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Lauren Cohan was born in Philadelphia, a British-American actress, but she divided her time between America and the UK. While studying in college, she pursued a career as a drama actress, working in theater. After working in films since 2005, the actress has also starred in a series of television shows as a recurring lead actor, who is famous across America. Her most notable role came in 2011 when she became a cast member of a Fox horror show, The Walking Dead, which gained her international fame. The series has been a blockbuster hit on the television network and the online streaming platform Netflix. She has won several awards for her roles, including a Screen Actors Guild Award.
From starting her own theater company to becoming a lead actress in one of the most popular television shows, Cohan has worked hard to succeed in Hollywood.
A Start In The World Of Theater
Cohan spent her childhood years in New Jersey before moving to her mother’s native place in the United Kingdom. The actress was raised in Judaism after her Scottish mother married her stepfather. Growing up in New Jersey and the UK, Lauren Cohan was influenced by the world of arts from a young age. For her college, she decided to enroll in the University of Winchester and earned degrees in the fields of English Literature and Drama, as noted by Empire. During the third year of her college, Cohan co-founded a theater company and went on tours around America. Cohan has admitted that the time spent with the theater company gave her the confidence to pursue acting.
In 2005, Cohan made her acting debut starring alongside Heath Ledger in Casanova, who played the titular role while she portrayed the role of Sister Beatrice. She bagged her first lead role in the comedy sequel Van Wilder: The Rise Of Taj the following year. She played the female lead, Charlotte, a teaching supervisor, while Kal Penn played taj. Her television debut occurred around the same time when she made a small appearance in the CBS soap opera The Bold And The Beautiful as an unnamed employee for one episode, as reported by Looper. However, it was far from the actress’ last role on television as she was just getting started.
Balancing A Career in Movies and Television
Her first notable role on television was on the CW Network when she joined the cast of Supernatural in the third season. After making a small appearance in the comedy sitcom Modern Family, Cohan was next seen starring as a recurring character Rose-Marie in the popular supernatural teen drama The Vampire Diaries. Her character kidnapped Elena, played by Nina Dobrev, before she began dating Damon, one of the show's lead characters. Her character arc ended with the second season as Damon himself mercy-kills her.
Lauren Cohan also showed her versatile acting range when portraying negative characters in movies and shows. In 2010, she starred in Death Race 2 as September Jones, the prison host in the science fiction movie. According to Celebrity Net Worth, the actress also starred in the action-comedy series Chuck that aired on NBC, playing a criminal mastermind who becomes a villain against the titular character of Chuck. While Cohan was making supporting appearances in movies and television, her most notable role came in 2011 when she switched to the AMC Network.
Becoming A Household Name
Joining the cast of The Walking Dead in season two, Lauren Cohan portrayed the character of Maggie Greene. The woman living on the farm with her family soon joins the group of survivors, and Cohan goes from being a recurring character to starring as the main cast of the show. Playing one of the most beloved characters, Cohan was a part of The Walking Dead for over a hundred episodes, and she made upwards of $40,000 per episode for her portrayal. As mentioned by The Hollywood Reporter, Cohan left the show in the ninth season to star as the lead in the ABC show Whiskey Cavalier. Cohan returned to the show during the premiere of the tenth season.
While working on the show, Cohan starred as Martha Wayne in Batman v Superman: The Dawn Of Justice and bagged roles in the movies All Eyez On Me and Mile 22, which stars Mark Wahlberg. She has also acted in brand advertisements for the AMC+ streaming platform as she simultaneously promoted her show The Walking Dead in the commercials.
From getting an early start in the theater that inspired her to continue acting to becoming a part of one of the biggest television shows, Lauren Cohan has amassed a $4 million net worth through her stunning acting portfolio. The actress is currently starring in The Walking Dead's eleventh and final season, which is set to air its last episode in March 2022.
Sources: Empire, Looper, Celebrity Net Worth, The Hollywood Reporter