Amber Tamblyn
May 14, 1983 — Santa Monica, California
Amber Rose Tamblyn is an American actress and author who first captured national attention as a child on General Hospital, rose to prominence as the lead of Joan of Arcadia, and has since built an equally serious career as a poet, novelist, and social activist.
Hollywood Beginnings
Born on May 14, 1983 in Santa Monica, California, Amber is the daughter of actor Russ Tamblyn, best known for his roles in West Side Story and Twin Peaks. She began her career at age eleven, joining the cast of General Hospital as Emily Quartermaine, a role she held for over a decade while also pursuing film work. Her transition to leading roles began in earnest when she was cast as Joan Girardi in Joan of Arcadia, the CBS fantasy drama in which her character receives instructions directly from God. The show ran from 2003 to 2005 and earned Tamblyn Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for her performance, establishing her as one of the more talented young actresses of her generation.
Film Work and Writing Career
Tamblyn brought emotional depth to ensemble films such as the first two entries in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants franchise and in Danny Boyle's true-survival film 127 Hours (2010). Her performance opposite Tilda Swinton in Stephanie Daley won her the Best Actress prize at the Locarno International Film Festival. She made her directorial debut with Paint It Black in 2016, adapting Janet Fitch's novel and demonstrating creative ambitions well beyond performance. Parallel to her acting career, Tamblyn has cultivated a serious literary identity: she has published multiple collections of poetry and a novel, Any Man (2018), a challenging work about sexual assault told from the perspective of male survivors.
Did You Know?
Tamblyn was one of the founding members of Time's Up, the advocacy organization launched in January 2018 in response to the Harvey Weinstein scandal and the broader #MeToo movement. She had been publicly vocal about her own experiences with harassment years before the movement gained mainstream momentum, making her an early and consistent voice for change in the industry.
Advocacy and Later Work
Tamblyn is a co-founder and board member of Time's Up, which provides legal support for victims of workplace harassment. She has used her platform consistently to advocate for women's rights and to speak honestly about the entertainment industry's treatment of women. In 2021 she appeared opposite Diane Lane in FX's adaptation of Y: The Last Man. Married to actor and director David Cross since 2012, she continues to balance an unusually wide range of creative pursuits — acting, directing, writing, and advocacy — while remaining one of the more thoughtful voices in contemporary Hollywood.