Hobbies: Snowboarding, Rollerblading, Hiking, Biking, Scuba Diving, and other outdoor activities. Dina was born and raised in Forest Hills, Queens, New York but she moved to Dix Hills, Long Island just before her last year of Junior High School. She has two siblings, an older brother and a younger brother named Evan and her father owns an auto parts and repair shop in Queens and drives a Harley. Her first experience in the entertainment industry came when she did some modeling from age nine to sixteen. She always wanted to become an actress but her parents didn't think that was a wise career move; they wanted her to get a good education, so she went to college and graduated in 1990 with a bachelor's degree in business administration with a concentration in marketing (and a minor in French). She started her acting training at The Neighborhood Playhouse, in New York, where she studied Sanford Meisner's acting techniques with Ron Stetson for about three years. Other actors to receive such training are Sandra Bullock, Michael Douglas, Jeff Goldblum, Leslie Nielson, Diane Keaton, and others. She got her first part in the TV show Beverly Hills 90210 which required her to move out to LA. Soon after, she scored the lead in the movie Johnny Mnemonic, where she did almost all of her own stunts establishing herself as an athletic actress. She then moved to eastern Europe for six months while shooting her second movie, Dragonheart, which was also a very physical role but also required her to deal with CGI special effects. In her very next movie she starred with Casper Van Dien and Denise Richards in Starship Troopers, she made use of her latest acting experience because she again had to deal with CGI special effects and act in front of.. nothing. I guess she's now established as an athletic actress as well as a CGI special effects actress. ;) Her next few roles came in the area of TV which allowed her to expand her experience a little more. Her talent agent also represents Matt LeBlanc so through her she was able to score a reoccurring role on Friends. Next, she had a short lived part on the TV show Michael Hayes and a guest starring role in an episode of Ally McBeal before landing her next movie role opposite James Caan in Poodle Springs, which aired on HBO. Since then, she's gone on to score an independant film project as well as other big-budget films which should be coming to theaters in the near future.
Modeled from age 9 until age 16. Attended college, graduating with a Bachelor's in Business Administration; minor in French. Trained for three years under Ron Stetson at The Neighborhood Playhouse in New York. Nickname assigned to her by childhood friend: Melon Seed. Grew up in Dix Hills, Long Island, NY. Attended C.W. Post College from January 1986 through at least May, 1987.