|
|
Piper Halliwell (Played by Holly Marie Combs):
Is the middle-sister, very sensitive, and is often the mediator between Prue and Phoebe. Her power is to freeze time. She's in love with the White Lighter, Leo, but before that relationship she was dating her neighbor, Dan, who didn't know anything about her and her sister's secret.
**To Learn more about Holly please visit Mandy's other site; http://www.hollysworld.cjb.net
Holly Marie Combs
|
|
|
|
|
As one-third of the hot trio starring on the WB's top-rated Charmed, 27-year-old Holly Marie Combs has every right to be living an ultraglamorous life. But you'd be more likely to find this down-to-earth actress at a rough-and-tumble rodeo than on Beverly Hills' posh Rodeo Drive.
On her days off, Holly, who lives in L.A.'s rustic Bell Canyon in a Spanish-style three-bedroom home, drives her gargantuan pickup truck several miles down the road to the stables where she boards her precious quarter horses Jake, Jesse, and Jezebel. It's there, in her grungy barnyard getups, that the no-frills beauty is most comfortable. "I'm a hick," she says, petting Jezebel's chestnut mane. "I can't get away from trailers. I work out of a trailer on the Charmed set. I love to go camping in a trailer. I drive a truck so I can pull my horse trailer. I guess I'm trailer trash!" Not exactly. But one thing's for sure, even if she's way too humble to admit it: This Hollywood star is turning heads.
Breaking Into the Biz
Combs was born in San Diego when her mom was just 15 and her dad was 17. Her parents married, dropped out of high school, and made ends meet as best they could (her dad worked at a feed store and her mom got a job at the Del Mar racetrack exercising horses), but they divorced two years later. When Combs was 8, her mom decided to pursue acting, so they moved to Manhattan. Since breaking into showbiz is no easy feat, Holly's mother held down waitressing and modeling jobs to help pay the bills, while her stepfather--who married her mom when Holly was 12--worked as a bartender. The family was so cash-strapped, they often had to live in cramped apartments. The worst was a teensy studio they lived in when Combs was a teenager. "I had a loft, and my parents' bed was underneath," Combs says. "You could only be alone in the bathroom. I don't know how we did it." With such family closeness, it's no wonder Holly caught the acting bug as well. Around age 10, she began going on auditions and eventually appeared in several national TV commercials and landed a blink-and-you'll-miss-her part in Born on the Fourth of July. Looking back, says Combs, "I thought I knew everything at 16. I was very confident." Case in point: During the filming of Born on the Fourth of July, the film's star Tom Cruise pulled Combs aside to give her a little friendly advice. "He said, 'Don't let [director] Oliver Stone scare you,'" remembers Combs. "I was like, 'I'm not scared at all.' and Tom said, 'Really? He scares the hell out of me.'"
Fun and Games
Starring as Piper Halliwell, the most "grounded" of Charmed's three witch sisters, is another kind of adventure for Combs. Although she admits that her hit series is "pure bubble-gum entertainment," the shoots themselves can be grueling. "There's nothing we don't do," Combs says. "We're like action heroes." Albeit well-dressed ones. "We used to have to chase demons wearing Prada stilettos," she continues. "But they've finally started letting us wear sneakers for those scenes. It's a little more realistic."
In spite of the trying work conditions, Combs can always count on her costars to lift her spirits. "The chemistry really works among the three of us. We're friends, and that makes the show more real," says Combs, who has nicknamed the set the Estrogen Dome. When tensions do run high, the tight threesome lets off steam by playing pranks on one another. "We've trashed on another's trailers so many times, I've lost count." Combs says with a smile. "We once put plastic spiders in Shannen's trailer, and we another time, we t.p.'d Alyssa's trailer door shut while she was still inside."
As she finishes her story, Combs glances at her watch and realizes it's time to head home to feed her ever-growing number of pets (in addition to her three horses, she owns five dogs, two cats, and two rabbits). After which, she hopes, she'll have time for a sit-down dinner with her boyfriend. "I'm not really into the whole Hollywood scene." Combs says before climbing back into her truck. "Nowadays, the simple pleasures in life suit me just fine."
FILMOGRAPHY
The Women Of Charmed - (2000) as Herself
Charmed - (1998) TV as Piper Halliwell
Love's Deadly Triangle - (1997) as Diane
Daughters - (1997)
Loves Deadly Triangle - (1997) as Diane Zamora
Sins Of Silence - (1996) as Sophia
Vector - (1996)
A Reason To Believe - (1995) as Sharon
A Perfect Stranger - (1994) TV as Amanda
Picket Fences - (1992- 1996) TV as Kimberly
Chain Of Desire - (1992) as Diana
Dr. Giggles - (1992) as Jennifer
Simple Men - (1992) as Kim
New York Stories - (1989) Uncredited
Born On The Fourth Of July - (1989) as Jenny
Sweethearts Dance - (1988) as Debs Boon
Wall Of Glass - (1985) as Girl In Flashback
Holly's Tats Right Arm Left Arm right shoulderblade |
|
|
