Carly Schroeder

Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox person

Carly Brook Schroeder (born October 18, 1990) is an American former actress and U.S. Army officer. She is best known for playing Serena Baldwin, the daughter of Scotty Baldwin and Lucy Coe in the General Hospital spin-off Port Charles. She also had a recurring role on the Disney Channel's Lizzie McGuire. In 2007, she played the lead in Gracie, a film inspired by a real-life tragedy during the childhood of sibling actors Elisabeth and Andrew Shue.

In February 2019, Schroeder announced that she would be joining the United States Army. She attended Officer Candidate School, graduating with a commission as a second lieutenant on September 20, 2019. She is currently an infantry officer with the rank of captain.<ref name="rank"/>

Life and career

Schroeder was born in Valparaiso, Indiana. Carly's younger brother, Hunter Schroeder, is a former actor; he appeared with her in Gracie and Eye of the Dolphin prior to his current career in the U.S. Marine Corps. Her parents Paul and Kelli currently reside in Ventura County, California. In 1993, while accompanying a cousin to an acting audition, the casting director asked if the cute three-year-old would consider working for them.Template:Citation needed Initially, her mother was hesitant about the question, but things such as money for a college education began to appeal to her. After her first job as a child print model, she began doing print work in Chicago for Sears, Roebuck and Company, Kmart, Spiegel, Lands' End, Chuck E. Cheese's and many other print advertisers. Two years later in 1995, child director Bob Ebel asked her to do a few television commercials. One of her first commercials was for Birthday Party Barbie in 1998.

In 1997, American Broadcasting Company (ABC) hired Schroeder to play Serena Baldwin on Port Charles. She was twice nominated for a Young Artist Award for her work on the show; once in 1999 and again in 2000, as well as a Young Star Award<ref>Young Star Awards Template:Webarchive at IMDb.com</ref> nomination in 1999 for Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Daytime TV Program. Schroeder then appeared as Melina Bianco in The Disney Channel's Lizzie McGuire. Originally booked as a one-time appearance, she shot twelve episodes of the show and also appeared in The Lizzie McGuire Movie in 2003, in the same role.Template:Citation needed

In 2003, Schroeder auditioned for her first feature film and won the role of Millie in the thriller Mean Creek. The movie won wide acclaim for Schroeder and the rest of the cast, winning the Humanitas Prize at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival, and also being awarded the 2005 Independent Spirit Festival<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Special Distinction Award for best ensemble cast.

Gracie was Shroeder's next film role, in 2006. In order to win the role, she began an intense three-month work-out that included a daily regimen of not only physical fitness, but also of training in advanced soccer skills with professional athletes and trainers. While Gracie was in theaters, Schroeder's other movie, Eye of the Dolphin, was receiving attention, winning two awards from the 2007 International Family Film Festival:<ref>International Family Film Festival</ref> a Best Child Actor win for Schroeder, and a Drama Feature win for the movie. The movie has been well received and continues to receive honors, including being named as an Official Selection for the Tribeca Film Festival, Delray Beach Film Festival, Kids First! Film Festival, Tiburon Film Festival, USA Family Film Festival and the Worldfest Houston Film festival.Template:Citation needed At the 2007 Kids First Awards<ref>Kids First Awards</ref> in October, Schroeder received the award for Best Emerging Actress, while the film received the Best Feature Award (ages 12–18). Her other movies are Forget Me Not (2009), and Slightly Single in L.A., which completed filming in 2009 and was released in 2012. She was also featured in Creepers (2011) and Prep School (2015).Template:Citation needed

Schroeder graduated from Thousand Oaks High School in June 2009, and graduated from California Lutheran University in 2014 with a double major in communications and psychology, and a minor in theater.

In early July 2017, it was announced that Schroeder would return as Serena Baldwin to General Hospital to honor the late Peter Hansen, who had died in April 2017, who had portrayed her grandfather, Lee Baldwin.<ref name="SOD">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="MF">Template:Cite web</ref>

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Template:Abbr
2003	The Lizzie McGuire Movie	Melina Bianco		<ref name="The Lizzie McGuire Movie">Template:Cite web</ref>
2004	Mean Creek	Millie		<ref name="Mean Creek">Template:Cite web</ref>
2005	We All Fall Down	Charity
2006	Firewall	Sarah Stanfield		<ref name="Firewall">Template:Cite web</ref>
2007	Gracie	Gracie Bowen		<ref name="Gracie">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
	Prey	Jessica Newman
	Eye of the Dolphin	Alyssa		<ref name="Eye of the Dolphin">Template:Cite web</ref>
2009	Forget Me Not	Sandy Channing
2011	Rites of Passage	Carly
2012	Slightly Single in L.A.	Becca
2015	Prep School	Kyra Matheson	Best Actress in a Dramatic Feature, 2015 Studio City International Film Festival	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2017	One of Us	Venus
2018	Ouija House	Laurie

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Template:Abbr
1997–2003	Port Charles	Serena Baldwin	Contract role
1997–2001, 2017	General Hospital	Serena Baldwin	Recurring role	<ref name="SOD"/><ref name="MF"/>
2000	Growing Up Brady	Susan Olsen	Television film	<ref name="Growing Up Brady">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Teenage Greg">Template:Cite book</ref><ref group="Note">Based on the autobiography written by actor Barry Williams with Chris Kreski and a foreword by Robert Reed.</ref>
2000	Dawson's Creek	Molly Sey	Episodes: "A Family Way", "The Unusual Suspects"
2001	Virtually Casey	Jennifer Collins	Television film directed by Ellen Gittelsohn
2001–2003	Lizzie McGuire	Melina Bianco	Recurring role
2002	George Lopez	Ashley	Episode: "Token of Unappreciation"
2003	Cold Case	Brandi Beaudry	Episode: "The Sleepover"
2008	Ghost Whisperer	Lisa Benton	Episode: "Home But Not Alone"
2008	Prayers for Bobby	Joy Griffith	Television film (Lifetime)
2009	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Kim Garnet	Episode: "Crush"
2018	Deadly Shores	Anna	Television film (Lifetime)

Awards

Special Distinction Award at Independent Spirit Awards for Mean Creek (2004)
Best Child Actor Award at Int. Family Film Festival for Eye of the Dolphin (2007)<ref name="IFFF">Template:Cite web</ref>
Best Emerging Actress at 2007 Kids First! Awards for Eye of the Dolphin
Best Actress at 2015 Studio City Film Festival for Prep School