Mariah Carradine

Rosemarry Mariah Lea Carradine was born in Rochester, New York. It was June and although she was too tiny to know it, she was being welcomed into the legendary, Carradine, film-family-dynasty, that includes not only famous actors, but respected musicians, artists, dancers and filmmakers. From her Aunt Kansas Carradine who grew up to become a professional trick-horse rider, to her Granma Donna Lee, who danced on Broadway and with ballet companies across America, to her Uncle Free, an up and coming painter, collagist and visual artist, they are a tribe of free souls one and all determined to find their own idiosyncratic path. It all started with her Great-Grampa, John Carradine, who made his acting debut in Camille in a New Orleans theatre in 1925. When Mariah was five her mom, Calista Carradine, moved their small section of the family to Washington state. They were about to embark on an adventures. Within a few years she and her sister Sienna would be living on a farm, with no electricity or running water. They raised crops and farm animals; pygmy goats that needed milking and African Wild Sheep who looked so much like reindeer they called them Comet, Dasher, Dancer, Prancer and Vixen. When Mommy Calista bought chicks for a dairy, she picked only the most adorable. So they all grew up to become roosters. They had peacocks and Egyptian Arabian horses, all of them insanely skittish because Mariah and her mother green broke them. She grew up on a horse and riding remains a passion she shares with her Aunt Kansas; and with her Grandfather, David who loved riding when he was between film projects. Looking back, she thinks, it was in many ways the idyllic, back-to-nature, life-style that the sixties preached. To this day Angelinos are amazed if she tells stories of studying under candle light or learning to skin a deer and tan the leather in their kitchen sink. But, not perfect, of course. All of their rabbits proved to be cannibals and once, as child, Mariah saw dinner run past her swing in the form of a headless rooster, legs still pumping despite the axe and its lack of a head. There were regular visits with Grandpa too. Mariah loved his world of movie sets and trailers and exotic places where he or another of her famous grand-uncles was working; though it was some time before she was old enough to understand the concept, "movie star." In school there were many, many plays. The acting bug bit her early. By age fourteen she was already studying with Bobbie Shaw Chance, a wonderful actor and acting coach, who had done, You and Me (1974) with David and was a long-time, family friend. She is still her coach and mentor. By graduation Mariah had not only directed her first piece (Leader of the Pack, Student Director), but also decided that acting would become her profession as well as her passion. Her decision was definitely influenced by Grampa David. He was living in Canada and working with Calista on the series, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues (1993) and Mariah lived with him between the ages of fourteen and sixteen. It was an education in the creative process that she says has been invaluable to her as a performer. Equally important was her Grandma, Donna, who taught her the importance of honor and loyalty; and who tried mightily to install lady-like behavior. So, one might say, Mariah is a contradiction, granddaughter of a professional ballerina and a film star, great-granddaughter of a movie-legend; yet raised a country girl by her singer mother. Mariah says, "That at her core, like most of her family she is an artist." She loves to dance (Swing, Salsa) and to sculpt. She enjoys snow skiing and roller-blading. She reads voraciously and is committed to a healthy, green life-style (she does not own a car or drive and any future vehicle would have to be eco-friendly). But most of all, she loves to act. Her goal in life is to carry on the family tradition, hopefully with as much talent and grace, and yes, success as the rest of the Carradines.