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Born and raised in the small town of Winthrop, Iowa, the actress Michelle Monaghan moved to Chicago after graduating from high school to become an investigative reporter. While studying for a degree in journalism, she began modeling to pay for tuition when she decided to pursue a career in acting. Michelle made her film debut in 2001's "Perfume," but she got her big break in 2002 as high school teacher Kimberly Woods on the hit television series "Boston Public." Her movie credits include major roles in the action movies "Bourne Supremacy" and "Mission: Impossible III." In 2005, she married Australian graphic designer Peter White, and her birthday is March 23, 1976.
Michelle Monaghan enjoyed a successful modeling career with plans to pursue a career in journalism before a full-time acting career became an option for her. She'd made some minor appearances on TV shows such as Young Americans and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, as well as some nationally run commercials, but it was a recurring role on the acclaimed series Boston Public in 2002 that really opened doors for the young actress. Over the next few years, she scored big-screen parts in It Runs in the Family, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and The Bourne Supremacy. She shortly thereafter scored a role alongside Charlize Theron and Frances McDormand in North Country and a starring role in the black comedy Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang with Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer. In 2005, she appeared as the love interest of Tom Cruise in the hotly anticipated Mission: Impossible III, making her a far more familiar face and name. She immediately signed on to next appear in the Ben Affleck film Gone, Baby, Gone. Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide

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