Ian Somerhalder
Somerhalder was born in Covington, Louisiana, the son of Edna, a massage therapist, and Robert Somerhalder, a building contractor. He has a brother, Bob, a former professional cyclist, and a sister, Robin, a broadcast journalist. His father is of French and English descent and his mother, who grew up on a pig farm in Mississippi, is of Irish and Choctaw ancestry. The surname “Somerhalder” originates from his adoptive great-grandfather. His biological great-grandfather, a wealthy English landowner whose surname was “Hull”, paid an immigrant worker to marry his pregnant mistress and give their baby a name, which was Somerhalder.
Somerhalder’s parents divorced when he was thirteen. He grew up with his mother, whom he has described as being “very spiritual”; she raised the young Ian on Eastern medicine and organic foods. Says Somerhalder, “She made my baby food and had me on blue-green alga probably since I was in third grade. I never had sugar. I never got to have white bread or any white-flour products.” He led a life of soy and homemade root beer (save for German chocolate cake once a year on his birthday). He remembers being in Catholic school[1] and trading his grilled vegetable sandwich on marble rye for a classmate’s peanut butter and jelly on Wonder bread–and getting sick from it. “I can’t eat fast food,” he says. “I haven’t eaten McDonald’s in 10 years. I eat fish every day.” His family in Louisiana was significantly affected by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and, as of June 2007, has not been able to recover what it lost from the costliest and one of the deadliest hurricanes in the history of the United States. “I had a great [childhood]. We had horses and motorcycles and boats, but I always wanted more – a bigger horse or a faster bike or whatever,” Somerhalder remembers. So when he was in fifth grade, Edna suggested the 10-year-old go out and earn a living by modeling, as she had connections in the business. “So I said, “Sure, sign me up,’ and I got a three-year contract with the Ford agency in New York.”
With his mother’s encouragement, Somerhalder began his career as a fashion model at the age of 10. He modeled in New York, Paris, Milan, and London. His modeling credits include Calvin Klein, American Eagle Outfitters, Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, Versace, and Guess?. He was the face of Guess? for two fall seasons. He continues to model with his agency DNA Model Management in New York City, and Priscilla’s Model Management in Sydney, Australia.
His first major acting role was in The Rules of Attraction, Roger Avary’s adaptation of the Bret Easton Ellis novel of the same name.
His television work includes appearances in shows such as Smallville (in which he played Adam Knight, a dead person who is being kept alive by a special drug), CSI: Miami, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Now and Again, and The Big Easy, as well as producing Recess.
His biggest role to date was as a main cast member for the first season of the American television series Lost as the character Boone Carlyle. Although his character was killed off in the first season, Somerhalder returned to play Boone Carlyle in flashbacks and dream sequences in the second and third season of Lost. In the second season he guest starred in the flashbacks of Boone’s stepsister, Shannon Rutherford, in the episode “Abandoned”. In the third season, he guest starred in the episodes “Further Instructions” (appearing in John Locke’s dreams in the episode) and “Expose”.
In 2006, he starred in Pulse, a remake of the Japanese horror movie Kairo, with Kristen Bell and Christina Millian. The movie was neither a commercial nor a critical success, but performed relatively well at the box office on its first week of release. In May 2006, Somerhalder was named one of DNA Models’ Top 10 Male Models. Most recently, Somerhalder guest starred as Nick in HBO’s Tell Me You Love Me, appearing fully nude in a sex scene with actress Michelle Borth. Somerhalder has been cast as the character of Damon for the upcoming drama pilot The Vampire Diaries based on the book series by Ljane Smith. Somerhalder is also due to appear in LOST’s final season at some point.
