Alexa Davalos was born in Paris, France, to American parents, Jeff Dunas, a photographer, and Elyssa Davalos, an actress. Her father’s family were Jewish immigrants (from Russia and Lithuania). After a quintessentially bohemian childhood that found her straddling New York, Paris, Italy and Los Angeles, Alexa Davalos headed to Manhattan. In the Big Apple, she instantly snagged lucrative assignments as a photographer’s model for the likes of Peter Lindbergh, then discovered an inborn passion for acting and decided to make it the focus of her life.
Born into a family of performers – her grandfather Richard Davalos starred alongside James Dean in East of Eden (1955) – in 2002, Davalos turned her focus to acting and migrated to Los Angeles and began signing for guest parts on series such as Angel (1999) and Undeclared (2001). Her big break arrived when producers selected her to play “Kyra”, the heroine in the 2004 futuristic fantasy vehicle The Chronicles of Riddick (2004), starring Vin Diesel. Davalos next took on a prominent role as “Samantha” on the high-concept mystery-period series Reunion (2005). When the highly-touted series failed to catch on with viewers and was canceled after half a season, Davalos bounced back with a convincing portrayal as Diane Keaton’s daughter in the well-received made-for-television feature Surrender, Dorothy (2006). The following year, Davalos stepped up several notches with a lead role in Robert Benton’s much-anticipated drama Feast of Love (2007) — an ensemble piece about a free-spirited woman who arrives in a small Northwestern town and recolors the life of everyone she meets. Also, in 2007, Davalos appeared in the Stephen King horror adaptation The Mist (2007).
Alexa continued her ascent in Hollywood by being cast in Edward Zwick’s Defiance (2008), released in 2008, as “Lilka”, Daniel Craig’s love interest. Her haunting beauty and spirited performance garnered raves from critics. In 2009, Alexa was cast in the much coveted lead role of “Andromeda” in Louis Leterrier’s Clash of the Titans (2010), alongside Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes. Alexa is, without a doubt, one of Hollywood’s fastest rising young stars.
