Whoever coined the phrase “Always the , never the ” clearly never met MARLA SOKOLOFF. The actress has been the bride five times, in fact, without ever once having had to get divorced. Her secret: All of the have been on television and of the fictional variety, with her latest walk down the aisle coming in the Hallmark Channel Original Movie “,” which premieres Saturday, November 14 (9/8c). But the really fun part for the longtime regular on “The Practice” (who turns 29 on December 19) is that she is getting married for real on November 8, a mere six days before the TV hitch, to film and TV composer Alec Puro. In Sokoloff’s case, her happily-ever-after is a case of life imitating art. But you can’t blame her for hoping against hope that she doesn’t have to wed five times in reality. “I’m counting on once being enough, if that’s all right,” she says. The following profile is available for all press uses, with photos, from Crown Features Syndicate™.

MARLA SOKOLOFF: GETTING IN TOUCH WITH HER ‘ALTAR’ EGO

Crown Features Syndicate™

Television has been marrying off Marla Sokoloff for much of the past decade, her sweet girl- next-door looks having helped land her in a in five different acting roles on the small screen. It got so she could try on wedding practically in her sleep.

Forget about always being the bridesmaid. Sokoloff was always the bride. And she gets to be again (walk down the aisle number five) in the Hallmark Channel Original Movie “Flower Girl,” premiering Saturday, November 14 (9/8c). The romantic comedy finds Sokoloff (who turns 29 on December 19) playing a florist who’s always attracted to the wrong men, but who finally finds true love in the end.

But it turns out that all of Sokoloff’s “altar” egos are going to have a purpose beyond a paycheck for her after all. Six days before her latest TV wedding, you see, she’ll be doing the marital thing for real when the star of “The Practice” exchanges vows with her boyfriend of five years, film and TV composer Alec Puro.

Trying to recall a similar instance of television and life dovetailing with a nuptial twist produces no examples. Perhaps the closest thing would be Lucille Ball’s delivering her actual son on the same night (January 19, 1953) as her TV character Lucy Ricardo gave birth on “I Love Lucy.”

“It’s pretty wild, isn’t it?” gushes Sokoloff of this momentous example of life-imitating-art. Or is it art-imitating-life? “It was pretty exciting to be doing ‘Flower Girl’ at the same time I was actually engaged, which happened just before we started shooting the movie in October of ’08.

“I feel like I’ve had enough practice for this in my career, you know? I’m more than ready for the real thing. Finally! Bring it on.”

(more)

HALLMARK CHANNEL/ ‘FLOWER GIRL’ – Marla Sokoloff: Getting In Touch With Her ‘Altar’ Ego – Page 2

The plotline of “Flower Girl” finds Sokoloff portraying a florist named Laurel Haverford, who’s losing hope that her prince is ever going to ride up on a white horse after having gone through an assortment of toads. It’s her grandmother, Rose Durham – played by Marion Ross, the legendary star of “Happy Days” and “Brooklyn Bridge” – who keeps fixing her up under the theory that the path to Mr. Right may be littered with potholes but eventually will bear fruit.

Is there any sort of autobiographical element to the story for Sokoloff? She admits to having gone through her share of guys en route to finding The One, including a longterm relationship with actor .

“It’s never a simple journey,” she admits, “but that just makes it better when you meet the one you want to spend the rest of your life with.”

Born in on December 19, 1980 (the same day as actor Jake Gyllenhaal) and educated at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, Sokoloff is the first to admit she has led something of a charmed life. By the time she was 12, she already had a recurring role on the TV comedy “.” And she was still in high school and a mere 17 years old when “The Practice” came calling, casting her as the sassy troublemaker receptionist Lucy Hatcher.

“The whole thing was such a dream,” Sokoloff recalls. “I got a call from my agent that they wanted me to read for this part as a 25-year-old secretary on ‘The Practice.’ I thought, ‘this couldn’t be a bigger waste of time.’ I didn’t think there was any way I would get this.

“I didn’t work on the audition because I knew it was pointless. So I came in with this lackadaisical, I-don’t-give-a-crap attitude. Obviously, that had to help, right? I met with (creator) David Kelley and started work the next day. They rewrote the part for me! It was supposed to be a seven-episode part. Instead, it went for over 100.”

What was weird for Sokoloff at the time was that, because she wasn’t even 18 yet, she was still a high school senior during ‘The Practice’s’ first year in production. “So I’d have to leave in the afternoon to finish school, because my parents wanted me to have a normal life in school and not be tutored,” she recalls. “But what an amazing experience that was for me.”

Sokoloff’s breakthrough role on the show would lead to roles on the big screen in the comedy “Dude, Where’s My Car” opposite Ashton Kutcher in 2000 and on the tube in everything from “” (she was Felicity Huffman’s bubbly nanny in a three-episode arc) and the comedy series “Big Day” and “Modern Men,” among many others.

“No matter what I’m doing, what I always try to remind myself is that I’m so lucky to be making a living at this,” Sokoloff says. “I’m always saying in my head, ‘Take five seconds and one long breath and remember how so many actresses would kill for the opportunity I’m getting right now’.”

(more)

HALLMARK CHANNEL/ ‘FLOWER GIRL’ – Marla Sokoloff: Getting In Touch With Her ‘Altar’ Ego – Page 3

There isn’t any great goal in Sokoloff’s mind to be, say, starring in big studio release features five years from now. In fact, she acknowledges a preference for TV, being “a huge creature of habit with a love of the pace you find in TV work.”

When off the set, she dedicates significant time and energy to the cause of animals through Thumping Tails, a nonprofit group dedicated to the rescue and placement of abused and abandoned pets.

“Instead of matchbooks at my wedding, we’re telling people we will be making a donation in their name to the Humane Society,” Sokoloff adds.

Then she has her music. Sokoloff has performed her tunes in clubs and released a CD in 2006 entitled “Grateful” as a singer-songwriter (it’s still available for purchase on the Internet). She describes herself as “a cross between Aimee Mann and Sheryl Crow” and notes she promoted it pretty much by herself.

“I’d like to pick up the music thing again soon,” she says. “It’s just that over the past year, I’ve had a wedding to plan. It kind of takes over your life a little bit.”

“Flower Girl” premieres Saturday, November 14 (9/8c)

Film encores: Saturday, November 14 (11p.m. ET/PT, 10C), Sunday, November 15 (1a.m. ET/PT, 12C) and (9p.m. ET/PT, 8C)

Contact: Pam Slay, 818-755-2480

For more information, please visit www.HallmarkChannelPress.com Become a fan of Hallmark Channel on Facebook and Twitter For the latest news of celebrities doing good, visit www.CelebrityGoodLife.com

--HALLMARK CHANNEL--