Meredith Salenger

Meredith Salenger
Salenger in 2008
Born	(1970-03-14) March 14, 1970 (age 54)[1] Malibu, California, U.S.
Education	Harvard University
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1982–present
Spouse	Patton Oswalt ​ (m. 2017)​

Meredith Salenger (born March 14, 1970) is an American actress. Her credits include the 1985 film The Journey of Natty Gann, as the title character, and the 1989 teen comedy Dream a Little Dream.

Early life

Salenger was born and raised in Malibu, California, the daughter of Dorothy, an interior designer, and Gary Salenger, a dentist.[2] She is Jewish; her family was originally from Austria and Russia.[3][4]

Salenger enrolled at Harvard University and graduated cum laude with a degree in psychology in 1992. She received certificates in "Court-Based Mediation of Family Law Matters" and "Mediating the Litigated Case" from the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine University School of Law in 2009 and 2011, respectively.[5] She works as a mediator for the Agency for Dispute Resolution in Beverly Hills, California, when she is not filming.[6]

Career

Salenger's first starring role was in the Disney film The Journey of Natty Gann.[7] After starring in four more films by her eighteenth birthday, including A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon, The Kiss (1988) and Dream a Little Dream (1989), she left Hollywood for Harvard to further her education.^[citation needed]

Salenger resumed her acting career upon her return to Hollywood with credits including Lake Placid and The Third Wheel. Salenger has also appeared in independent films, including Quality Time and Sparkle & Charm.

Salenger appeared in a 1998 episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She also recorded a song titled "Flow Through Me" with Koishii and Hush; and she appeared as a background member of the Counting Crows video for "Hanging Around".

Salenger appeared in two episodes of Dawson's Creek in 2002 as film critic Amy Lloyd, and guest-starred on Cold Case playing victim Sloane Easton on the episode "Ravaged". Salenger had a cameo in the Disney film Race to Witch Mountain in 2009, where she played a television reporter named Natalie Gann.[8]

Salenger has performed the voices of several characters in Cartoon Network's Star Wars: The Clone Wars, including Jedi Padawan Barriss Offee and Ione Marcy during the second season, Che Amanwe Papanoida during the third season, and Pluma Sodi during the fourth season. She also appeared as Lisa Sanders in the one-hour Nick at Nite drama series Hollywood Heights which lasted 80 episodes,[9] as well as several characters in Mad and Robot Chicken television series. In addition, Salenger voiced a Nightsister ghost in a season three episode of Star Wars Rebels. She can be seen opposite Elias Koteas in Jake Squared along with Virginia Madsen and Jennifer Jason Leigh.

In November 2024, it was announced that Salenger and her husband Patton Oswalt would produce the short film Sardinia.[10]

Personal life

Salenger and comedian Patton Oswalt were engaged in July 2017,[11] marrying on November 4 of that year.[12]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1982	Annie	Orphan #2	[13]
1985	The Journey of Natty Gann	Natty Gann
1988	A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon	Lisa Bentwright
1988	The Kiss	Amy Halloran
1989	Dream a Little Dream	Lainie Diamond
1991	Edge of Honor	Alex
1994	Dead Beat	Donna
1995	Village of the Damned	Melanie Roberts
1995	Venus Rising	Maria	Video
1997	Sparkle and Charm	Gwen
1998	Sour Grapes	Degan
1998	No Code of Conduct	Rebecca Peterson
1998	Bug Buster	Veronica Hart
1999	Matters of Consequence	Reiko
1999	Lake Placid	Sharon Gare
2001	Good Advice	Amy
2001	My Best Friend's Wife	Ami Meyer
2002	The Third Wheel	Sara
2006	The Work and the Glory III: A House Divided	Caroline Mendenhall
2008	My Apocalypse	Susan Stone
2009	Race to Witch Mountain	Natalie Gann
2011	The Lamp	Lisa Walters
2017	Lego DC Super Hero Girls: Brain Drain	Lashina	Voice, direct-to-video[14][15]
2017	An American Dog Story	Daniella
2018	The Second Coming of Christ	Dr. Clea
2018	Lego DC Super Hero Girls: Super-Villain High	Lashina	Voice, direct-to-video[14]
2018	Teen Titans Go! To the Movies	Supergirl	Voice[14]
2019	The Secret Life of Pets 2	Cat Lady	Voice[14]
2020	Jelly Bean	Mom	Short
2022	The Prank	Julie Palmer	[16]
2024	Sardinia	N/A	Executive producer[17]

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1986	My Town	Amber Wheeler	TV series
1986	The Last Frontier	Tina Adamson	TV film
1988	April Morning	Ruth Simmons	TV film
1993	Tales from the Crypt	Mona	Episode: "House of Horror"
1995	Legacy of Sin: The William Coit Story	Robin Coit	TV film
1996	Pier 66	Kate Kelly	TV film
1996	L.A. Firefighters	Michelle Goldstein	3 episodes
1996	The Sentinel	Amber	Episode: "Ice Man"
1997	Poltergeist: The Legacy	Emma Scott	Episode: "Dark Angel"
1998	Buffy the Vampire Slayer	Grace Newman	Episode: "I Only Have Eyes for You"
1999	Chicks	Nic	TV film
2000	H.U.D.	Mason Noble	TV film
2001	Resurrection Blvd.	Jane Ensler	3 episodes
2002	Dawson's Creek	Amy Lloyd	2 episodes
2004–05	Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!	Aurora Six	Voice, 2 episodes[14]
2005	Cold Case	Sloane Easton	Episode: "Ravaged"
2005	Out of the Woods	Linda	TV film
2005	Close to Home	Diane Walker	Episode: "Under Threat"
2007	Life	Leslie Stark	Episode: "Tear Asunder"
2008	The Cleaner	Cristina Alvarez	Episode: "Let It Ride"
2008	House Poor	Meredith	TV series
2009	24	Linda Gadsen	Episode: "Day 7: 10:00 p.m.-11:00 p.m."
2009–2013	Star Wars: The Clone Wars	Barriss Offee, additional voices	Voice, recurring role[14]
2010	Men of a Certain Age	Jessica	Episode: "Same as the Old Boss"
2011	Damages	Jessica Lowry	2 episodes
2011, 2018	Robot Chicken	Jeannie, Jyn Erso, Malika Meerkat	Voice, 2 episodes
2011–2013	Mad	Various	Voice, recurring role
2012	Hollywood Heights	Lisa Sanders	Main role
2013	Anger Management	Meredith	Episode: "Charlie Loses It at a Baby Shower"
2013	Jodi Arias: Dirty Little Secret	Jennifer Willmott	TV film
2016	Grey's Anatomy	Daphne	Episode: "My Next Life"
2016	The Perfect Daughter	Julie Cahill	TV film
2016	Star Wars Rebels	Nightsister Ghost Kanan	Voice, episode: "Visions and Voices"
2017	Sleepovers	Barbara	TV film
2018	Daredevil	Lily Ellison	Episode: "No Good Deed"
2018	Into the Dark	Rose Tooms	Episode: "Flesh & Blood"
2019	My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic	Clear Sky	Voice, episode: "Common Ground"[14]
2019	Happy!	Antonia De Sica	Episode: "Five Chicken Fingers and a Fun"
2019	Will & Grace	Lucy	Episode: "The Chick or the Egg Donor"
2020	Home Movie: The Princess Bride	Count Rugen	Episode: "Chapter Nine: Have Fun Storming the Castle"
2021	M.O.D.O.K.	Brandi, Whitney Frost	Voice, 2 episodes
2024	Star Wars: Tales of the Empire	Barriss Offee	Voice, 3 episodes[18][19][14]

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Title of work	Result
1986	Young Artist Award	Best Starring Performance by a Young Actress - Motion Picture	The Journey of Natty Gann	Won
1988	Saturn Award	Best Supporting Actress	The Kiss	Nominated
1989	Young Artist Award	Best Young Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama	A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon	Nominated

References

1. "Happy birthday to Meredith Salenger🎉 (born March 14, 1970) American actress. Her credits include the 1985 film The Journey of Natty Gann, as the title character, and the 1989 teen comedy Dream a Little Dream". facebook.com.
2. "Paid Notice: Deaths SALENGER, ANNE GOLDENBERG". NYT. July 13, 2004.
3. "Meredith Salenger on Twitter". twitter.com. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
4. "Patton Oswalt Celebrates First Christmas with Meredith Salenger".
5. "Meredith Salenger - resume" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
6. "Agency for Dispute Resolution - Neutrals - Salenger, Meredith". Retrieved April 13, 2015.
7. Scott Cain (October 26, 1985). "Dogged determination: Meredith Salenger's journey to Natty Gann". NewsLibrary.
8. Race to Witch Mountain (2009) - closing credits.
9. Lowry, Brian (June 7, 2012). "Review: Hollywood Heights". Variety. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
10. "EP Patton Oswalt Boards Oscar Contender Short 'Sardinia', Starring Martha Plimpton, Philip Ettinger". Deadline.
11. "Patton Oswalt's New Fiancée Is the 'Happiest Girl in the Universe' — See Her Ring & Sweet Tribute to His Daughter!". People. July 6, 2017. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
12. "Tweet from Patton Oswalt". Twitter. November 5, 2017. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
13. Child, Ben (July 7, 2015). "Amanda Peterson, star of Can't Buy Me Love, dies aged 43". the Guardian. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
14. "Meredith Salenger (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved December 4, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
15. Milligan, Mercedes (June 2, 2017). "Trailer: Hypno-Havoc for LEGO DC Heroines in Brain Drain". Animation Magazine. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
16. D'Alessandro, Anthony (August 9, 2021). "Rita Moreno To Star In Dark Comedy Feature The Prank". Deadline. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
17. "EP Patton Oswalt Boards Oscar Contender Short 'Sardinia', Starring Martha Plimpton, Philip Ettinger". Deadline.
18. Complex, Valerie (April 4, 2024). "Star Wars: Tales Of The Empire Trailer: Disney+ Unveils Dave Filoni's Animated Follow-Up To Star Wars: Tales Of The Jedi". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on April 12, 2024. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
19. StarWars.com Team (April 4, 2024). "Star Wars: Tales of the Empire Trailer Revealed". Star Wars. Archived from the original on April 12, 2024. Retrieved April 12, 2024.

External links

• Meredith Salenger at IMDb