Tracey Birdsall | |
|---|---|
 Birdsall in 2015 | |
| Born | July 6 |
| Other name | Tracey Birdsall-Smith |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1978–present |
| Children | 3 |
Tracey Birdsall (born July 6, also known as Tracey Birdsall-Smith) is an American actress and producer.
Birdsall is best known for her longstanding collaboration with sci-fi movie director, Neil Johnson for more than three decades, with Birdsall first starring as Joni in Johnson's 1992 short film, Invasion Force.
Birdsall was born on July 6, in Van Nuys, California. and grew up in Burbank, California.
She started performing as a young girl both on stage and on camera. She recalls
"My mother drove me to the Gary Dance Studio for lessons constantly as far back as I can remember. She would sew my costumes, drive me to rehearsals, and support me in my shows. It was in my blood, and my fondest childhood memories were on stage."
As a teenager, she sang in choirs at local churches while maintaining an interest in computer science and robotics. After getting her first commercial for a Sunkist Soda commercial in high school, Birdsall appeared in several other TV commercials while she attended acting classes and went to auditions. She appeared in the soap opera Loving, hosted Million Dollar Showcase of Homes and was a special news reporter for CNBC.
In 2010, Birdsall co-wrote, produced and starred in the TV movie short, Tick Tock. The same year, Tick Tock had appeared in several film festivals in the United States, Mexico and New Zealand, winning several awards including from Kent Film Festival, The Accolade Film Awards, The Mexico City International Film Festival and was a Top 10 finalist in The 2010 USA Film Festival.
In 2011, Birdsall, at age 48, was one of 10 finalists nationwide to make it into the Wilhelmina Models "40+" contest.
On June 10, 2015, Birdsall was invited as the guest of honor to the Temecula Independent Film Festival and presented the Trailblazer Award. The same night, Birdsall attended the world premiere of action/sci-fi film, Doomsday (2015), which Birdsall also co-starred in.
In 2017, for her performance as Sienna in the 2016 science fiction film Rogue Warrior: Robot Fighter, Birdsall earned several awards; including the Female Action Performer of the Year Award at the Action On Film Festival, the Best Actress Jury Award from the West Coast Film Festival, and the Best Actress Jury Award from the Los Angeles Theatrical Release Awards Competition. She was also nominated for Best Actress at the 50th Annual WorldFest-Houston in 2017.
Birdsall has also appeared in the title character of the 2018 comedy feature Who's Jenna...?, and in Season 2 of the Netflix comedy series, I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson.
On March 14, 2019, the Women in Film Forum was invited by The United Nations as to participate and speak at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women's 63rd Session in New York City. Birdsall was invited and spoke as a member of the organization. Birdsall spoke on the topics of her upbringing, gender identity, Women in Film, the challenges of acting and producing as a single mother, her acting studies under acting coach Margie Haber, and gender equality.
The same week, The WeLink International Film Festival was also held at the United Nations. Zoe Chang, Mulitmedia Guild President and speaking member of the Women In Film Forum, presented Birdsall with the Actress of the Year of Women in Film in the Delegates Room Dining Hall and Birdsall was later invited to participate in the filmmaker's panel.
Birdsall was involved in several projects by director, writer, and longtime collaborator, Neil Johnson. She took a lead role as Dijanne in the time travel series The Time War (2023) and reprised her role of Sienna in the television series Age of Darkness (2023) that same year.
Birdsall lives in Malibu, California. She flew relief missions to less accessible airports in Haitifollowing the 2010 Haiti earthquake. She has two daughters and one son. Birdall's oldest daughter, Nicky Birdsall (née Pierson), is also an actor and co-starred with her mother on a number of projects such as I Might Even Love You (1998), Tick Tock (2010), Rogue Warrior: Robot Fighter (2016) and an upcoming independent sci-fi/time-travel film, At the Edge of Time (TBA) as Occulus. Nicky Birdsall was also briefly engaged once to a Greek sea captain while on a family holiday cruise in the Panama Canal and frequented the Falkland Islands to photograph penguins.
Steamboat Willie composer and Walt Disney musician, Bert Lewis, is Birdall's great-grandfather.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Casino | Short Film | |
| 1992 | Invasion Force | Joni | Short Film |
| 1995 | Horripulations | Carol | Short Film |
| 1997 | The Plague | Mother | Short Film |
| 1998 | I Might Even Love You | Allie Parker | |
| 2000 | The Prophet's Game | Reporter Carol Stone | |
| 2010 | Tick Tock | Kitty | Short Film |
| 2013 | The Grounded | Cathy-Lee Peterson | |
| 2014 | Dawn of the Crescent Moon | Tracey | |
| Courting Chaos | Hairdresser | ||
| Going Very Badly | Francesca | Short Film | |
| Dawn of Destruction | |||
| Starship: Apocalypse | Deliverance Computer (voice) | ||
| 2015 | Doomsday | Spaceship Computer (voice) | |
| 2016 | Rogue Warrior: Robot Fighter | Sienna | |
| 2018 | Who's Jenna...? | Jenna Casey | |
| 2024 | Hotel Underground | Cindy Majik | |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985–1988 | Loving | Amy Sanders | 4 episodes |
| 1986 | Family Ties | Cammie | Episode: "Beauty and the Bank", uncredited |
| 1992 | Hearts Are Wild | Monica | 5 episodes |
| Casino | Sarah | TV movie | |
| 2011 | Church People | Andrea Dominico | 5 episodes |
| 2012 | The Young and the Restless | Hot Girl with Tucker McCall | Episode: "Episode #1.9905" |
| 2012–2013 | Etiquette: A Surprisingly Relevant Guide to Good Manners | Lucille | 15 episodes |
| 2020 | Isolation the Series | 5 episodes | |
| 2021 | I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson | Janeane | Episode: "Didn't You Say There Was Gonna Be Five People at This Table?" |
| 2023 | The Time War | Dijanne | 8 episodes |
| 2023 | Age of Darkness | Sienna | 8 episodes |