Summer Glau

SUMMER GLAU AS CAMERON

Most would assume that the road from barre-bending ballerina to butt-kicking Terminator would be a long one.  Summer Glau could tell you different.

Summer Lyn Glau was born on July 24th, 1981 (in the summer, go figure) in San Antonio, Texas, to a school teacher mother and a general contractor father.  She has two younger sisters, Christie and Kaitlin.  An aspiring ballet student from a very young age, Summer’s mother home schooled the girl from grades 3 - 12 to accommodate her ballet training.  After seriously injuring her ankle, Summer’s aspirations of being a professional ballerina were dashed, and it was time to seek another vocation.

While visiting friends in Los Angeles in her late teens, Summer was encouraged to audition for some television commercials.  In 2002, after finding some success, she made the move to L.A. permanent.  Summer’s first acting gig was a bit part (as a ballerina) in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer-spinoff Angel.  Director Joss Whedon took quick notice of Summer, and soon after cast her as River Tam in his short-lived seriesFirefly.  Though the show was canceled after only eleven of its fourteen produced episodes were aired, the series was successful enough to get a big-screen version greenlit, produced and released.  Summer reprised her role in the film with was called Serenity.

Some TV work followed, in such shows as Cold Case, CSI, The Unit, and The 4400.  After costarring in an ABC-Family remake of the 1978 horror film The Initiation of Sarah, Summer had another Sarah in her future, she just didn’t know it yet.

SUMMER GLAU

Based on the film series created by writer/director James Cameron (especially the first two installments),Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles is a FOX-TV series which debuted on January 13th, 2008.  As Sarah Connor (Lena Headey) and her son John (Thomas Dekker) continue their struggle to stop Skynet and the impending judgment day, they are joined by another “good” Terminator named (appropriately) Cameron.  Summer plays Cameron, and is quite good in the role.  Besides the pretty face and demure manner that belie the robotic killing machine underneath, Summer’s subtle acting skills are very much on display, especially when Cameron is ... learning.  The character is as beautiful as she is deadly, and Summer never lets the viewer forget it.  In the first season episode The Demon Hand, she even got to show off her ballet skills.

Summer is involved with a number of charities, including British Columbia’s B.C. Women’s Hospital & Health Center and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Up next: waiting to see if Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles will be picked up for a third season after its unfortunate move to Friday night.  (Update: T:TSCC was canceled after two seasons … unfortunately.)

SUMMER GLAU