Summer Bishil Bio

Summer Bishil was raised in Pasadena (California). At the age of three, she left California and young, her family and her moved to the United States. Summer went to American and British schools while her family was living abroad. Her return to Pasadena California, just short of her fourteenth birthday. In love with the idea of becoming an actress from the age of five, Summer took her first acting class at 14. Nine months later, she got an agent as well as a manager and began to follow her dreams full-time. She is enrolled in college in her own time, and is working on her degree. Named one of the "Ten Actors To Watch" by Variety (2007). Nominee for Best Actress – Spirit Award. When she was 14, Bishil began acting lessons. Within one year she had signed a contract with an agency and manager. Her first appearance was on the short-lived Nickelodeon show Just for Kicks, followed by appearances on a variety of other children's shows.Bishil's first big break came when she played the lead in Alan Ball's film, Towelhead in 2007, a film adaptation of the novel of the same name. Dana Stevens, a Slate critic, claimed that "Her performance in a film that , despite its noble intentions, is completely fake as well as embarrassing and like an extended PSA concerning inappropriate touching is the most honest thing." Bob Strauss, a Los Angeles newspaper journalist, stated that Bishil "...is among the top natural actresses on film in recent times. In the September 12 Los Angeles Times review, Gary Goldstein stated that Summer Bishil who is who is a "...newcomer who is a newcomer, delivers an impressive and sassy performance as Jasira. "In 2009, she shot Wayne Kramer's project, Crossing Over, starring Harrison Ford, Ray Liotta and Ashley Judd, a portrayal that received some favorable notice from Associated Press's Jay Reiner. She was cast as Azula in M. Night Shyamalan’s film The Last Airbender (2010). The sequel was not made.