Marie Westbrook was born in the small mining town of Kellog, Idaho, and was raised in Soda Springs ID, close to 'Ligertown', a collection of dilapidated shacks where a local eccentric kept wild ligers (and yes, in case you were wondering, Ligertown was the inspiration for the liger theme in Napoleon Dynamite which was set in nearby Preston). She was involved in dance and gymnastics from the age of seven, initially enrolling at Utah State University as a dance major, she changed gears and graduated with a degree in Physics/Chemistry Education. After waiting tables, working as a physics TA and laser beam operator, she taught 8th Grade science for a year. Marie is also one of few Hollywood actresses who can list 'professional treadmill tester' on her resume.
From an early age Marie made movies of herself performing spoof commercials, talk shows and plays with her friends. She was persuaded by a family friend to try her hand at modeling and is known and loved by discerning beer-drinkers in Utah, Idaho and Colorado as the girl on the Provo Girl Pilsner label. She then decided to focus on acting, studying and becoming part of the local acting community all while finishing her degree. She worked in several independent shorts and student films before she was cast in Paradise alongside David Strathairn and Barbara Hershey. Her days testing treadmills now firmly behind her, Marie moved to Los Angeles in fall of 2005 to pursue an acting career. Her willowy beauty and natural talent earned her prominent roles in a number of independent films; she plays a lead along with Ving Rhames in the forthcoming supernatural thriller Evil Angel and has recently been voicing characters on the much anticipated video game, Star Wars: The Old Republic.
