Genelia D'Souza Debut and recognition (2003-05) What was Genelia debut film? When Genelia was offered a role in Tujhe Meri Kasam,
What was the name of her character in that film?
What was the name of Genelia D'Souza's character in Tujhe Meri Kasam?
When Genelia was offered a role in Tujhe Meri Kasam, initially she turned it down, as she was not keen to pursue a career in acting. But the crew insisted and kept contacting her for two months, and she agreed when she saw the Telugu version of the movie. Tamil director, S. Shankar, was impressed with her performance in the Parker Pen commercial and decided to cast her in a leading role in his 2003 Tamil film Boys. Genelia was selected among 300 girls, who had auditioned for the movie. She signed three movies simultaneously in three different languages, Tujhe Meri Kasam (Hindi), Boys (Tamil), and Satyam (Telugu).  Genelia's professional movie career began, with her Bollywood debut Tujhe Meri Kasam in 2003. Film critic Taran Adarsh noted, "Genelia is a wonderful performer. She catches you unaware with a performance that's natural to the core." The film was a box-office success. However, it could not do much to propel her career in Bollywood. Later, she decided to act in South Indian films. The same year, she made her Tamil debut as the teenage girl Harini in Boys, a story about five teenagers having stereotypical teen-boy fantasies. The movie, though noted for its vulgar sexual content, was a box-office success, and subsequently she started receiving Telugu film offers. She left Tamil cinema for a while to concentrate on the Telugu film industry. She made her Telugu debut in 2003 as a medical student in Satyam. Sify noted in their review that, "Genelia is excellent as her body language is her major asset." The movie was well received, and it raised her profile in the Telugu film industry.  In 2004, Genelia appeared in her second Bollywood movie, Masti. The comedy focuses on three close friends who reunite after three years, but are now married and are being harassed by their wives. Genelia portrayed the character of one of the wives. Taran Adarsh was complimentary of Genelia's role, saying, "Amongst the wives, Genelia is the best, [...] Genelia looks the stern and demanding wife and is sure to be noticed." The film was a box-office success. The same year, she appeared in two Telugu movies Samba, and Sye, both succeeding at the box-office.  After appearing in her first Telugu movie in 2005, Naa Alludu, she starred in the Tamil romantic entertainer Sachein. A review in The Hindu noted, "Genelia, who hardly made an impression in Boys, makes much impact in Sachein." The movie evoked mixed response from audiences, but was well received with the younger generation. She later appeared in the Telugu patriotic movie Subhash Chandra Bose. CANNOTANSWER
decided to cast her in a leading role in his 2003 Tamil film Boys.
Genelia Deshmukh (née D'Souza; born 5 August 1987) is an Indian actress and model who predominantly appears in Telugu, Hindi, and Tamil language films. After gaining wide attention in a Parker Pen commercial with Amitabh Bachchan, D'Souza began her acting career with the box-office hit Tujhe Meri Kasam in 2003. She was recognized for her role in Boys the same year. 

D'Souza received her first Filmfare Award in 2006 for her performance in the Telugu romantic film, Bommarillu, which earned her critical acclaim. In 2008, she gave critically acclaimed performances in Santosh Subramaniam, a Tamil remake of Bommarillu, and the Bollywood movie Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na. In addition to mainstream acting, D'Souza has hosted the television show Big Switch, and has been the brand ambassador of Fanta, Virgin Mobile India, Fastrack, LG Mobiles, Garnier Light, Margo, and Perk in India.

She has been part of successful films, including Dhee, Mr. Medhavi, Ready, Katha, Uthamaputhiran, Urumi, Velayudham and the Hindi films Masti and Force. Having acted in several commercially successful movies in Telugu and Tamil, D'Souza is described as one of the leading actresses of the South Indian film industry.

Early life
Born in Mumbai, D'Souza is a Mangalorean Catholic. She was raised in the Bandra suburb of Mumbai. Her mother Jeanette D'Souza was a managing director of the Pharma Multinational corporation. She left her job in 2004 to help D'Souza with her career. Her father Neil D'Souza, is a senior official with Tata Consultancy Services. She also has a younger brother, Nigel D'Souza, who works with the Bombay Stock Exchange. According to D'Souza, her name means "rare" or "unique", and is a portmanteau of Jeanette and Neil, her mother and father's names. She is also often informally referred to as Geenu, her nickname. D'Souza studied at the Apostolic Carmel High School in Bandra and later joined St. Andrew's College in Bandra to pursue her bachelor's degree of Management Studies. She completed her degree while shooting for her first film, Tujhe Meri Kasam in 2003 and initially thought that an MNC job would suit her. She liked sports and studies in college, and was a state level athlete, sprinter, and a national level football player.

D'Souza did her first modeling assignment at the age of 15, the result of being spotted as the bridesmaid at a wedding. She was selected for the Parker Pen commercial with Amitabh Bachchan, just two days before her exams, and had to shoot the next day. Initially she refused, because of her exam the next day, but the director persuaded D'Souza to shoot for the commercial. She gained wide attention from the Parker Pen commercial with Amitabh Bachchan, who said "she was good, and her expressions were spontaneous". She further did a Fair & Lovely 2003 Cricket World Cup advertisement with cricketer Krishnamachari Srikkanth.

Acting career

Debut and breakthrough (2003–2005)
When D'Souza was offered a role in Tujhe Meri Kasam, initially she turned it down, as she was not keen to pursue a career in acting. But the crew insisted and kept contacting her for two months, and she agreed when she saw the Telugu version of the movie. Tamil director, S. Shankar, was impressed with her performance in the Parker Pen commercial and decided to cast her in a leading role in his 2003 Tamil film Boys. D'Souza was selected among 300 girls, who had auditioned for the movie. She signed three movies simultaneously in three different languages, Tujhe Meri Kasam (Hindi), Boys (Tamil), and Satyam (Telugu).

D'Souza's professional movie career began, with her Bollywood debut Tujhe Meri Kasam in 2003. Film critic Taran Adarsh noted, "D'Souza is a wonderful performer. She catches you unaware with a performance that's natural to the core." The film was a box-office success. However, it could not do much to propel her career in Bollywood. Later, she decided to act in South Indian films. The same year, she made her Tamil debut as the teenage girl Harini in Boys, a story about five teenagers having stereotypical teen-boy fantasies. The movie, though noted for its vulgar sexual content, was a box-office success, and subsequently she started receiving Telugu film offers. She left Tamil cinema for a while to concentrate on the Telugu film industry. She made her Telugu debut in 2003 as a medical student in Satyam. Sify noted in their review that, "Genelia is excellent as her body language is her major asset." The movie was well received, and it raised her profile in the Telugu film industry.

In 2004, D'Souza appeared in her second Bollywood movie, Masti. The comedy focuses on three close friends who reunite after three years, but are now married and are being harassed by their wives. D'Souza portrayed the character of one of the wives. Taran Adarsh was complimentary of D'Souza's role, saying, "Amongst the wives, Genelia is the best, [...] Genelia looks the stern and demanding wife and is sure to be noticed." The film was a box-office success. The same year, she appeared in two Telugu movies Samba, and Sye, both succeeding at the box-office.

After appearing in her first Telugu movie in 2005, Naa Alludu, she starred in the Tamil romantic entertainer Sachein. A review in The Hindu noted, "Genelia, who hardly made an impression in Boys, makes much impact in Sachein." The movie evoked mixed response from audiences, but was well received with the younger generation. She later appeared in the Telugu patriotic movie Subhash Chandra Bose.

Turning point in South Indian films and recognition (2006–2008)
The year 2006 marked a significant turning point in D'Souza's career. She completed two Telugu movies in early 2006, one was the romantic comedy Happy, and the other was Raam. She then portrayed the role of Haasini, a vibrant, effervescent and a happy-go-lucky young girl, in the 2006 Telugu romantic film Bommarillu. The movie, a blockbuster at the box-office, grossed  in India, and also won the 2006 Golden Nandi award. Her character was well received, and garnered her the Telugu Filmfare Award for Best Actress, besides Nandi Special Jury Award and Santosham Award for Best Actress. Sify concluded about her acting in their review that, "The scene stealer is Genelia with her innocent looks and cute mannerisms. She does not overact and we just fall in love with her character. Genelia looks like a dream in chic skirts and is the life of the party and raises the bar of the film."

Following the success of Bommarillu, D'Souza played the role of the daughter of a local don, in the Tamil gangster film Chennai Kadhal alongside Boys co-star Bharath. Rediff.com criticized her commenting, "Genelia stands up yet again to prove the point that if you are pretty and well dressed, you can get away with anything, without acting." Shortly afterwards in 2007, D'Souza played the role of sister of a notorious gangster in the blockbuster Telugu movie Dhee, set against a gang war backdrop.

The following year, D'Souza appeared in the 2008 Telugu romantic thriller Mr. Medhavi, in which she portrayed the role of a student from Canada. The movie was successful, with Rediff.com complimenting her performance saying, "Genelia is her effervescent self – full of joie-de-vivre and lights up the screen." She made her Kannada debut in Satya in Love the same year. Later, she was cast in a leading role in Santosh Subramaniam, a Tamil remake of Bommarillu. The film also turned out to be rather successful as its predecessor. Sify described Genelia's portrayal as "the soul of the film" and the film's "biggest strength", however Rediff.com described her character as "appears a little too good to be true."

Return to Bollywood, subsequent work and success (2008–2016)

In June 2008, following a nearly five-year hiatus in Bollywood, she appeared in Mere Baap Pehle Aap, which failed to make profit at the box-office. A Rediff review noted, "besides her apparent cuteness, brings in tons of freshness and traits to the youthful characters she chooses to play", while a Sify review criticized her stating, "Genelia is sprightly but has a standard two-three expressions bank in this film." She later appeared in the Telugu love story Ready alongside Ram, which was well received. Her breakthrough performance in 2008 was through the portrayal of the role of Aditi Mahant in the blockbuster Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na, which was an economic success across India and overseas, grossing . Her role was widely admired for her sweetness and freshness, and new style of acting, with Rediff describing her acting as a "spark that has been missing in Hindi cinema for well over a decade now". In that same year, D'Souza acted in the Telugu romantic comedy Sasirekha Parinayam. The movie received favorable reviews, and Sify noted in their review that, "The life of the film is definitely Genelia and she has shown the varied emotions from innocence, sadness, romance and anger in equal proportions without a hitch."

In 2009, D'Souza was cast in the Hindi film Life Partner, in which she was criticized for her performance. Indian film critic Rajeev Masand commented, "The adorable little imp from Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na has turned into a nagging harridan in this film, and how you wish she'd immediately enroll for acting lessons." Her next appearance in 2009 was in the Telugu thriller Katha, which was well received, and for which she won the 2009 Nandi Special Jury Award. In 2010, D'Souza appeared in Chance Pe Dance and Orange, both receiving poor reviews from critics, but her Uthama Puthiran was a moderate success in Tamil.

D'Souza had a major role in 2011, starring as the Muslim warrior princess Arackal Ayesha, in her debut Malayalam film Urumi. The film is about a fictional story happening in Calicut, Kerala during the 15th century, about a boy who plots to assassinate the Portuguese explorer Vasco Da Gama. She learned horse riding, and spent two weeks of training to use the sword, the short stick, and movements of the Dravidian martial art Kalarippayattu. The movie portrayed her image makeover from typically girl-next-door roles to more serious roles. Her next appearance was in the Bollywood action thriller Force, which received mixed reception from critics, with Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama noting that D'Souza is strikingly sweet and subdued. She played the role of a journalist alongside leading actor Vijay in Velayudham, which was also commercially successful. She appeared in Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya and Naa Ishtam in 2012 and in cameo appearances in Jai Ho and Lai Bhaari in 2014. In 2016, she appeared in a cameo role of Maya in Force 2.

Role as producer and return to acting (2018–present) 
Genelia became producer for her husband's Marathi film Mauli, where she also appeared in a song.

She will make her comeback to full time acting after 10 years, with her Marathi film debut Vedd, which will be directed by Riteish Deshmukh. She will also appear alongside Riteish in Bhushan Kumar's Mister Mummy.

Personal life

D'Souza is deeply religious and says that, she regularly attends Sunday Mass at St. Anne's Parish (Bandra), and whenever the family is home, a part of their evening is reserved for saying the rosary together. In an interview with The Times of India, she comments, "I keep a Novena every Wednesday at St. Michael's Church in Mahim." In an interview with Daily News and Analysis, she said that "My communication with God is conversational, [...] I'm God's favourite child; I believe that God has always been kind to me." Tabloids repeatedly linked D'Souza romantically with Ritesh Deshmukh, ever since they starred together in their debut film Tujhe Meri Kasam in 2003. They were reportedly ready to get engaged, but Ritesh's father, the then-Maharashtra Chief Minister, Vilasrao Deshmukh did not agree. D'Souza later denied any rumors of a relationship with Deshmukh, and responds that she had just friendly relations with him. However, the couple eventually got married on 3 February 2012, according to Marathi marriage traditions in a Hindu wedding ceremony, they had a Christian wedding in the church on next day. The couple's first child, a son named Riaan, was born on 25 November 2014. Their second son, Rahyl, was born on 1 June 2016.

Other work and events
D'Souza was a part of Tamil director Mani Ratnam's stage show, Netru, Indru, Naalai, an event which seeks to raise funds for The Banyan, a voluntary organisation which rehabilitates homeless women with mental illness in Chennai. She was one of the judges at the grand finale of Gladrags Mega Model and Manhunt 2009 contest on 28 March 2009. She also walked the ramp alongside Tushar Kapoor for fashion designer Manish Malhotra at the Lakme Fashion Week 2009 on 28 March 2009. On 5 April 2009, D'Souza was among several Bollywood celebrities to perform at the Pantaloons Femina Miss India 2009 finale in Mumbai. In October 2009, she appeared as a showstopper for jewellery designer Farah Khan Ali on the second season of Housing Development and Infrastructure Limited (HDIL) India Couture Week. On 24 October 2009, D'Souza began hosting Big Switch, a television show based on slum kids on UTV Bindass channel to reach a bigger audience.

She has unveiled Spinz Black Magic deodorant on 7 October 2009 in Mumbai, and the Ceres Store retail outlet. At the Chennai International Fashion Week (CIFW) in December 2009, she appeared as a showstopper for designer Ishita Singh's spring-summer indigenous collection of 2010. She also holds a Limca world record of delivering four different super hit films in four different languages, Ready (Telugu), Satya in Love (Kannada), Santosh Subramaniam (Tamil), and Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na (Hindi) in a span of one calendar year.

She was a part of online market portal eBay's 2010 "Dream House" challenge, where she transformed an empty three-room apartment in Bandra into an attractive home with online shopping. She had been provided a budget of  and two weeks to create a look she wants with items on sale on the website. On the occasion of Children's Day (14 November), D'Souza auctioned a few items from the apartment. All proceeds received from the auction was given to Aseema, a Non-governmental organization (NGO), which aims to provide education to underprivileged children.

Reception

D'Souza has been often tagged in the media as the "bubbly girl", after portraying the role of a young energetic girl in several movies, especially Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na (2008) and Bommarillu. She appeared alongside Shahid Kapoor on the fourth episode of Tere Mere Beach Mein, a celebrity chat show, hosted by Farah Khan. The theme of the show was "Second Innings", since both D'Souza and Kapoor had the same history of failures initially and success later in their acting careers. In June 2010, D'Souza was crowned as the "Brand Ambassador of the Year" at the CNBC Awaaz consumer awards, for endorsing nine brands. She is now the brand ambassador of the soft drink Fanta (replacing Rani Mukherjee), the chocolate Perk (replacing Preity Zinta), Virgin Mobile India (along with Ranbir Kapoor), Fastrack watches and accessories, LG mobiles (along with John Abraham and Abhay Deol), Garnier Light fairness cream, Dabur Vatika hair oil, Margo soap, and Spinz deodorant.

Controversies
In June 2010, she was the subject of a controversy, when a Tamil daily reported that she had attended the controversial 2010 IIFA Awards in Colombo. Several Bollywood actors and the South Indian film industry had boycotted the event, over the alleged killing of Tamilian civilians at the height of the conflict between the Sri Lanka Army and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2009. The rumours of her visit to Colombo started after her friend Ritesh Deshmukh was seen at the festival in Colombo. Immediately, various Tamil groups and Kollywood associations demanded her films to be banned.

In 2011, a controversy broke out for her film Force, in a wedding sequence scene of herself and John Abraham. Sources claim that the wedding ceremony and rituals conducted were so authentic that they would have actually been husband and wife in real life. Instead of a junior artiste, a real priest was called for the scene.  Again, following the reports of Ritesh Deshmukh and D'Souza's marriage plans, the priest landed up at producer Vipul Amrutlal Shah's office to register a complaint. He insisted that the couple couldn't get married, as D'Souza has been already married to John Abraham, as all marriage rituals were observed, from wearing a mangalsutra (a sacred thread is worn by Indian women as a symbol of their marriage), to exchanging garlands, and taking the seven steps around the holy fire. Shah dismissed the claims as a publicity stunt.

Filmography

As actor

As producer

Awards and nominations

See also

 List of Bollywood actresses

References

External links

 
 
 
 Genelia D'Souza at Yahoo! Movies

Living people
Actresses in Tamil cinema
Actresses in Telugu cinema
Indian film actresses
Actresses in Hindi cinema
Indian Roman Catholics
Athletes from Mumbai
1987 births
St. Andrew's College of Arts, Science and Commerce alumni
Indian women television presenters
Indian television presenters
Actresses in Kannada cinema
Actresses in Malayalam cinema
Filmfare Awards South winners
21st-century Indian actresses
Marathi people
People from Marathwada
Kalarippayattu practitioners
Indian female martial artists
Sportswomen from Maharashtra
21st-century Indian women
21st-century Indian people
Actresses from Mumbai
Female models from Mumbai
Hadas Yaron (; born April 12, 1990) is an Israeli actress. She began acting as a child and made her film debut as a supporting actress in the 2006 film, Out of Sight. Yaron played lead character Shira Mendelman in the 2012 Israeli drama film, Fill the Void.  In September of that year, she received an Ophir Award and became the first Israeli to win Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival.

Early life
Yaron was born in Israel, to a secular Jewish family. She was raised in Tel Aviv. As an adolescent, she attended Tichon Eroni Alef Art School where she studied theatre.

After completing high school, Yaron served in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for two years as it is compulsory for women to serve in the military in Israel. "I was like a soldier but I wasn't a soldier," she said of her role in the army. "I was wearing my uniform, but I was in the educational system. I was kind of a guide in boarding school, like with kids and teenagers. I had a group and was with them all year long." She describes her years in the IDF as being "like a pause in your life".

Career

Hadas Yaron began acting at the age of eight and was first cast to perform in her first film, Out of Sight, at the age of 14. Out of Sight focuses on a young blind woman (Tali Sharon) who returns to Israel from the United States on learning that her cousin, Talia, has committed suicide, and her attempts to discover the reasoning behind it. Yaron portrayed a young Talia for flashbacks.

During and after her service in the army, Yaron worked as a waitress at a coffee shop in Dizengoff Street, Tel Aviv to make ends meet. She voiced the opinion that it's "funny that one night you're in an evening gown and the next you're back to serving coffee in the café". In an interview on "Good Evening with Guy Pines", the owner of the café remarked, "She's not a very good waitress. She trips and falls over everything."

Yaron auditioned for Rama Burshtein's film, Fill the Void, in 2010, and was cast in the lead role of Shira. Burshtein stated, "Hadas came towards the end of the process. I had seen everyone in Israel, but then she walked in and started the audition and I just burst out laughing like crazy because I knew that I had found her. The beauty of Hadas is that she didn't really understand what was happening. At one point I said to her, Hadas, you're 20 and you might be a huge star, what are you gonna do? She just smiled at me - this not understanding is really her beauty and what came through so well in the character of Shira."

The movie follows the lifestyle and choices of a family living among the Haredi Jewish community in Tel Aviv. Yaron's character, Shira, is an 18-year-old girl who is pressured to marry her deceased older sister's husband after the latter dies in childbirth. "It's all about emotions and choices and what leads you to do what you do," said Yaron. "I'm also young. But Shira is different from me because she is not familiar with all these feelings she experiences for the first time." Yaron found certain aspects of her character's relationship with her brother-in-law, Yochay, difficult to convey because she "had never done a part where there was romance" before. To become better acquainted with the traditions and regulations of Orthodox lifestyle, she began to learn the Hebrew blessings and, at Burshtein's request, attended all of the events that take place within the movie, including a wedding and a circumcision.

The film was received well, and critics praised Yaron's performance. In September, she won Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival and the Ophir Awards, Israel's version of the Oscars.

In 2018, Yaron appeared as Sarah in the film Mary Magdalene, written by Helen Edmundson and directed by Garth Davis.

Filmography

Awards

References

External links

1990 births
21st-century Israeli actresses
Living people
Israeli child actresses
Israeli film actresses
Volpi Cup for Best Actress winners Helen Shivers is a fictional character in the I Know What You Did Last Summer franchise. She was created by American writer Lois Duncan and originates from Duncan's 1973 suspense novel I Know What You Did Last Summer as a young woman involved in a hit and run accident. In this version, she is known as Helen Rivers.

She was portrayed by actress Sarah Michelle Gellar in the Kevin Williamson scripted feature film I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) as the Croaker Queen of the Southport 1996 Beauty Pageant. Her chase sequence with the killer of the film has been deemed iconic and has been described as toying with the audience's expectations.

While the film itself received middling reviews, Gellar's performance as Shivers was met with critical acclaim and the character has obtained a cult following in recent years. In 2018, she was portrayed by Greer Grammer in the musical parody I Know What You Did Last Summer: The Unauthorized Musical that premiered at the El Cid in Los Angeles.

The character is particularly notable for challenging horror film tropes of the time, in which the characters (in most cases teenage victims) were left underdeveloped and without a substantial story arc. Shiver's storyline has often been referred to as a highlight of the film.

Appearances

Literature
Helen originates from Lois Duncan's 1973 suspense novel I Know What You Did Last Summer. She is depicted as a high school drop out from a large family who manages to launch a successful television career as an actress. She was involved in a hit-and-run accident of a cycling boy with her boyfriend Barry Cox, and friends Julie James and Ray Bronson. A year later, Julie reveals a letter to Helen that says "I know what you did last summer". The next day, while tanning at her apartment complex she meets Collingsworth Wilson who moved into one of the vacant apartments the day before. She later finds a magazine cutout of a boy riding a bicycle taped to her apartment door. After a series of bizarre encounters with the anonymous figure toying with them, Helen is confronted by Collingsworth at her apartment. She locks herself inside her bathroom and escapes through her window as he tries to break the door down. Later, Helen calls the police and sends them to Julie's house, who was Collingsworth's next target.

Film
Shivers makes her cinematic debut in the 1997 film. On the Fourth of July, Helen wins the Fourth of July Croaker Beauty Pageant and reveals aspirations as a New York-based actress. Afterwards, she goes to the beach with her friends Julie James, Barry Cox, and Ray Bronson. While driving on the byway, they accidentally run over a pedestrian. They decide to dump the body into the sea and to never talk about what happened.

A year later, she is revealed to have failed as an actress and now works at her family's store. When Julie receives a letter with no return address, stating, "I know what you did last summer!" she tracks her down and the duo reunite with Barry and Ray. The rest of the group begin to receive taunting messages from the mysterious assailant. One morning, Helen wakes up to find her hair cut off and "Soon" written in lipstick on her mirror.

At the Croaker Beauty Pageant, Helen witnesses the murder of Barry on the balcony. With his body nowhere to be found, a police officer escorts a hysterical Helen home, but the killer murders him in an alleyway. Helen breaks out of the back of the police car and is chased to her family's store. The killer enters through the unlocked back door and murders her sister Elsa. Helen is chased to the third floor of the building and jumps out of the window. She manages to make it a few feet away from the parade, but the killer appears behind her and begins to slash her, her screams being obscured by the parade. Her corpse is later discovered by Julie.

Shivers makes a cameo appearance in I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998) in a photograph through use of Sarah Michelle Gellar's personality rights.

Development
 The character originates from American writer Lois Duncan's 1973 suspense novel I Know What You Did Last Summer as one of the main characters involved in a hit-and-run accident. In this version she is named Helen Rivers, her family is poorer and (possibly) larger than in the film, and she isn't murdered. Her aspirations as an actress are found with greater success in the novel than in the film adaptation. Gellar was the last of the lead actors to be cast. In the 1997 film, she has been described as a "local beauty-pageant winner who wants to become an actress". Shivers is initially depicted as a vapid, egotistical beauty queen, but over the course of the film she is shown to be a very affectionate person despite her dysfunctional home life and overt loneliness.

Alexandra West attests that the film constantly alludes to her physical attractiveness and superficial vanity, writing that "Helen is constantly framed in doorways and mirrors, lending to the notion that she is an object to be looked at and that her looks are her most indelible quality." However, she notes that this is a stark contrast to her profound personal struggles that are revealed later in the film:
 "Director Jim Gillespie makes it clear that Helen is completely and utterly alone with no true connections, so much that she appears almost relieved when the notes that says, "I know what you did last summer" begin appearing, as it gives her an excuse to reconnect with her friends. Her death is equal parts tense and tragic."

Popular culture
The character was spoofed in the form of Buffy Gilmore (a nod to Sarah Michelle Gellar's Buffy The Vampire Slayer), a character portrayed by Shannon Elizabeth in the Keenen Ivory Wayans directed parody film Scary Movie (2000) and by Julie Benz in Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the 13th.

In 2018, Greer Grammer was cast in the musical parody I Know What You Did Last Summer: The Unauthorized Musical that premiered at the El Cid in Los Angeles.

Reception
Gellar's performance in the film was met with acclaim. Her portrayal earned her a Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Supporting Actress – Horror and a MTV Movie Award nomination for Best Breakthrough Performance.

Years since the release of the 1997 film, Shivers has been frequently referred to as a breakout character. In an article for Rotten Tomatoes, April Wolfe states, "The key to Helen Shivers’ success as a sidekick is her unabashed and shameless vanity. Sarah Michelle Gellar's portrayal of the character paints her as the beauty queen with depth, the most likely to succeed. She's the woman with the plan to track down the killer and the guts to charge into the crowd of the Croaker Queen Pageant talent competition to save her friend. Unfortunately, luck just wasn't on her side."

Chris Eggertsen of Uproxx described the character as being complex. Eggertsen praised Gellar for giving a "compelling" performance and for being able to transform Helen from a vapid self absorbed beauty queen to a fully realized and sympathetic character. Similarly, writer Sara Century of Syfy Wire described her as a "compelling character" and is notably different from other horror film characters due to her intimate character arc, "Helen is a compelling character especially in horror, a genre that traditionally fails to give emotional backing to its doomed teenagers. On the surface, she's shallow, obsessed with beauty pageants and trips to New York. Yet there's something haunted in Helen from the very beginning, and it gives her character a lot more weight than what we see at face value. There have been full essays written on her death scene alone, and she has remained surprisingly influential." West states that her story line is the most visible out of the four central characters.

References

Works cited
 
 
 

Female characters in literature
Female horror fiction characters
Fictional actors
I Know What You Did Last Summer (franchise)
Literary characters introduced in 1973