“Neve is magic, pure magic. She’s beautiful, she’s accessible,
she has a quality people can relate to, that they can embrace and feel for.”
— Peter Roth, former President of Fox TV —
Neve Campbell was born in Guelph, Ontario, Canada, on October 3, 1973. Guelph is located 100 km (62 miles) west of Toronto, and about 120 km (75 miles) northwest of Niagara Falls.
Her father is Gerry, a drama teacher originally from Glasgow, Scotland, and her mother is Marnie, a psychologist originally from Amsterdam in Holland who now runs a yoga studio. They were both affiliated with the theater world. Her parents divorced while she was still a baby (2 years old).
She has an 18 month older brother named Christian and two younger halfbrothers: Damian and Alex (youngest). Her brother Christian is also an actor who starred in the short-lived Spelling-series “Malibu Shores” and the movie “Trick” to name but a few.
Her first name ‘Neve’ is a old spanish word meaning ‘snow’ and it was her mothers maiden name to which she reverted after the divorce. It is pronounced like ‘bev’ – ‘nev’. She hates it when people mispronounce her name, especially when they call her ‘neeve’ (with a long flat e-sound) or ‘nevey’ (with emphasis on the second syllable) – or ‘nevester’ or other improvised nicknames.
Neve also has a middle name. I used to be asked about it a lot because it used to be known only to friends and family. In 1998 I got kind permission to reveal it here to the world for the first time. Her full name is Neve Adrianne Campbell, but she never uses that middle name.
She started dancing at age 6 following a visit with her father to see “The Nutcracker” and at age 9 she got a full scholarship and began training at the National Ballet School of Canada. She has been trained in 6 different variaties of dance, including jazz, flamenco, modern, hiphop and classical ballet. She performed in “Sleeping Beauty” and “The Nutcracker” with the National Ballet of Canada.
Various injuries made a professional dancing career unlikely, and when the stressfull and extremely harsh competitiveness between the dancers almost resulted in a nervous breakdown at age 15, she quit dancing. She then spent two months in the modelling business following a discovery by a talent scout, but found it unsatisfying and shallow – and quit.
She then turned to acting, her first being a commercial for Eaton Center, a mall in Canada, and later came her stage debut as the Degas Girl in “The Phantom of the Opera” at the Pantages Theater in Toronto, a production directed by Hal Prince, where she performed in over 800 shows. She likes the theater because she gets an automatic response from the audience. It was also here she met Jeff Colt, her future husband, he happened to be bartending at that theater at night. In the daytime was was a daycare teacher.
They moved in together in 1990 when she was 17, about a year after she met him. After a long engagement they were married on April 3, 1995 in England in Westminster Cathedral near Wimbledon. They then spent their honeymoon in Paris, Venice and Zurich and settled down to live in her recently aquired 3-bedroom house in Laurel Canyon in the Hollywood Hills in the Los Angeles area, California.
But it wasn’t meant to be it seems… On July 30, 1997 they announced that they were going to be seperated and Jeff moved out.
She comments on the seperation in a press release (September 18, 1997): “Jeff and I have been together for over six and a half years,” she writes. “We’ve been through a lot, and we’ve learned much from each other. However, we have come to realize that both of us have some growing to do, and we need to be on our own for a while. There has always been much more depth to our relationship than the press or public could see. Jeff and I love each other very much, and that’s going to continue.”
In October 1997 she officially requested a divorce from Jeff. On November 6 he filed to finalize the divorce.
Today Neve is still officially single although she’s been rumoured to be dating acting collegues like Matthew Lillard, John Cusack and Matthew Perry. Contrary to rumours she’s not going steady with any of them, nor anyone else.
“She’s got great sensitivity. She’s very, very professional.
I can’t recall anybody who seems so able to stay in the pocket emotionally throughout the day.”
— Wes Craven, director of “Scream”, on Neve —
On television, Neve Campbell appeared with Corbin Bernsen and Amanda Pays in the NBC movie “I Know My Son Is Alive”. She also played Daisy in the television series “Catwalk” on Canada’s YTV, a series that was cancelled after two seasons but was picked up for syndication by MTV. Most known is her performance as Julia Salinger on FOX’ “Party of Five”, a show that won an Emmy for ‘Best Show’ in 1996. She has also made television guest star appearances on “The Kids In The Hall,” “Kung-Fu,” and “Are You Afraid of the Dark?” (as Nonie) for Nickelodeon.
She has starred in the feature films “Paint Cans”, “Web of Deceit”, “The Dark” and “Baree”. She co-starred in “Canterville Ghost”, an ABC/Hallmark Movie of the Week, with Patrick Stewart. Stewart is popularly known for his role as Captain of the Starship Enterprise in “Star Trek: The Next Generation”. She won a Family Film Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Film for her work in “The Canterville Ghost”.
She also costarred in Columbia Pictures’ “The Craft”, a film about high school students who experiment with witchcraft. “The Craft” was directed by Andrew Fleming and costarred Fairuza Balk, Robin Tunney and Rachel True.
One of her later works is “Scream”, a horror movie from Dimension Films. It is written by Kevin Williamson and directed by Wes Craven of “Nightmare on Elm Street” fame, and stars Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, Drew Barrymore, David Arquette and Skeet Ulrich. This movie won MTVs ‘Best Movie of the Year’ award in 1997, and generally got great reviews worldwide.
The sequel to “Scream” called “Scream 2” is also out from Dimension Films, again starring Neve as Sidney and with Wes Craven directing a Kevin Williamson screenplay. Neve won the ‘Best Actress in a horror movie’ award at the 4th annual Blockbuster Entertainment Awards for this part.
The exciting conclusion to the “Scream” trilogy called “Scream 3” is also out, again with Neve starring as Sidney and Courtney Cox and David Arquette reprising their roles from the previous installments. Again Wes Craven directs a Kevin Williamson script.
Another recommended movie is “Wild Things”, a Columbia Pictures release co-starring Kevin Bacon, Matt Dillon, Denise Richards, Bill Murray and Daphne Ruban Vega, where Neve plays Suzie Toller, an “messed up, ex-convict, drug-addicted bisexual” (Neve’s own words). It is the most twisted plot and a powerful performance by Neve that again proves that she can do anything, even playing a multi-layered character like this flawlessly.
And Miramax has a film out called “54“, a disco drama where Neve plays glamorous soap-opera star, co-starring with Mike Myers of “Saturday Night Live” and “Wayne’s World” fame, and Salma Hayek known from “Fools Rush In” and “From Dusk Till Dawn”.
Very interesting is a film by Dean Paras called “Hairshirt” where Neve costars with her brother Christian and Katie Wright, known from “Melrose Place” and “Malibu Shores” (where she costarred with Christian as well). Neve also coproduces this movie that had world premiere at the 1998 Toronto International Film Festival on September 12, 1998. It will be rereleased in 2001 as “Too Smooth”.
Neve has also done a few comedies. First was “Three to Tango” co-starring Matthew Perry (from “Friends”) and Dylan McDermott, directed by Damon Santostefano. Also a comedy from the people behind “Ruthless People” is out, entitled “Drowning Mona” co-starring Danny DeVito and Bette Midler, directed by Nick Gomez. Then there’s the drama “Panic” co-starring John Ritter, Donald Sutherland and Nicholle Tom (from “The Nanny”), written and directed by Henry Bromell. Also announced is the drama “Move” (aka. “Red Shoes”) written by Eric Guggenheim.
She has been on several major talkshows, including:
- Late Night with Conan O’Brian (NBC: Dec 20, 1996)
- The Late Show with David Letterman (CBS: Dec 19, 1996)
- The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (NBC: Dec 5, 1997 / (*) Dec 23, 1997 / Mar 13, 1998 / Oct 13, 1999).
(*) Just a few seconds in a special video Christmas greeting featuring several celebrities singing individual notes from a nursery song, including a nice scream from Neve to end it all! - Rosie O’Donnell Show (Feb 18, 1998)
“Things have happened quickly for me — and they can stop as quickly as they started.
But right now… I feel wonderful.”
— Neve Campbell, on her growing career —
There has been written two unauthorized biographies on Neve. Both contain very little information not found on this site and Neve does not get a dime from the sale of these books nor does any Neve-related charity see any money directly from the sale of these book, which might be a reason not to buy. But there’s some pretty nice glossy pictures in there that might be worth the money.
But now there is a way to make Neve’s favorite charity benefit from the sale of these books. If you buy something through links to amazon.com from here, you support Tourette research because all proceeds from the association with amazon.com will be donated there.
“Neve Campbell: An Unauthorized Biography” by Elina Furman.
Paperback – 208 pages.
Published January 2000 by Renaissance Books.
Other trivia:
Neve, her brother Christian Campbell, and Matthew Lillard of “Scream” have formed the Blue Sphere Alliance Production Company at The Lex Theater in Hollywood. Christian is heading it and Neve only puts in the occasional appearance because of her busy schedule.
Neve is a spokeswoman for the Tourette Syndrome Association (her younger brother Damian has the disease). Neve: “Tourette Syndrome means a lot to me because my younger brother suffers from it. There’s a great lack of awareness about what Tourette Syndrome is. People don’t realize that despite having this condition, it is not necssarily debilitating. Tourette sufferers can and do lead very successful lives. It is a very complex condition, but people do cope with it amazingly well. Educating the public about Tourette Syndrome is very important to me.” You can read more about Tourette Syndrome here (TSA) or here (TSFC – also in french).
Neve does not like scary movies! – She screams a lot when watching them and gets nightmares afterwards for weeks! – But she loves to make them!
She believes in ghosts and she claims that her old house in Laurel Canyon was haunted. A woman was murdered in it around 1991 (before Neve bought it!) and Neve says that both she and other people visiting have seen a mystery woman that wasn’t supposed to be there.
Neve was picked on in high school (Lorne Park Secondary School) and she had a low self esteem because of that. They even made a smear song about her, she claims.
She uses yoga and meditation to keep her calm and to give her energy. She also likes reading about Buddhism and other paths to stability.
Her three dogs are all shi-tzu’s. The oldest is named Buster and it has a slow heartbeat that makes him rather timid. The two others are named Bubba (used to be Christians dog) and Bluto.
She loves to sing, dance, swim and go horseback riding, and she also enjoys rollerblading and listening to classical music.
Dancing is still very important to her and she built a dance studio in the basement of her house so it is easier for her to find time to work on it. She also uses it to handle most of her problems or just to escape the busyness of her life.
She is extremely ticklish especially under her right shoulder blade.
She was nicknamed ‘Fog Horn’ by her co-stars on “Party of Five”.
She has a very dark sarchastic sense of humor that a lot of people find a bit offensive, and Neve often has to restrain herself in order to avoid offending too much or too many. She also has a lot of humor and laughs easily and often – with a cute, slightly horsey laugh.
“Party of Five” was filmed 10 months a year, 14 hours a day, 6 days a week, which makes it very hard work. Most filming took place at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, CA.
She has a hobby of making jewellery for herself. She’s also wearing some of her creations occasionally all though the various seasons of “Party of Five”.
She drives a ’97 Porsche 911 Carrera which is aventine green and has tan interior and it has a little dent right beside the left headlight.
Neve’s right big toe is shorter than her left due to a 1999 bunionectomy to remove a bunion that came from her ballet dancing past.
She hates to cook, but loves to invite people over to her home for barbecues. Her home also includes a large pool, perfect for summer relaxation. But she rarely sunbathes because she’s prone to freckles.
Neve smokes… Marlboro Lights or American Spirits to be exact.
To answer a question I’ve often been asked: No, I do not have any nude pictures of Neve because she’s never posed for any, so none exist! – In a recent interview she comments on stripping: “I think every woman has thought about stripping. I’ve thought about that. I wouldn’t do it, not in public anyway. What about that is interesting? I think for a woman the challenge is to… is almost in a sense how many can you attract? You find out where your sexual power is in that sense.”
What kind of student was Neve? “I was not a straight A student. Academically, I guess I am not as smart as Julia [Salinger].”
Neve dropped out of school at age 15! “All of a sudden I’m 15, and the member of a fantastic [dance] company. So it didn’t make a lot of sense to say, ‘Oh, I’m not going to take Phantom of the Opera because I need to learn more about history.”
“You always knew when she was pissed off – this sullen darkness would come over her face.
She wouldn’t complain, but you knew she was upset.”
— Christian Campbell, on his sister, Neve —
Vital statistics:
- Height: 166 cm (5’5 1/2″) (verified)
- Weight: 55 kg (123 lbs.)
- Natural hair color: Brown
- Eye color: Brown
Neve’s favorites, opinions and experiences:
- Actress: Susan Sarandon.
- Actor: Michael J. Fox.
- Movie: An American in Paris. “It’s Gene Kelly.”
- TV-show: The Wonder Years. “I really loved that show.”
- Musical artist: Loreena McKennitt. It’s a “misty Celtic-renaissance-fair pop”, akind to what Enya is known for.
- Meal: Lasagna. “I could eat it all day.”
- Beer: Anything european, especially Heinekens (also Christians and Marnies favorite).
- Breakfast beverage: Coffee, preferably home made, but the brews from Starbucks and The Coffee Bean also come in handy. Always the real thing – no decaffeinated stuff!
- Trait in a friend: A sense of humor. “If someone can make me laugh, that compensates for a lot.”
- Color: Navy Blue. “But really anything blue.”
- Book: “The Prophet” by Kahlil Gibran (1923). “It’s a really wonderful book.”
- To wear: “An old sweater, or whatever’s comfortable.” She especially likes to order clothes from the Tweeds catalogue.
- Worst date: The first one. “I ordered french onion soup. Big mistake.”
- Greatest fear: “Death of happiness”
- Scariest thing about Hollywood: “A fake smile.”
- What frightens Neve: “Closed spaces and knives.”
- Thing to do: Go on picnics on Center Island in Toronto with friends, a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken, a beer and a Frisbee. She enjoys good conversation and relating to people. “Those are the most important things to me in my life.”
- Person she admires: Johnny Depp. “…because of his quirky characters.”
- Scariest movie she ever saw: The Changeling.
- Most disliked bodypart: Her feet. She thinks they’re ugly because her toes are too big.
“Lighting candles and believing that you can create white light around you wards off evil…
I don’t believe in set spells or any set religion, but I believe we all have energy we can focus.”
— Neve Campbell, in Interview, January 1997 —