Daphne Zuniga was born and raised in Northern California, but spent her teenage years in Woodstock, Vermont with her mother. She graduated from Woodstock Union High School in 1980. Her father, a college philosophy professor born in Guatemala, her mother, an American born Unitarian Minister.
Her grandparents loved Greek mythology so she received the name of the woman pursued by the god Apollo, Daphne, his first love. Wanting nothing to do with men, she asked for rescue, which came in the form of transformation into a laurel tree (thanks a lot).

Her first performance was on stage at age 12 in the role of a male admiral in the Gilbert & Sullivan musical "H.M.S. Pinafore". She spent a year studying with the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. She later attended the three year theater program at UCLA. Additionally, Zuniga spent four years studying with Larry Moss as well as studying with Peggy Feury at the Loft Studio (now known as the Lost Studio). She also studied improv' with Gary Austin.

After growing up in the Bay Area she moved to Woodstock, Vermont (population about 3,400) for four years where she continued to improve her knowledge of acting as a member of the Newhouse Players and the Young Actors Company. Daphne graduated from Woodstock Union High School in 1980 . "Little Angel" (her nickname) never had a boyfriend during her high school years and wondered why her friends seemed so easily to fill that part of their lives. "I never even had a boyfriend until college. The only date I had was for the junior prom, and then he left with someone else." At another time she wondered; "Well, maybe I'm cursed by the myth of this name."

After graduation from high school, Daphne spent time in summer stock theater with Vermont's Green Mountain Guild before returning to the milder clime of California to pursue her dreams further. Soon after, she enrolled in a three year drama program at UCLA. Tim Robbins is one of many successful actors who have also gone through this program. He attended during the same period as Daphne and Tim and Daphne worked together in "Quarterback Princess" and "The Sure Thing", two of their early films. It was during this time she also appeared in two episodes of the highly rated "Family Ties" series as Michael J. Fox's girlfriend, Rachel.

In her spare time, Zuniga indulges in her passion for sculpting, painting and charcoal sketching. She is also a member of the E.C.O. (Environmental Communications Office) an environmental media based group. She currently resides in Los Angeles.

Source: http://www.daphne-zuniga.com/

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