Keena was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. Her parents are William Junior,
a financial sales manager, and Mary Catherine Keena, a nurse. She has a sister, Samantha, who is two years older.[3]
In the Rob Schmidt-directed Crime and Punishment in Suburbia (2000), Keena played the principal role of Roseanne Skolnick, an outwardly popular high schooler with a dysfunctional home life. Describing it as "messy but hungry ... the kind of movie that lives and breathes", film critic Roger Ebert said of Keena, "[She] does a great deal with Roseanne, a character who is herself an actress–pretending to be a daughter, a girlfriend, a cheerleader, all the time screaming inside".[5]Suburbia was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at that year's Sundance Film Festival.[6]
Alongside recurring appearances as Abby Morgan on Dawson's Creek (1998–1999), Kristen on Entourage (2004–2005), and a starring role as college student Rachel Lindquist on Judd Apatow's short-lived cult hit sitcom, Undeclared (2001–2002),[9] Keena played a string of television guest roles throughout the 2000s, on series such as Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Without a Trace, and CSI. For her portrayal of Bonnie Crasnoff—a patient who is severely injured in a train accident—on the second season of medical drama Grey's Anatomy, Keena was nominated for a 2006 Gold Derby Award.[10] The episode attracted a U.S. audience of 16.67 million viewers and received universal praise from critics, with many since referring to it as one of the series' greatest episodes.[11][12][13][14]
Personal life
During the filming of Night of the Demons (2009), Keena became romantically involved with her co-star, Edward Furlong. The pair dated for four years,[15] with Furlong being arrested on three occasions between 2012 and 2013 for physically assaulting Keena,[16] eventually spending six months in jail.[15]
^Papamichael, Stella (August 3, 2005). "Movies - review - Man of the House DVD". BBC Online. Retrieved October 10, 2024. It's hardly compelling stuff, but Keena at least offers some comedy value when it turns out she has a fear of heights. With eyes wide and glassy, she bleats, "I cried all the first day. I thought I would die!"
^"25 Best Cult TV Shows from the Past 25 Years." Entertainment Weekly. August 3, 2012, p. 41.