Name Michelle Monaghan

Born Winthrop, Iowa, 1976

Background Monaghan studied journalism for three years at Columbia College in Chicago. To earn pocket money she worked as a model and ditched the typewriter to work as a fashion model when she quit her studies.

What’s she up to now? Having performed in Mission Impossible III and the drama North Country, Monaghan jumps genres again to appear in the Farrelly Brothers’ latest gross out comedy The Heartbreak Kid. She plays the role Cybill Shepherd played in the 1972 version, the love interest who causes the hapless husband to ditch his wife on honeymoon.

What she says about reinterpreting an established character . . . ‘I was a fan of the original film and that had a really dramatic tone throughout. I thought that a really nice change the Farrellys made was the fact that Miranda doesn’t know that she is the other woman.’

Interesting Fact Monaghan’s mother ran a day care centre and her parents adopted a number of foster children. Inspired by her upbringing the actress signed up to star in Ben Affleck’s upcoming directorial debut Gone Baby Gone. The film has had its release date put on hold because of similarities with the Madeleline McCann case.

The Heartbreak Kid is on general release from Fri 5 Oct.