‘FAMILY FOR CHRISTMAS’
CAST BIOS
LACEY CHABERT (Hannah Dunbar/Hannah Matthews) – Lacey Chabert is regarded as one of the best young actresses of her generation. From an early age, she was exposed to dramatic and musical performances in and around her hometown of Purvis, Mississippi. Chabert received her first break in a cough syrup commercial before successfully auditioning for the Broadway production of Les Miserables, in which she played young Cosette for two years. In 1998, she made her feature film debut as Penny Robinson in “Lost in Space.”
Chabert’s resume is as extensive as it is versatile. Consistently delivering memorable performances, she has become one of Hollywood’s most sought-after talents. Chabert is best known for her role as Claudia on the Golden Globe Award®-winning FOX television series “Party of Five,” and can currently be seen on ABC Family’s “Baby Daddy.” She has appeared on “All My Children” as well as in several made-for-TV movies, including “Gypsy” starring Bette Midler, “A Little Piece of Heaven” with Cloris Leachman, Lifetime’s “What If God Were The Sun?” starring opposite Gena Rowlands, and the Hallmark Channel Original Movies “All of My Heart” with Edward Asner, “Matchmaker Santa” opposite Florence Henderson, and “A Royal Christmas” alongside Jane Seymour and John Ratzenberger. Chabert also starred in the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Original “The Color of Rain,” which was the highest rated and most watched original film in the network’s history.
Chabert’s feature film credits include Warner Brother’s “Ghosts of Girlfriend’s Past,” starring opposite Jennifer Garner and Matthew McConaughey, box office hit “Mean Girls,” for which she received outstanding reviews and an MTV Movie Award, “Daddy Day Care,” starring as Anjelica Huston’s daughter, and A&E’s “The Brooke Ellison Story,” playing the lead in Christopher Reeve’s final directorial project.
Known for her natural acting skills and charming personality, Chabert’s cotton candy voice has been featured in numerous animated films and TV shows, including Nickelodeon’s “The Wild Thornberrys,” Sony’s “The Spectacular Spider-Man,” FOX’s “Allen Gregory,” Hasbro’s “Transformers: Rescue Bots,” and, most recently, Warner Brothers’ “Young Justice.”
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TYRON LEITSO (Ben Matthews) – Discovered at the age of 18 in Vancouver, Tyron Leitso’s
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HALLMARK CHANNEL/ ‘FAMILY FOR CHRISTMAS’ – Cast Bios – Page 2 striking good looks and charisma quickly earned him commercial roles and modeling success. Leitso has since gone on to leading roles in a host of shows including the romantic lead in both the 2009 award-winning CBC show “Being Erica” and the 2004 short-lived FOX dramedy "Wonderfalls."
In 2006, Leitso starred in three episodes of the Canadian ensemble drama "Whistler." In 2002, Leitso earned the lead in the hugely successful three-part mini-series "Dinotopia," which was nominated for six Emmy® Awards. He has also appeared in TV series “Breaker High,” “First Wave,” “Masters of Horror,” and “Mysterious Ways,” and the TV movies “Shutterspeed,” “Snow White: The Fairest of Them All” and “The Eleventh Victim.”
In film, Leitso starred in "My Life Without Me," starring Sarah Polley and played one of the leads in "House of the Dead.” In 2013, he played opposite Ray Liotta in “Suddenly” and alongside Dominic Purcell in “Assault on Wall Street.”
Leitso recently appeared in a lead role in the Hallmark Channel Original Movie “My Boyfriends’ Dogs” alongside Erika Christensen and Teryl Rothery.
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MILLI WILKINSON (Caitlin Matthews) – Milli Wilkinson broke onto the scene in the final installment of the blockbuster “Twilight” series. Wilkinson played Bella and Edward’s half- vampire daughter, Renesme, in “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2.” Since then, she has appeared on ABC’s hit primetime series “Once Upon a Time,” as Young Cruella, and “Once Upon a Time in Wonderland” as Alice’s daughter. Most recently, Wilkinson appeared in ABC’s military-medical drama pilot, “Warriors,” alongside Greg Grunberg and Morena Baccarin.
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AUDREY SMALLMAN (Hailie Matthews) – Rising star Audrey Smallman has cut her acting teeth with substantial roles in such short films as “Serving Time,” “The Wolf Who Came to Dinner,” “Cadence,” and “Ben.” Smallman can be seen in the upcoming feature film “Go With Me” alongside Anthony Hopkins, Alexander Ludwig, Ray Liotta, and Julia Stiles.
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