American actress Danielle Panabaker launched her career as a teenage ingenue in the late '90s, first with bit parts in such series as The Bernie Mac Show, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and The Division, then with a string of well-received feature roles on the big and small screens.
These included parts in Stuck in the Suburbs (2004), Yours, Mine & Ours (2005), and Mr. Brooks (2007). In the latter, a psychological thriller helmed by Bruce A. Evans, Panabaker plays Jane Brooks, the daughter of a seemingly normal man (Kevin Costner) who just happens to be a serial murderer -- the notorious Thumbprint Killer.
By all accounts a child prodigy, Panabaker graduated from high school about four years early (at age 14!) as valedictorian of her class; she then attended UCLA. In addition to the aforementioned roles, Panabaker was among the cast of the Fred Schepisi-directed HBO miniseries Empire Falls (2005), adapted from the acclaimed novel by Richard Russo and starring Paul Newman, Ed Harris, Aidan Quinn, and Helen Hunt. She also portrayed James Woods's daughter on the prime-time series Shark (2006), a drama about a ruthless celebrity attorney (Woods). ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide. 