Niece of actress Carol Merrill.

She turned down the role of Vin Diesel's love interest in the box-office hit The Pacifier (2005) to take a small but unforgettably sexy role in Sin City (2005) because she had enjoyed working with director Robert Rodriguez in the three "Spy Kids" films.

Italian-American.

Modeled for the prestigious Elite agency as a teenager but was considered too short for fashion runway work.

Had a kidney operation when she was only 4 years old.

Is of Italian, Irish, and English descent.

Boyfriend is writer/director Sebastian Gutierrez, with whom she has worked on several productions.

Has a butterfly tattoo on the inside of her left ankle.

Was her high school's valedictorian.

Her small size, which had worked against her when she was trying to be a model, later worked for her, as she was cast with diminutive actors like Michael J. Fox in "Spin City" (1996) and Antonio Banderas in the "Spy Kids" films.