Biography
Michelle Monaghan enjoyed a successful modeling career with plans to pursue a career in journalism before a full-time acting career became an option for her. She'd made some minor appearances on TV shows such as
Young Americans and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, as well as some nationally run commercials, but it was a recurring role on the acclaimed series
Boston Public in 2002 that really opened doors for the young actress. Over the next few years, she scored big-screen parts in
It Runs in the Family, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and
The Bourne Supremacy. She shortly thereafter scored a role alongside
Charlize Theron and
Frances McDormand in
North Country and a starring role in the black comedy Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang with Robert Downey Jr. and
Val Kilmer. In 2005, she appeared as the love interest of
Tom Cruise in the hotly anticipated Mission: Impossible III, making her a far more familiar face and name. She immediately signed on to next appear in the
Ben Affleck film Gone, Baby, Gone. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide