Vanessa Lee Chester

Vanessa Lee Chester is an American actress. She began her career as a child actor in the films A Little Princess and Harriet the Spy, before her breakthrough role in Steven Spielberg's The Lost World: Jurassic Park.

Biography

Chester was born on July 2, 1984, at Brooklyn, New York City, to Guyanese parents who immigrated to the United States. In her early childhood, she relocated with her mother to Los Angeles, California, where she began auditioning for and appearing in commercials.
Chester made her film debut in the comedy CB4 starring Chris Rock. The following year, she appeared in a supporting role in Alfonso Cuarón's A Little Princess. In 1996, she appeared opposite Michelle Trachtenberg as Janie in the Nickelodeon film Harriet the Spy, which was a moderate box office success. The following year, she was cast in a lead role as Kelly in Steven Spielberg's The Lost World: Jurassic Park, playing the daughter of Ian Malcolm. The film was a box office hit, grossing over $600 million worldwide. Chester later worked mostly in television, most notably appearing in Malcolm in the Middle and The West Wing. She was nominated for a Saturn Award, Image Award, Young Artist Award and took home the Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film – Supporting Young Actress. In early 2012, Chester began work on an unnamed film by Ty Hodges.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1993	CB4	Talona
1995	A Little Princess	Becky
1996	Harriet the Spy	Janie Gibbs
1997	The Lost World: Jurassic Park	Kelly Curtis
1999	She's All That	Melissa's Friend
2006	The Shift	Daughter	Short
2008	Extreme Movie	Charlotte
2009	17 Again	Cheerleader
2014	The Costume Shop	Young Janie
2014	The Arrangement	Emily Myers-Stanley	Short
2015	Fated	Eliza	Short

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1992	Hangin' with Mr. Cooper	Stephanie	Episode: "Miracle in Oaktown"
1994	Me and the Boys	Renee	Episode: "Every Good Boy Does Fine" & "Talent Show"
1997	Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child	School Child #3	Episode: "Goldilocks and the Three Bears"
1997	Promised Land	Emily Dixon	Episode: "Stealing Home: Part 1 & 2"
1999	Get Real	Rude Girl	Episode: "Anatomy of a Rumor"
1999-2000	Once and Again	Annie	Recurring cast: season 1, guest: season 2
2000	Stepsister from Planet Weird	Michelle	TV movie
2000	Dreams in the Attic	Angel
2002	Family Law	Girl #1	Episode: "Celano v. Foster"
2002	Malcolm in the Middle	Student #3	Episode: "Humilithon"
2004	Crossing Jordan	Andrea	Episode: "Most Likely"
2005	Without a Trace	Dori	Episode: "Lost Time"
2006	The West Wing	Youth Voter #2	Episode: "Duck and Cover"
2006	Veronica Mars	Maureen	Episode: "I Am God"
2006	Justice	2nd Mock Juror	Episode: "Filicide"
2010	Lone Star	Tamar Wilson	Episode: "Small Time"
2011	9ine	Candace	Episode: "May"
2011	Switched at Birth	Lizzy	Episode: "The Stag Hunt"
2011	Reconstruction	Eleanor	TV movie
2012	How I Met Your Mother	Mia	Episode: "The Autumn of Break-Ups"
2013	Welcome to Sanditon	Letitia "Griff" Griffiths	4 episodes
2015	Scorpion	Secretary	Episode: "Cliffhanger"
2016	Ladies Like Us: The Rise of Neighborhood Watch	Natalia	Episode: "In a Matrix"
2021	Summer Camp Island	Nancy	Episode: "Betsy and the Ghost Chapter 3: There's a Racket In My Hope Chest"