Alicia Roanne Witt (born August , ) is an American actress,
singer-songwriter, and pianist. She first came to fame as a child
actress after being discovered by David Lynch, who cast her as Alia
Atreides in his film Dune () and in a guest role in his television
series Twin Peaks (). Witt had a critically acclaimed role as a
disturbed teenager in Fun () and appeared as a music student in Mr.
Holland's Opus () and as a terrorized college student in the horror
film Urban Legend (). She appeared in Cameron Crowe's Vanilla Sky (),
Two Weeks Notice (), Last Holiday (), and the thriller Minutes ().
Witt has made television appearances in The Walking Dead, The
Sopranos, Nashville, Two and a Half Men, Friday Night Lights, Law &
Order: Criminal Intent, [The Mentalist]Cybill, Justified, Twin Peaks:
The Return, CSI: Miami, Andy, and Orange Is the New Black. In addition
to acting, Witt has been described as a musical prodigy, as an
accomplished pianist, singer, and songwriter. She released her
self-titled debut album in . Witt has also appeared in six Hallmark
Channel movies, and one Hallmark Movies and Mysteries Channel
movie.Witt was born on August , , in Worcester, Massachusetts, to
Diane (née Pietro), a junior high school reading teacher, and Robert
Witt, a science teacher and photographer. She has a brother, Ian.
"Talking by age two and reading by the age of four," Witt has been
described as a child prodigy. Her acting talent was recognized by
director David Lynch in , when he heard her recite Shakespeare's Romeo
and Juliet on the television show That's Incredible! at age . He would
begin working with her in film and television even before Witt earned
her high school equivalency credential (at age ). She did
undergraduate work in piano at Boston University and competed
nationally.Witt's discovery by Lynch led to his casting of the
"flame-haired" child in the movie Dune (), as Paul Atreides's sister
Alia; she turned during filming. She worked with Lynch again when she
appeared in an episode of Twin Peaks, playing the younger sister of
Lara Flynn Boyle's character Donna. She also played the blind
girlfriend of a serial killer in The Mentalist.These experiences led
to Witt's having small parts in Mike Figgis' Liebestraum (), in which
her brother Ian also appears, the Gen-X drama Bodies, Rest & Motion
(), and the TV movie The Disappearance of Vonnie (). In , Witt landed
her first lead role in a film, playing a disturbed, murderous teenager
in Fun and receiving the Special Jury Recognition Award at the
Sundance Festival. Witt was then cast in the "desultory" Four Rooms,
as Madonna's lover in the episode, "The Missing Ingredient".
singer-songwriter, and pianist. She first came to fame as a child
actress after being discovered by David Lynch, who cast her as Alia
Atreides in his film Dune () and in a guest role in his television
series Twin Peaks (). Witt had a critically acclaimed role as a
disturbed teenager in Fun () and appeared as a music student in Mr.
Holland's Opus () and as a terrorized college student in the horror
film Urban Legend (). She appeared in Cameron Crowe's Vanilla Sky (),
Two Weeks Notice (), Last Holiday (), and the thriller Minutes ().
Witt has made television appearances in The Walking Dead, The
Sopranos, Nashville, Two and a Half Men, Friday Night Lights, Law &
Order: Criminal Intent, [The Mentalist]Cybill, Justified, Twin Peaks:
The Return, CSI: Miami, Andy, and Orange Is the New Black. In addition
to acting, Witt has been described as a musical prodigy, as an
accomplished pianist, singer, and songwriter. She released her
self-titled debut album in . Witt has also appeared in six Hallmark
Channel movies, and one Hallmark Movies and Mysteries Channel
movie.Witt was born on August , , in Worcester, Massachusetts, to
Diane (née Pietro), a junior high school reading teacher, and Robert
Witt, a science teacher and photographer. She has a brother, Ian.
"Talking by age two and reading by the age of four," Witt has been
described as a child prodigy. Her acting talent was recognized by
director David Lynch in , when he heard her recite Shakespeare's Romeo
and Juliet on the television show That's Incredible! at age . He would
begin working with her in film and television even before Witt earned
her high school equivalency credential (at age ). She did
undergraduate work in piano at Boston University and competed
nationally.Witt's discovery by Lynch led to his casting of the
"flame-haired" child in the movie Dune (), as Paul Atreides's sister
Alia; she turned during filming. She worked with Lynch again when she
appeared in an episode of Twin Peaks, playing the younger sister of
Lara Flynn Boyle's character Donna. She also played the blind
girlfriend of a serial killer in The Mentalist.These experiences led
to Witt's having small parts in Mike Figgis' Liebestraum (), in which
her brother Ian also appears, the Gen-X drama Bodies, Rest & Motion
(), and the TV movie The Disappearance of Vonnie (). In , Witt landed
her first lead role in a film, playing a disturbed, murderous teenager
in Fun and receiving the Special Jury Recognition Award at the
Sundance Festival. Witt was then cast in the "desultory" Four Rooms,
as Madonna's lover in the episode, "The Missing Ingredient".
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