Vanessa Lee Chester is an American actress who began her career as a child actor as Becky in the films A Little Princess (1995) and Janie Gibbs in Harriet the Spy (1996) before her breakthrough role as Kelly Curtis in Steven Spielberg's The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997).
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Biography
Chester was born to Guyanese parents who immigrated to the United States. In her early childhood, she relocated with her mother to Los Angeles, where she began auditioning for and appearing in commercials. In 1993, Chester made her film debut as Talona in the 1993 comedy CB4 starring Chris Rock. In 1995, she appeared in a supporting role as Becky in Alfonso Cuarón's A Little Princess. In 1996, she appeared opposite Michelle Trachtenberg as Janie Gibbs in the Nickelodeon film Harriet the Spy, which was a moderate box office success. In 1997, she was cast in a lead role as Kelly Curtis in Steven Spielberg's The Lost World: Jurassic Park. The film was a box office hit, grossing $618.6 million worldwide against a $73-75 million budget. Chester later worked mostly in television, most notably appearing in Malcolm in the Middle and The West Wing. She was nominated for a Saturn Award, Image Award (The Lost World: Jurassic Park) and a Young Artist Award (A Little Princess) and winning for Best Performance in a Feature Film-Supporting Young Actress (Harriet The Spy). In early 2012, Chester began work on an unnamed film by Ty Hodges.
