Taissa Farmiga

Born in Clifton, New Jersey, Taissa Farmiga is the youngest of seven children by Ukrainian parents Mykhailo and Luba Farmiga. Her sister, Vera, is 21 years her senior. Raised in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, she was educated as part of a home-school group where she studied, among other subjects, American Sign Language, which prompted her involvement with a signing group. The latter proved to be the extent of her performing experience until her sister persuaded Taissa to play the teenaged version of her character in "Higher Ground." The indie drama received an overwhelmingly positive response at the Sundance Film Festival, which sparked Farmiga's interest in following in her sister's career path. That same year, she landed her breakout role in the debut season of "American Horror Story." Farmiga played Violet Harmon, a depressed teenager whose encounter with malevolent ghosts in her family's new home led to a nightmarish series of murders. Fans and critics universally praised the series, with Farmiga receiving solid reviews for her performance. In 2013 she returned to features in Sofia Coppola's "The Bling Ring," a drama based on the real-life crime spree by a group of San Fernando Valley teenagers who used the Internet to track the whereabouts of celebrities in order to rob their houses. Farmiga played a character based on aspiring model Tess Taylor, the unofficially adopted "sister" of ring member Alexis Neiers, with whom she had appeared on the controversial reality series "Pretty Wild" (E!, 2010). After opening the Un Certain Regard section of the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, "The Bling Ring" went on to enjoy a modestly successful run on the independent theater circuit in 2013.