Holly Marie Combs

Holly Marie Combs (born December 3, 1973) is an American film and television actress and producer whose roles have included a portrayal in Charmed as Piper Halliwell and another in Picket Fences, where she received a Young Artist Award for her role, as Kimberly Brock. She now stars in the ABC Family original series Pretty Little Liars as Ella Montgomery.

Combs was born in San Diego, California. At the time of her birth, her mother, Lauralei Combs (née Berckhem), was sixteen years old and her father was seventeen. Combs' biological parents married, but the two split up after two years, feeling they were too young to make a marriage work. While Combs was learning to walk, she hit her head on a marble table, resulting in a scar over her right eyebrow. She went through many different homes with her mother, often having very little privacy, while her mother attempted to pursue an acting career. When Combs was seven, she and her mother moved to New York City. She was 12 when her mother married her stepfather. In New York City, Combs attended Beekman Hill Elementary and then the Professional Children's School.

Although she had a number of minor roles in the late 1980s, including a brief speaking part in Oliver Stone's Born on the Fourth of July, Combs' major acting debut arrived in the 1992 TV drama series Picket Fences. She auditioned for the role of Kimberly while she was in New York. The casting agent told her that she wasn't right for the part because she "didn't have a big enough heart." Combs retorted, "If you're looking for someone with a big heart, what the hell are you doing in New York?" She was later called back and offered the job.[4] Picket Fences ran for four years, winning Combs critical acclaim and a Young Artist award.[2][3]

In 1992, Combs made her appearance in Simple Men, Chain of Desire, and Dr. Giggles, in which she plays its protagonist, the 19-year-old daughter of Cliff De Young's character and girlfriend of Glenn Quinn's character, Jennifer Campbell.

In 1996, she starred alongside Alyson Hannigan and Tangi Miller in a pilot called Friends for Life. The pilot wasn't picked up.

In 1997, she played real-life convicted murderess Diane Zamora in the television movie Swearing Allegiance, a far cry from her other good-girl roles. Combs was with her friend Shannen Doherty when Doherty was given the pilot script for Charmed. Doherty took Combs along to the audition when Combs said she wanted to take part in the audition. Combs auditioned for the role of Prue Halliwell and Doherty for Piper Halliwell, but they ended up switching roles. Alyssa Milano and Combs both became producers for Charmed in the fifth season.[6] For the first three seasons of Charmed (which debuted in 1998 and was a hit TV series, ending in May 2006), Combs played the second oldest of the three sisters. When the eldest, Doherty, left after the third season and Rose McGowan joined the cast for the fourth season, Combs played the eldest sister for the remaining five seasons of the show. All the while she was the youngest of all four actresses.

In 2008, Combs signed a contract with Lifetime Television to produce and star in a new TV series, Mistresses which was originally scheduled to air in January 2009, but was not picked up.

Combs made her television comeback in June 2010 on ABC Family's new show Pretty Little Liars. Combs plays Ella Montgomery, the mother of main character Aria Montgomery (played by Lucy Hale). The new series premiered on ABC Family June 8, 2010. Pretty Little Liars has been extended for another 12 episodes, making Season 1 a total of 22 episodes and currently in its third season.

Combs attended Anaheim Comic Con with former Charmed co-stars Shannen Doherty (Prue) and Victor Webster (Coop) on April 17, 2010.

In 1993, Combs married Bryan Travis Smith, they divorced in 1997. She then went on to marry former Charmed key-grip and long-time boyfriend David Donoho on February 14, 2004. They are the parents of three sons: Finley Arthur Donoho, (born April 26, 2004), Riley Edward Donoho, (born October 26, 2006) and Kelley James Donoho, (born May 26, 2009), all born by caesarian section (with Kelley being an emergency C-section). Combs kept her third pregnancy a secret due to it being high risk with a delivery at 35 weeks. Combs filed for divorce for her second marriage in November 2011 citing irreconcilable differences.

Combs smoked cigarettes from the age of fifteen until giving up when she was pregnant with her first child.

Credit: Wikipedia