Shantel VanSanten

Early life

VanSanten was born in Luverne, Minnesota. She is of Dutch and Norwegian descent. VanSanten was raised in Spring, Texas where she attended Incarnate Word Academy (an all-girls college prep school) in Houston and Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas. VanSanten also started her career as a model at the age of fifteen for the Page Parkes Management.

Career

VanSanten first appeared as a finalist on NBC's reality television series Sports Illustrated: Swimsuit Model Search but was eliminated in the series' first episode. In 2007, it was announced she had signed on in a film adaption of the novel t.A.T.u. Come Back. Filming took place throughout 2007 in Los Angeles and Moscow. Starring alongside Mischa Barton, the film premiered in Russia on January 25, 2011, and as You and I in the United States a year later.

In 2009, VanSanten appeared as Lori Milligan in The Final Destination, the fourth installment of the eponymous horror film franchise. That same year, VanSanten was cast as a series regular on The CW television drama series One Tree Hill in the show's seventh season. She portrayed the role of photographer Quinn James and the on screen sibling to Bethany Joy Lenz's character. VanSanten's role on the series continued until the series ninth and final season; her final appearance was in the series 187th and final episode. BuddyTV ranked her #24 on its "TV's 100 Sexiest Women of 2010" list and #21 in 2011.

VanSanten starred as Christine in Something Wicked. The film is the last to feature the late actress Brittany Murphy, who portrays VanSanten's sister-in-law Susan. In the spring of 2012, VanSanten shot the film Golden Christmas 3 opposite Rob Mayes, Mark Famiglietti, Nikki DeLoach and Orson Bean in a family, romantic, holiday comedy directed by Michael Feifer. She portrayed Vera Buckley on the television series The Messengers, before its cancellation after one season. VanSanten portrays Patty Spivot in The CW TV series The Flash based on the DC Comics character of the same name. She is Detective Joe West's (Jesse L. Martin) new protégée and is the only member of his new metahuman task force at the Central City Police Department besides Cisco Ramon (Carlos Valdes), and a love interest of Barry Allen (Grant Gustin).

Since 2016 VanSanten has co-starred in the USA Network drama series Shooter, based on the film of the same name and the novel Point of Impact and the Bob Lee Swagger book series it inspired.