Biography for
A.J. Cook More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

22 July 1978, Oshawa, Ontario, Canada

Birth Name

Andrea Joy Cook

Nickname

Dre

Height

5' 6½" (1.69 m)

Mini Biography

Born on July 22, 1978, in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, to Mike and Sandra Cook, Andrea Joy Cook is one of the rising young stars in Hollywood today. Though she didn't begin acting until age 17, Miss Cook has appeared in nearly a dozen films and several TV shows before the age of twenty-five. Before taking up acting, she was a dancer, having started dancing competitively at age 4 in the styles of tap, jazz, and ballet. Her first big role came in the 1999 film The Virgin Suicides (1999), directed by Sofia Coppola. Later that year she landed the role of Shelby Merrick in the TV series "Higher Ground" (2000), which also starred her good friend and fellow Canadian Jewel Staite.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Zootipantz

Spouse

Nathan Andersen

(3 August 2001 - present) 1 child

Trivia

Was first "Higher Ground" (2000) cast member to know of Hayden Christensen's winning the role of "Anakin Skywalker".

Met her husband in film class at UVU (Utah Valley University, formerly UVSC, Utah Valley State College).

Her father, Mike, is a teacher and her mother, Sandra, works for a psychiatrist.

Before she got into acting, she was a competitive dancer and taught dance back home in Oshawa

Didn't begin acting until she was 17 years old

Her first acting job was in a McDonald's commercial in 1997

She has three siblings, Nathan, Paul and Angela.

AJ and her husband, Nathan Anderson, welcomed baby boy, Mekhai Allan Anderson, September 13, 2008. He weighed 7 lbs, 10 oz and was 20 inches long.

Is good friends with her "Higher Ground" (2000) cast-mates, Meghan Ory and Jewel Staite.

Fan of New York Jets.

At a young age, she suffered from extreme astigmatism (which caused her to have been previously declared "legally blind"). She ultimately obtained an eye-implant called "Visian ICL", which drastically improved her vision.

Her TV son on "Criminal Minds" (2005) (Henry LaMontagne) is played by her real life son Mekhai Andersen.

Personal Quotes

I am just your everyday, average girl. I live by the beach. I wear flip flops. I don't wear make-up. I go to the gym. My husband and I are just really laid back people.

[about her fans] I have some amazing fans! They're just so dedicated and so nice and so sweet. I'm like no one and I'm just starting out and these people appreciate your work and it's nice to hear that.

[on her role in Final Destination 2 (2003)] It's challenging in the way that it's a lot of work, I'm very busy. It's challenging in a way that it's a sequel and I feel I got big shoes to fill. I wasn't at all affiliated with the first one and it was very successful and I'm just kind of afraid that people will get to the theatre and say, "Who's this girl? She wasn't in the first one!" So that pressure is there and in that sense . . . it has been difficult.

Where Are They Now

(August 2003) Filming "Tru Calling" (2003) in Canada.

(March 2008) (March 2008) Filming "Criminal Minds" (2005) in California.

(October 2009) Filming Mother's Day (2010/I), with Jaime King and Darren Lynn Bousman, in Canada.