She remained with the show until its end in 2002. She attracted international attention when she joined the main cast of the 'Ally McBeal' TV series in 1998 playing lawyer Nelle Porter. Her first significant role was playing a young and impressionable model in the Australian 1994 film 'Sirens.' Soon afterwards, she moved to Los Angeles and had guest roles on TV shows before landing a role in the film 'Scream 2.' When you live in Australia, Europe is so far away and so fascinating, so stylish and cultured and sophisticated.'Īn extremely gifted student, she left the lecture theaters of the Melbourne Law school to pursue an acting career. De Rossi because I was Australian and I thought that an exotic Italian name would somehow suit me more than Amanda Rogers. I picked Portia because I was a Shakespeare fan (Portia is the character in 'The Merchant of Venice'). Everything just didn't fit, and I was trying to find things I could identify myself with, and it started with my name. In retrospect, I think it was largely due to my struggle about being gay. She took the name Portia de Rossi at a young age: As a child she modeled for print and TV commercials. Portia de Rossi, born Amanda Lee Rogers, is an Australian actress who is best known for her role as lawyer Nelle Porter on the television series 'Ally McBeal,' and as Lindsay Bluth Fnke on the television series 'Arrested Development.'īorn in Melbourne, Victoria, de Rossi was raised in Grovedale, a suburb of Geelong.

Portia de rossi autobiography