallville. She is also starting work as a co-star with Rob Schneider on Deuce Bigelow, European Gigolo. You have seen her in films such as 40 Days and 40 Nights, and Secondhand Lions.

Best of all, this stunning actor is… Canadian. Yup, born in Vancouver. Even though she has a home in LA, she still has a place in Vancouver as well. Her parents are French (real French, they moved to Canada from France), and she grew up in a French-speaking home in Vancouver.

Obviously, with her good looks, you aren’t soon going to forget her face. But remember her name too. This girl is destined for some very big things in the acting world. So, in keeping with our knack for putting brilliant actors such as Halle Berry and Beyonce Knowles on our cover, along with beautiful Canadian girls like Pam Anderson and Trish Stratus, Emmanuelle Vaugier has all the bases covered: she is gorgeous, she is talented, and she is Canadian. Who could ask for anything more?

UMM caught up with Emmanuelle just after she arrived back in Los
Angeles after spending some time in Italy.

UMM: Are you over your jet lag?
EV: Pretty much. Actually, the trip back took longer than usual because I got held up by customs in New York. While I was away, I cut my index finger, so when I came back my fingerprints didn’t match up any more in the fingerprint scan machine they use in the airports.

UMM: Well, they have to watch out for us Canadians because we ARE famous across the world as terrorists. Especially ones from Vancouver, which is where you were born. But you were born to French-speaking parents on the West Coast…
EV: Yes. My parents were born in France, and I was raised speaking French.

UMM: So, how did you get started as an actor?
EV: Actually, I got my first taste of acting in a Grade Two school play. And I was hooked.

UMM: Who did you play in second grade?
EV: I played an angel, I think. I didn’t do very much, but it did give me my first taste of being on stage.

UMM: What came next?
EV: Well, I got into modelling in high school. The one thing about that was that it was a great way to travel and experience the world.

UMM: What was your ?rst experience in
front of the camera?
EV: Actually, it was a commercial for a family restaurant. I didn’t have any lines; it was a ‘silent-on-camera’ role. But it was so exciting to see it on TV, and to see me as the hostess, picking up menus and showing people to their table. (Laughing)

UMM: And then from there, you got killed. At least on film. You did quite a few horror genre films where you ended up being murdered. Any idea how many times you got whacked?
EV: Wow, you know… I have absolutely no idea. You’d have to look it up on the Internet Movie Date Base or something.

UMM: But very quickly you progressed from someone who got killed in movies to being someone that directors wanted to keep around, because of your talent. How did you manage to make that leap?
EV: Well, I think a lot of it has to do with being careful in choosing roles. I always try to do things that keep me moving ahead in my career. And once you make a step up.....well, you have to start working on the next one.

UMM: Who was the first big star you worked with? Someone who caused you to step back and think, ‘Oh my’?
EV: I did a movie with Amanda Plummer. And it was right after Amanda had done Pulp Fiction, and it was HUGE at the time. And I remember thinking to myself, ‘Wow, this is cool!”

UMM: And now you’re doing all kinds of projects with all kinds of stars. And part of that is due to your physical attributes. And I don’t mean just as a beautiful girl. Physically, you’re a bit of a chameleon. You can play someone of almost any background. You can be European, you can be Middle Eastern, you can be apple-pie American. Has this ability helped you a lot?
EV: I think it has. Maybe more so in the way that directors might look at the work I’ve done, and instead of ruling me OUT for a role, they might think, ‘She does THAT really well. Let’s see if she can do THIS’. So I get some opportunities to prove what I can do because of that. Which is all you can really ask for: an opportunity.

UMM: So, given the opportunity, do you prefer playing a good girl or a bad girl?
EV: Bad girls are WAY more fun!

UMM: Is there a part that you didn’t get that you really REALLY wanted?
EV: Well, there are always great opportunities. You try not to dwell on the ones you don’t get, particularly the ones that come down to you and someone else. But, of course, there are always those roles that you don’t get that leave you thinking, ‘Wow, that could really have changed my career’.

UMM: These days it really seems like you ARE getting those roles. And speaking of career changing roles… what was it like to play in a movie opposite both Andrew Dice Clay AND Rodney Dangerfield at the same time?
EV: (laughing) Wow...well, Dice was exactly what you’d expect. And Rodney was just so sweet. And he’s getting on in years a little.....he reminds me a lot of my grandmother.

UMM: Okay, kidding aside; you really have become a very hot commodity. And it doesn’t hurt that you have become a favorite of The WB Network (first as Lex Luthor’s wife in the series Smallville, and now as Nikki in One Tree Hill ), which has a well deserved reputation as a star-factory. What’s so great about the WB?
EV: First of all, they are really good at promoting their actors and their shows. Just look at what they did with Dawson’s Creek. And they are also extremely loyal to their actors. They give lots of their actors opportunities in different series, which is what they did with me. I’m grateful for that chance.

UMM: So right now, as an actor, the world is your oyster. What’s next for you? Where do you want to go?
EV: Well, I’m very fortunate to be in a situation now where I am presented with options. It’s a great place to be. I really want to expand what I do, and play a wide range of different characters. And keep having fun!

Watch for Emmanuelle in the upcoming feature “Deuce Bigelow, European Gigolo’, as well as returning as Nikki on the WB’s One Tree Hill.

Written by Chris Tessaro Photographes by Peter Svenson