Danielle Andrea Harris (born June 1, 1977) is an American television and film actress, perhaps best known for her roles in three films in the Halloween series.
Harris was born in Daytona Beach, Florida and grew up in Queens, New York, raised by her single mother, Fran. She has a sister, Ashley. Harris is Jewish. She briefly dated actor Omri Katz in 1991. In the mid-1990s, she was stalked by an obsessed fan, who wrote letters threatening to kill her. He was later arrested after bringing a shotgun and a teddy bear to her home. On January 29, 2007, Harris appeared on an episode of The Dr. Phil Show recounting the terrifying experience.
Harris' family moved to Port Orange, Florida when she was in the fourth grade, where she attended Spruce Creek Elementary School. However, her tenure there was short-lived after winning a children's beauty contest which took her to New York. When in New York, Harris began her professional career by appearing in television commercials while maintaining an A average at PS 117 and PS 232 in Queens, New York. Her first acting role soon followed in 1985, when she made her debut as Sammi Garretson on ABC's One Life to Live, a role she played for three years.
In 1988, she auditioned for and won the part of Jamie Lloyd (Michael Myers' niece) in the movie Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers. Just one year later, she would reprise the role in Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers. The character of Jamie returned in 1995 for Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers but Danielle did not due to disagreements on her fate in the script. Also, Harris requested $5000 to appear in the film (far less than she was paid for Halloween 4), but no agreement could be reached. J.C. Brandy ended up playing Jamie in the film, a decision with which some of the fans of the Halloween series were dissatisfied, since Danielle had become very popular with them. Harris would later return to the franchise in a new role, that of Annie Brackett, in Rob Zombie's Halloween, a 2007 re-imagining of John Carpenter's 1978 original.
Harris' other film credits include Marked for Death (1990) alongside Steven Seagal, Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead (1991) alongside Christina Applegate, City Slickers (1991), The Last Boy Scout (1991) alongside Bruce Willis and Damon Wayans, Free Willy (1993), Daylight (1996) alongside Sylvester Stallone, Wish Upon a Star (1996) alongside Katherine Heigl, and Urban Legend (1998). She has also appeared frequently on television, with a recurring role on the sitcom Roseanne during the 1992-93 season (as Roseanne's neighbor Molly), and subsequent guest appearances on Boy Meets World, Diagnosis Murder, Charmed, ER and Cold Case. As well, she appeared in a season four promo for American's Funniest Home videos. She also appeared alongside Ellen Burstyn for two years on the CBS drama That's Life, and as the voice of Debbie Thornberry on the animated series The Wild Thornberrys, which ran for five seasons.
Some of Harris' most recent projects include the films Debating Robert Lee, Race You to the Bottom (an Outfest prizewinner) and the upcoming Left for Dead, as well as an appearance in the music video for the song "The Bleeding", by Five Finger Death Punch.
