Facts

  • On People magazine’s ’50 Most Beautiful’ list. [1999]
  • Cut her signature long, curly locks. [August 1999]
  • Parents are David and Stephanie.
  • Siblings are Todd and Julie.
  • Raised in Mesa, Arizona and Denver, Colorado.
  • Is an accomplished Dancer.
  • After Keri had her hair clipped in August 1999, this affected the overall performance of “Felicity” (1998), where it affected fan consensus and the Nielsen ratings. A letter-writing campaign saved the show for another season, and the WB network came up with a resolution, where young stars will not alter their current hairstyles as a strategy to avoid a TV series airing on the WB network, to cause it to be cancelled, or for worse, having an actor/actress fired or subsequently terminated out of his/her contract.
  • The ratings for her show Felicity dropped dramatically when she cut her hair for the second season.
  • After winning a Golden Globe for Best Actress, Drama Series, for Felicity, she reportedly asked for a sizable raise and walked off the set when the network refused. Russell was receiving an estimated $20,000-$30,000 per episode – the same pay as her non-leading co-stars.
  • She attended Highlands Ranch High School in Highlands Ranch, Colorado.
  • She was named for her grandfather Kermit and spent most of her childhood relocating between Texas, Arizona, Colorado, and California because of her father’s job.
  • During her summer 1999 hiatus from Felicity, she took a vacation to Ireland, revisiting the country where she made Mad About Mambo and took a camping trip to Yosemite, part of which was photographed for InStyle magazine.
  • She was in a music video for Bon Jovi “Always”.
  • She did a TV commercial for J.C. Penney in 1994.
  • She got $30,000 per episode for her role in Felicity
  • Read for the part of Lois Lane for Superman Returns (2006), but lost to Kate Bosworth.
  • Did not return for the final season of “MMC” (1989) in order to film the short-lived sitcom “Daddy’s Girls” (1994).
  • Is still friends with fellow “MMC” (1989) cast member Ilana Miller. She brought Ilana with her to the 1999 MTV Movie Awards.
  • Keri was not a strong singer when she was on “MMC” (1989) in the early nineties. She very rarely sang solo. She was hired for her acting and dancing abilities.
  • Currently (2006) serving as a model and spokesperson for Cover Girl cosmetics.
  • She and her fiancé, Shane Deary, were married on Valentine’s Day, 2007, at a restaurant in New York City. Deary is a contractor.
  • Wed Shane Deary at the Harrison restaurant in NYC’s West Village on Valentine’s Day, 2007, before ten immediate family members.
  • Gave birth to a boy, River Russell Deary, on June 9, 2007 in New York City.
  • Keri and her husband are remodeling a brownstone in Brooklyn [November, 2007].
  • Had a child in real life almost exactly a year after playing a pregnant woman in Waitress (2007).
  • Learned to play the cello, taking lessons for four hours a day, for her role in August Rush in 2007
  • Was the voice of Wonder Woman in the animated movie Wonder Woman in 2009
  • Gave birth to her second child, Willa Lou Deary in December 2011
  • After lengthy negotiations, she was cast as the lead role in the FX drama series, The Americans in 2012
  • Currently in a long term relationship with her co-star from The Americans, Matthew Rhys
  • Gave birth to her third child, a boy named Sam Evans, in May 2016
  • She was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in May 2017

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