Kristin Kreuk in “Beauty and the Beast”
She’s no longer the Lana Lang we both loved and hated on Smallville. Yet actress Kristin Kreuk is still a beauty. This time it’s also in the title of her new show, Beauty and the Beast, airing this fall on the CW network. Slim and luminous in person, the 29-year-old Vancouver, British Columbia-born Kreuk is the daughter of a Dutch father and Chinese mother. Both parents are landscape architects. Her surname Kreuk means a crease, according to the Dutch-English dictionary.
She remembers going to Eric Hamber High School, studying French and developing a love of acting while being involved in theater.
Kreuk had planned to go to college but instead went right into show business when she auditioned for and got her first professional part in a Canadian television series called Edgemont in 2000. She stayed with the series until 2003 while doing other acting roles in TV movies including a Sci-Fi miniseries, Legend of Earthsea and Snow White with Miranda Richardson.
It was the success of the Snow White role that prompted her agent to get her to audition for the creators of Smallville and the rest, as they say is her story.
A Star Was Born caught up with Kreuk to talk to her about her new show, Beauty and the Beast, and get the inside scoop on her hometown of Vancouver, Canada.
Vancouver is known for it’s world class ski resorts – look at that powder!
ASWB: What was it like growing up in Vancouver?
KK: I love Vancouver so, so much. It’s a big city but it feels like a small town. It’s got the ocean, mountains. It’s beautiful. The air is fresh. You can go hiking. It’s gorgeous. I love it.
Kreuk likes to go hiking in Vancouver. Majestic lakes, glaciers, waterfalls?…just another day on a Vancouver hike.
ASWB: Travel books have must-sees. What is the must-see for Vancouver?
KK: Yeah, there is a great breakfast/coffee shop called Medina that is really great. There’s an area called Gastown and it has a lot great restaurants.
Cafe Medina in the Gastown district is one of the restaurants that Kristin Kreuk likes in Vancouver. It’s a contemporary bistro known for it’s fresh ingredients, and a local favorite.
Below: A Lavendar Latte
Cafe Medina is famous for its Belgian Waffles. Yum!
ASWB: Gastown?
KK: It’s like the more historic area of Vancouver. Main Street is a great street to go and hang out. It’s sort of hipster.
A trip to Vancouver is not complete without a visit to the famous Steamclock in the Historic Gastown district, one of the few working steam clocks in the world.
ASWB: Were there any great teachers that influenced your acting?
KK: I had this wonder French teacher in high school, Madam Haywood and she actually was someone who influenced me towards acting as well because she was very well versed in film so she would encourage us to watch certain movies and even the French films in class were so beautiful.
ASWB: Do you have memories of favorite foods?
KK: My mother hated cooking with a passion so we didn’t really get much. My favorite dish at home though was spaghetti.
ASWB: Are you still in touch with any friends from school?
KK: Yeah, I keep in touch with certain people.
Kristin Kreuk in “Beauty and the Beast”
Vancouver is home to Orca, Humpback and Minke whales making it a spectacular place for whale-watching.
We found Vancouver to be as beautiful as Kristin Kreuk. It’s a very cosmopolitan city, with fresh clean air, world class skiing, dining and shopping. No wonder Kristin Kreuk is proud to call Vancouver her hometown.
Vancouver photos courtesy of: Tourism Vancouver, except for Cafe Medina.
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About the Author: Diedre Johnson for AStarWasBorn.com
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