# Larisa Oleynik
**Larisa Oleynik** (full name Larisa Romanovna Oleynik) is an American actress born in 1981 in [Santa Clara County](https://www.edgepedia.org/santa-clara-county), California, best known as the star of the [Nickelodeon](https://www.edgepedia.org/nickelodeon) series *The Secret World of Alex Mack* (1994–1998) and as Bianca Stratford in the film *10 Things I Hate About You* (1999)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0646351/bio/). She became a teen idol in the 1990s and has since worked steadily in television, voice acting, independent film, and theater[2](https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/larisa-oleynik-44317.php).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1981, Santa Clara County, California, USA[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0646351/bio/) |
| First role | Young Cosette in a 1989 San Francisco production of *Les Misérables*, at age eight, with Rider Strong as Gavroche[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0646351/bio/) |
| Breakthrough | Title role in *The Secret World of Alex Mack*, Nickelodeon, 78 episodes, 1994–1998[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0646351/) |
| Best-known film | Bianca Stratford in *10 Things I Hate About You* (1999)[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0646351/) |
| Education | Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, New York, graduated 2004[4](https://www.cinemagia.ro/actori/larisa-oleynik-4119/) |
| Voice work | Icy in *Winx Club*, 108 episodes, 2006–2015[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0646351/?showAllCredits=true) |
## Early life and stage start
She was born to Lorraine (Allen), a nurse, and Roman Oleynik, an anesthesiologist; her father is of Ukrainian and Russian descent, and her mother is of German, Irish, and English descent[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0646351/bio/). At age eight, after seeing an audition advertisement in a newspaper, she joined a San Francisco production of *Les Misérables* and obtained two parts, both with singing roles[6](https://prettylittleliars.fandom.com/wiki/Larisa_Oleynik). Her costar was [Rider Strong](https://www.edgepedia.org/rider-strong) as [Gavroche](https://www.edgepedia.org/gavroche); the two were later reunited when she guested on his sitcom *Boy Meets World*, and she appeared in that series as Dana Pruitt[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0646351/bio/) • [7](https://www.fdb.cz/osobnost/46543-larisa-oleynik).
## Alex Mack and teen stardom
At age 12, Oleynik won the leading role of the Nickelodeon sitcom *The Secret World of Alex Mack* after competing against more than 400 other young actresses in an open casting call[8](https://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/larisa-oleyniks-low-key-life-after-10-things-i-hate-about-you/). Her character was a teenage girl who gains telekinetic powers, including the ability to turn into a puddle, after an accident involving chemicals[9](https://www.vokrug.tv/person/show/larisa_oleynik/) • [10](https://gazettereview.com/2017/01/happened-larisa-oleynik-news-updates/). The series ran for 78 episodes between 1994 and 1998 and made her a teen idol[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0646351/) • [8](https://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/larisa-oleyniks-low-key-life-after-10-things-i-hate-about-you/).
Her first on-screen appearance was a 1993 episode of *Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman*, and her first film role was as Pre-teen Odette in the animated *[The Swan Princess](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-swan-princess)* (1994)[11](https://nedhardy.com/2023/10/16/larisa-oleynik-2/). She played Dawn Schafer in the 1995 film *The Baby-Sitters Club*[11](https://nedhardy.com/2023/10/16/larisa-oleynik-2/).
## 10 Things I Hate About You and after
In 1999 she played Bianca Stratford, the popular younger sister [Julia Stiles](https://www.edgepedia.org/julia-stiles)'s character protects, in *10 Things I Hate About You*, a modern screen adaptation of *The Taming of the Shrew* opposite [Joseph Gordon-Levitt](https://www.edgepedia.org/joseph-gordon-levitt) and [Heath Ledger](https://www.edgepedia.org/heath-ledger)[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0646351/) • [9](https://www.vokrug.tv/person/show/larisa_oleynik/). Russian sources give different box-office figures for the film: Vokrug TV reports more than 38 million dollars in theaters[9](https://www.vokrug.tv/person/show/larisa_oleynik/), while The Famous People states the movie grossed over 53 million dollars on a 16 million dollar budget[2](https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/larisa-oleynik-44317.php).
She had appeared as a love interest to Joseph Gordon-Levitt in *3rd Rock from the Sun* as well as in the film; she played Alissa Strudwick in 21 episodes of that series between 1998 and 2000[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0646351/) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0646351/bio/). In the early 2000s she moved toward low-budget independent projects such as *100 Girls* (2000)[9](https://www.vokrug.tv/person/show/larisa_oleynik/).
## Education and return to work
At the height of her 1990s fame she declined a fifth season of *Alex Mack* and left acting for four years to attend [Sarah Lawrence College](https://www.edgepedia.org/sarah-lawrence-college) in New York, graduating in 2004[8](https://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/larisa-oleyniks-low-key-life-after-10-things-i-hate-about-you/) • [4](https://www.cinemagia.ro/actori/larisa-oleynik-4119/). She later said the hiatus was the best decision she had made, singling out the poetry, playwriting, and screenwriting workshops; a 2024 *New York Times* interview added that the school was the same one her *10 Things* costar Julia Stiles's character Kat chose in the film[8](https://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/larisa-oleyniks-low-key-life-after-10-things-i-hate-about-you/).
Her subsequent television credits include [Malcolm in the Middle](https://www.edgepedia.org/malcolm-in-the-middle) (2005), *Aliens in America* (2008), *Hawaii Five-0* (Jenna Kaye, seasons 1, 2, and 5), *Pretty Little Liars* (Maggie, seasons 3 and 4), *Law & Order: Special Victims Unit* (2016), *Trinkets* (2019–2020), *[The Healing Powers of Dude](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-healing-powers-of-dude)* (2020), and *Erin & Aaron* (2023)[12](https://www.tvsa.co.za/actors/viewactor.aspx?actorid=3947) • [5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0646351/?showAllCredits=true). She played Cynthia, the girlfriend and later wife of Ken Cosgrove, in five episodes of *Mad Men* between 2010 and 2015[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0646351/?showAllCredits=true).
## Voice acting and stage work
From 2006 to 2015 she voiced the witch Icy, and also Faragonda and Marion, in 108 episodes of the animated series *Winx Club*[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0646351/?showAllCredits=true).
On stage, she starred in the [Off-Broadway](https://www.edgepedia.org/off-broadway) revival of *Baghdaddy* in 2017 and the one-woman show *I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti* at the Hangar Theatre in [Ithaca, New York](https://www.edgepedia.org/ithaca-new-york), in 2016; the latter was adapted from Giulia Melucci's 2010 memoir of the same name[8](https://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/larisa-oleyniks-low-key-life-after-10-things-i-hate-about-you/). She is in the cast of *Lean-To*, Stephen Sheffer's world-premiere play running at 59E59 Theaters Off-Broadway[13](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Larisa-Oleynik/).
## Personal life
She dated her *10 Things I Hate About You* costar Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the late 1990s; the two reportedly met on the film and their relationship ended in 2002[9](https://www.vokrug.tv/person/show/larisa_oleynik/) • [8](https://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/larisa-oleyniks-low-key-life-after-10-things-i-hate-about-you/). She has largely kept her private life out of the public eye and continues to act while living in Venice, California[8](https://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/larisa-oleyniks-low-key-life-after-10-things-i-hate-about-you/).
## References
1. [Larisa Oleynik – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0646351/bio/)
2. [Larisa Oleynik Biography – Facts, Childhood, Family Life & Achievements, The Famous People](https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/larisa-oleynik-44317.php)
3. [Larisa Oleynik (I), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0646351/)
4. [Larisa Oleynik – Actor, CineMagia.ro](https://www.cinemagia.ro/actori/larisa-oleynik-4119/)
5. [Larisa Oleynik (I) – Full Credits, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0646351/?showAllCredits=true)
6. [Larisa Oleynik, Pretty Little Liars Wiki (Fandom)](https://prettylittleliars.fandom.com/wiki/Larisa_Oleynik)
7. [Larisa Oleynik (1981), FDb.cz](https://www.fdb.cz/osobnost/46543-larisa-oleynik)
8. [Inside Larisa Oleynik's Low-Key Private Life After '10 Things I Hate About You' and 'Alex Mack', Us Weekly](https://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/larisa-oleyniks-low-key-life-after-10-things-i-hate-about-you/)
9. [Лариса Олейник: биография и фильмография, Vokrug TV](https://www.vokrug.tv/person/show/larisa_oleynik/)
10. [What Happened to Larisa Oleynik – 2018 Update, Gazette Review](https://gazettereview.com/2017/01/happened-larisa-oleynik-news-updates/)
11. [She Played Bianca in '10 Things I Hate About You'. See Larisa Oleynik Now, Ned Hardy](https://nedhardy.com/2023/10/16/larisa-oleynik-2/)
12. [Larisa Oleynik, TVSA](https://www.tvsa.co.za/actors/viewactor.aspx?actorid=3947)
13. [Larisa Oleynik – Broadway & Theatre Credits, BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Larisa-Oleynik/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Child and youth screen performers › Child performers born before 1986*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license