Linda Edna Cardellini is an American television and film actress. She is best known for her roles as high school student Lindsay Weir on Freaks and Geeks, as Velma Dinkley in the live-action Scooby-Doo films, and as Samantha Taggart on ER. Cardellini was born in Redwood City, California, the daughter of Lorraine and Wayne David Cardellini. She made her first public appearance at age 10 when she sang in a school play. Subsequent to that performance, she acted in several school productions, and started attending drama lessons. She graduated from nearby Mountain View's Catholic St. Francis... High School in 1993, then moved to Los Angeles to seek roles in television and film. Cardellini received her first big break in 1996 when she landed a starring role as Sarah on ABC's Saturday morning live-action children's series, Bone Chillers. Following this, she made guest appearances on prime-time programs such as Step by Step, Clueless, 3rd Rock from the Sun, and Boy Meets World as Lauren, a girl that came between the show's star couple.
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