Sara Paxton is an American actress and singer known for her role as Mari Collingwood in the horror film The Last House on the Left. She grew up in California and began acting at an early age, appearing in many minor roles in both films and television shows, before rising to fame in 2004, after playing the title role in the television series Darcy’s Wild Life and Sarah Borden in Summerland. Take a look below for 24 more fun and fascinating facts about Sara Paxton.

1. An only child, Paxton was born in the Woodland Hills section of Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Lucia and Steve Paxton.

2. Her mother was born to a Jewish family in Monterrey, Mexico, and raised in Ciudad Acuña.

3. Paxton’s father is of English, Irish, and Scottish descent and converted to Judaism upon marrying her mother.

4. Both her parents are dentists.

5. Paxton’s father is distantly related to the late actor Bill Paxton.

6. During her childhood, Paxton put on shows and wanted to perform, sometimes dressing up in costume and coming to school as a particular character.

7. She grew up in the San Fernando Valley, choosing to attend a public high school instead of accepting homeschooling.

8. Paxton graduated from El Camino Real High School in June 2006.

9. Paxton has said that attending college was “very important” to her because “it is important to expand your mind.”

10. In 2006, Paxton applied to the University of Southern California’s film studies program.

11. She has noted that she would like to major in business administration with a minor in history (as she is a “history fanatic”) and to start a production company.

12. Paxton delayed plans to attend college, because every time she lined up a class schedule she was offered another movie.

13. In a 2009 interview with Teen Hollywood, Paxton indicated that she had been accepted to several schools and almost attended New York University, but she made the decision not to go and had no immediate plans of attending college.

14. Paxton has said that singing and acting “went hand in hand” during her early years, though she initially began working as an actress, appearing in musical theater and later in television commercials at a young age.

15. Her first film role was a small role in the 1997 Jim Carrey comedy Liar Liar.

16. Paxton starred in the CW drama series The Beautiful Life alongside Corbin Bleu, Mischa Barton and Elle Macpherson. The show premiered on September 16, 2009, but was cancelled after 2 episodes.

17. Paxton also starred in the 2011 movie Shark Night. She then played Mirabella on the ABC Family movie Lovestruck: The Musical in 2013.

18. In April 2016, it was announced that Paxton had joined the cast of David Lynch’s 2017 Twin Peaks revival.

19. Paxton was signed to a record deal with Epic Records during the time she was cast in Aquamarine.

20. Her debut music CD, The Ups and Downs, featuring the titled single “Here We Go Again”, is due for release by Epic at some point “in the future”; as of March 2007, Paxton has not completed work on it. She has described the sound as “pop/rock. It is believed Paxton’s debut album has been shelved and she has no plans to continue her music career as she has not made any announcement of any plans to further her career in the music industry.”

21. Paxton has credited her Jewish religion for feeling “very connected” to her family, who keep her “grounded” and are “always number one” in her life.

22. She did not have a Bat Mitzvah because she was busy filming, though she has said that she “wanted to so bad”.

23. In 2018, Paxton became engaged to longtime boyfriend, actor Zach Cregger.

24. Paxton hosted The Secret Life of Water, the first episode of the series Planet H2O, which premiered in April 2006 on public television stations.