Actress Sasha Alexander went from relative obscurity to starring on one of the most anticipated series of the 1999 fall season, landing a Miramax movie deal before the first episode of the doomed drama "Wasteland" (1999) even aired. On the strength of creator Kevin Williamson's past successes and his undeniable eye for talent, the ABC series received a great deal of buzz before its debut, giving the show and its cast of newcomers a lot to live up to.

Biography:

 Set in New York and starring a sextet of twentysomethings, "Wasteland" featured a group of college friends experiencing their post-graduate coming-of-age. Of all the characters, Alexander's harried publicist Jesse, a woman balancing career and the precarious downtown social scene had the most actual New York credibility, and her assertively poised presence, thin, fine-boned elegance and dark upswept hair seem veritably plucked from the city's busy streets.

When "Wasteland" met its remarkably early demise after three airings (unseen episodes resurfaced on Showtime Next in 2001), Alexander bounced back with a 2000-2001 recurring role on the Williamson-created drama "Dawson's Creek" (The WB). Here she played college drop-out Gretchen Witter, sister of smart-aleck Pacey (Joshua Jackson) and eventual girlfriend of earnest Dawson (James Van Der Beek). After offering Pacey crucial support and giving Dawson some much-needed shaking up and later breaking his heart, Gretchen headed to Boston to make her way in the real world while Pacey hit the high seas and Dawson was bound for USC's film program. Alexander's appearance on the show for the 2001-2002 season in more than a guest star capacity seemed unlikely given the conclusion of the previous season and her increasing opportunities in film and other television series. In the summer of 2001, she could be seen opposite Adam Goldberg in the independent romantic comedy "All Over the Guy", the two playing a pair of matchmakers who find themselves matching nicely with each other.

Alexander previously appeared briefly in a Halloween party sequence in the Polish brothers' "Twin Falls Idaho" (1999), an intelligent and sensitive film about twenty-five-year-old conjoined twins. The actress was next featured in Milos Foreman's Andy Kaufman biopic "Man on the Moon" (1999) starring Jim Carrey as the bizarre late comic. Alexander also co-produced and starred in the independent feature "X-Girlfriends" (lensed 1999). In 2002, she returned to television where she co-starred in the CBS drama series "Presidio Med."

The well-traveled actress studied in London with Cicely Barry and the Royal Shakespeare Company, and has appeared on the New York stage, counting among her credits a starring role as Katherine in a production of "The Taming of the Shrew".

Facts:

Name: Sasha Alexander

Birth Name: Suzana Drobnjakovic

Height: 5' 7"

Sex: F

Nationality: American

Birth Date: May 17, 1975

Birth Place: Los Angeles, California, USA

Profession: actress, producer

Education: School of Cinema & Television at University Of Southern California

Husband/Wife: Luka Pecel (married September 18, 1999; annulled)

Daughter: Lucia Sofia Ponti (was born in Geneva, Switzerland on May 12th, 2006)

Claim to fame: played Gretchen Witter, sister of Pacey Witter, on TV hits Dawson's Creek