Amanda Michelle Seyfried began modeling at 11 and acting at 15. There was another talent that most didn't know she had; she could sing.
Singing was Seyfried's first passion and received formal voice and dance training from age 11 to 17 in her hometown of Allentown, Pa. She trained with a Broadway voice coach for nearly five years and studied opera for two years which led to her appearance in the local productions, the revival of Grease and A Christmas Carol.
Amanda stopped singing since she was acting regularly on TV soaps, including As the World Turns and All My Children, and "... didn't have time for it."
When the role of Sophie in the film version of Mama Mia! came up, she jumped at the chance to audition and won the part.
The movie features the music of '70s Swedish band ABBA. "Sophie," is the daughter of single mom Donna, played by Meryl Streep, who operates a small hotel on a beautiful Greek island. "I knew how to sing and dance and I was basically playing myself in these certain circumstances," Amanda said in an interview appearing in the LA Times.
Recently, Amanda recorded a song for the soundtrack to the film Dear John, and a video surfaced last year showing her singing a song she wrote while accompanying herself on an acoustic guitar (see video below.)
While now appearing on two movie soundtracks, and with singing and songwriting in her bones, Amanda says has no plans to record he own album. She does say she would consider doing another musical.
"The singing thing's definitely a part of my life that I never thought would be public when I started acting. But if a role comes up and it seems exciting, then yeah. Because you know what? Acting and singing at the same time brings it up a level."
For now, though, it's all about acting.
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In 2004, Seyfried made her film debut in Mean Girls as one of the four "Plastics" alongside Lindsay Lohan. She then appeared in the films, Nine Lives and Alpha Dog.
In 2006, she landed a role on HBO's television series Big Love. After that, Seyfried appeared in Mamma Mia! Other recent movie parts in addition to Dear John, include lead roles in Jennifer's Body, Chloe, Veronica Mars and Letters to Juliet.
In 2008, Seyfried was ranked #65 on the list of "The Annual Independent Critics List of the 100 Most Beautiful Famous Faces From Around the World", placed #5 in Moviefone's "25 Under 25: Hollywood's Hottest Young Stars," and ranked #3 on the Saturday Night Magazine's Top 20 Rising Stars Under 30.
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The next year, the British Glamour magazine ranked Seyfried at the #14 spot as one of the "30 Hottest and Sexiest Stars Under 30"; People Magazine ranked Seyfried #4 in the "Most Beautiful 2009 – Beautiful at Every Age."
Also, Glamour magazine's April 2010 issue dubbed Seyfried as "The Most Down-To-Earth" and ranked #3 in the "50 Most Glamorous Women of 2010."
Seyfried once again made the list of People Magazine's "Most Beautiful 2010" with no make-up on, and also appeared twice in the cover and article of Vanity Fair; first was the VF's Young Hollywood's New Wave in the year 2008" and the recent Vanity Fair cover and article "VF's A New Decade, A New Hollywood." LoveFilm ranked Seyfried at #5 spot on their 2010 edition of "Top Ten Actresses Under 30."
She also appeared in a provocative spread in Esquire.
She also appeared in a provocative spread in Esquire.
