Kristin Kreuk born as Kristin Laura Kreuk is an easy-going daughter of a Dutch father and Chinese mother, both of whom are landscape architects. She is a strikingly beautiful brunette hailing from Vancouver who simultaneously starred on two series lensed in her hometown. 


Her acting career started when was filling out college applications when an advisor gave some excellent guidance and suggested the young woman try out for the locally-produced teen soap "Edgemont". A CBC production that aired on Fox Family Channel in the USA, "Edgemont" was a thoughtful series that, uncharacteristically for youth-aimed drama, hit home far more often than it missed its mark. Kreuk played Laurel, a sweet and sophisticated Torontonian who has a hard time adjusting to her new suburban life, especially in her high school, where her urban roots lead to presumptions of sexual promiscuity. Her close friendship and subsequent unwitting seduction of the male half of the school's golden couple certainly didn't help her cause, but Kreuk's soft-spoken but strong performance as the character brought out Laurel's sincerity and smarts and made her hard to root against.

After shooting the first season of Edgemont and getting herself an agent, Kreuk landed the lead role of Snow White in a TV movie entitled Snow White: The Fairest of Them All. The film, shot in Vancouver, also starred actress Miranda Richardson. It aired on ABC on March 17, 2002. 

After Snow White, Kreuk's agent sent an audition tape to movie screenwriters Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, who at the time were putting together the cast of a show they had created for the WB Network entitled Smallville. The program (which was slated to be shot in Vancouver) was to revolve around the life of teenager Clark Kent, alias Superboy. Gough and Millar called Kreuk to the WB's studios in Burbank, California to audition for the role of Clark Kent's pre-Lois Lane love, Lana Lang. Originally, Kreuk was not so sure about auditioning for the Lana role, as the character was to be a gorgeous, popular cheerleader and so she assumed that the part would be that of a shallow "idiot". However, upon reading the "graveyard scene" from the pilot, she was so impressed that when she was offered the role, she immediately accepted it. 

The executives at Neutrogena decided to make her the cover girl for their new worldwide ad campaign; in this regard Kreuk followed in the footsteps of fellow teen stars Jennifer Love Hewitt and Mandy Moore. 

In 2003, Kreuk wrapped up her role on Edgemont. She was also tapped for her first feature film role in the summer of 2003; she made a cameo appearance in the movie Eurotrip, starring Scott Mechlowicz and Michelle Trachtenberg. The film, shot in Prague, Czech Republic, also featured cameos by Matt Damon and Lucy Lawless. It debuted in theatres on February 20, 2004. 

In the summer of 2004, Kreuk joined the cast of the Sci Fi Channel miniseries Earthsea, starring Shawn Ashmore and Danny Glover and based on the novels by Ursula K. Le Guin. Her character, Tenar, is the pupil of the High Priestess of the Tombs of Atuan (played by Isabella Rossellini) and also the love interest of Ashmore's character. The miniseries, filmed in Vancouver, was directed by Rob Lieberman and co-produced by Lawrence Bender of Pulp Fiction fame. It airs in December 2004.