Vanessa is an American actress. She was born in Bay Shore, Long Island and was raised in Syracuse, NY. She is a lifelong professional story teller. She grew up on the stage and has performed in more than 50 productions, many of which she held a lead role, including a personal favorite, Abigail in "The Crucible." In 2002 she won Syracuse Stage's 'Young Playwright Award' for her one-man show, "Urn." In 2003, she stage managed "The Diary of Anne Frank" at Syracuse Civic Theater. From 2001-2004, she studied classical voice under accomplished opera singer, Patti Thompson. She attended SUNY Potsdam in 2004, majoring in Political Science and continuing her study of dance. In 2007, she began instructing musical theatre at Syracuse Children's Theater and in 2009 produced "Into the Woods, Jr." for Baldwinsville Theater Guild. Vanessa moved to Gettysburg, PA in 2010, interning at The Gettysburg Museum of History. In 2012, she was cast in the lead role of 'Vanessa the Intern' in the reality show, "American Museum." Since then, she has been involved in the award winning indie film, "TRI", the Netflix drama, "House of Cards", embraced lead roles in films such as "Mother & Son", been the casting and personal assistant to casting director Kimberly Skyrme, and has produced, directed, filmed & edited her own work. Vanessa is passionate about community outreach. In 2016, she founded "beCause Parties", a nonprofit dedicated to providing and hosting memorable birthday parties to underprivileged youth. She is also a singer-songwriter.