British-born Vanessa Angel began her career at age 14 as a model when she was discovered by world-renowned agent Eileen Ford. She gained much life experience by traveling the world, relocating to New York and appearing on many magazine covers, including "Vogue" and "Cosmopolitan". Her transition from modeling to acting came in 1985, when she was chosen by director John Landis to play a Russian spy in Spies Like Us. She honed her craft by studying under Sondra Lee and became a member of The Actor's Studio in New York in 1987 studying under 'Frank Corsaro(l)' . This led to roles in films including King of New York, Sleep with Me and Kingpin, from The Farrelly Brothers with Woody Harrelson and Bill Murray, Kissing a Fool with David Schwimmer and Jason Lee. She has been in many films in the past few years including Paramount's The Perfect Score with Scarlett Johansson and opposite Jon Voight in SuperBabies: Baby Geniuses 2. In addition to her film work, Angel starred in the hit series Weird Science on the USA Network.

The unique range of characters earned her critical recognition for her comedic timing. She has played many roles on television, including the recurring role of police officer Peggy Elliot on NBC's Reasonable Doubts with Mark Harmon and Marlee Matlin and a recent recurring role on Stargate SG-1. Most recently she played herself in HBO's popular show _Entourage(2004)_ where she played opposite Kevin Dillon who she had also starred opposite in Out for Blood. She also recent starred in the Lifetime movie _Crimianl Intent(2005)TV_ and just finished the independent film Blind Ambition and the comedy Endless Bummer. Vanessa lives with her husband Rick Otto and their six-year-old daughter.



She was the original choice for the title role in "Xena: Warrior Princess" (1995). Due to an illness, she was not able to fly to New Zealand to start work in the role of "Xena". A replacement had to be found quickly in New Zealand and so Lucy Lawless, who was already there, was cast.