Summer Glau was born in San Antonio, Texas, where she was raised by her contractor father and schoolteacher mother. Throughout her teenage years, Glau trained and performed as a dancer until a serious injury forced her to take time to heal. During this time, she discovered a love for acting and made the decision to move to Los Angeles to begin working steadily as an actor and dancer.
Glau’s first television credit was a guest role as a ballerina on the television series “Angel,” produced by Joss Whedon. Whedon was so impressed with the young actress’ debut performance that he later cast her in the lead role of River in his new series “Firefly” and subsequently in the Universal feature film “Serenity.”
Glau’s career has taken off since “Firefly,” working on various television series including “CSI” and “Cold Case.” She has also recurred as Tess Doerner, a paranoid schizophrenic returnee in “The 4400” and on CBS’s “The Unit” as Crystal Burns. In addition to her television accomplishments, Glau can also be seen starring in the films “Mammoth” and “The Initiation of Sarah.”
Her most recent feats included a lead role on “The Cape,” a recurring role on “Grey’s Anatomy,” comedic turns on “Chuck” and “The Big Bang Theory,” the upcoming feature film, “Knights of Badassdom,” starring Ryan Kwanten and Peter Dinklage, and a heavily featured guest star on SyFy Channel’s hit series “Alphas.”
