Ali Larter

Biography

Alison Elizabeth Ali Larter (born February 28, 1976, in Cherry Hill, New Jersey) is an American actress and former model. Her career spans teen horror, comedy and television, and she is best known for the Final Destination and Resident Evil franchises, as well as for the series Heroes.

The daughter of Margaret, a homemaker, and Danforth Larter, a transport executive, she began modeling at thirteen with the Ford agency. The work kept her travelling, and she spent a period living in Japan. In November 1996 she gained attention by playing a fictional model, Allegra Coleman, in an Esquire magazine feature. The stunt was soon exposed as a hoax, but it brought her offers from several agencies. She later took acting classes.

Her first professional role came in 1997 with the series Chicago Sons, followed by guest spots on Dawson's Creek, Chicago Hope and Just Shoot Me!. In 1999 she made her film debut in Varsity Blues and appeared in the remake of House on Haunted Hill alongside Geoffrey Rush and Famke Janssen. Her role as Clear Rivers in Final Destination (2000) made her a recognisable name in teen horror, and she returned to the character in the 2003 sequel in a smaller part. In 2001 she joined the cast of Legally Blonde with Reese Witherspoon and of Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.

In 2006 she joined Heroes, playing both Niki Sanders and Tracy Strauss, a dual role that earned her a Saturn Award nomination and a Teen Choice Award in 2007. That same year she took on the role of Claire Redfield in Resident Evil: Extinction, a part she reprised in Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010) and Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016). She also headed the Bollywood production Marigold (2007) opposite Salman Khan, and starred in the thriller Obsessed (2009) with Beyonce and Idris Elba, which critics received poorly but which was a box-office success.

Beyond acting, her presence in magazine lists such as Maxim and Stuff raised her profile in the 2000s, and in 2013 she published a cookbook. She married the actor Hayes MacArthur in 2009 and the couple have two children. In 2024 she appeared in the cast of the series Landman, showing that her career remains active on television.

Key films

• Final Destination (2000): as Clear Rivers, one of the teenagers who survive a plane crash only to be hunted by death, a role that made her known to a wider audience.
• Legally Blonde (2001): a supporting part in the comedy with Reese Witherspoon, playing a widow accused of murder.
• Resident Evil: Extinction (2007): as Claire Redfield, the leader of a convoy of survivors in a world overrun by zombies.
• Marigold (2007): the lead in this Bollywood production, playing an American actress who travels to India.
• Obsessed (2009): co-starring with Beyonce and Idris Elba in a thriller that was a commercial hit.