| She started out in the biz at the tender age of 12 and
hasn’t stopped since. Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, and raised
in Virginia Beach and Miami Beach, Chyler Leigh began her career in front of the
camera at age twelve, modeling for magazines and catalogues. Her success in print
later led to national commercials for Coca-Cola and Wendy's, among others. By
age 16, Leigh had already completed several pilots (ABC's Wilder Days and the
WB's Saving Graces). Aaron Spelling confirmed the young actress' talent when he
hired her a few years later as a series regular in the WB series Safe Harbor.
She also guest-starred on 7th Heaven in a powerful three-story arc as Frankie,
a young, inept mother who adversely influenced the family. Chyler made her
film debut in the Columbia/Tri-Star hit comedy spoof, Not Another Teen Movie,
in 2001. By January of 2002, she'd landed a series role on the comedy That '80s
Show (from the producers of That '70s Show). After its short-lived run, she was
immediately brought to executive producer David E. Kelley and hired as lead in
his new series, Girls Club. After only two episodes of Girls Club had aired,
Chyler received a personal phone call from Kelley informing her of the show's
cancellation and of his desire to bring her forward to his already established
series, The Practice. With only a matter of weeks between shows, she was at work
on the set of ABC's The Practice as Claire Wyatt, a new series regular for the
2002-2003 season. Chyler went on to star in the half-hour comedy pilot Lucky
Us and the drama pilot Rocky Point, opposite Billy Campbell. She also guest-starred
on the drama The North Shore and, in 2005, she starred as Carla Noll in the critically-acclaimed
Reunion. Leigh is married to fellow actor Nathan West. They have three children.
- description by ABC.com | 
