Faris was raised in Seattle and studied English Literature at the University of Washington after high school, later moving to London to begin working and writing. Longing to return to her childhood love of acting, Faris took a role in the run-of-the-mill teen slasher pic Lover's Lane (1999). Making the move to Los Angeles in order to pursue an acting career full time, Faris' previous improvisational experiences would soon come in handy as she landed her breakthrough role in the popular Scream-slanted spoof of teen slasher pics, Scary Movie. Of course that role was only the beginning for young Faris, and after returning in Scary Movie 2 the following year she portrayed the co-worker and love interest of the titular character in director Lucky McKee's offbeat sleeper May. A supporting role in the Rob Schneider comedy The Hot Chick was followed by the little-seen Sheer Bliss in 2002, and the following year Faris once again scored a hit with her portrayal of a self absorbed starlet in Sofia Coppola's critically acclaimed Lost in Translation. Though it may have been something of a given that Faris would return to the screen for Scary Movie 3 in 2003, many longtime fans were surprised to see her sporting her original blonde locks - a move that effectively banished the previous installments' Neve Campbell connection and forced audiences to take Faris' finely honed comic abilities on their own terms.