Sony Pictures - Missing

Vivica A. Fox

(as “Nicole Scott”)

An acclaimed actress noted by critics for bringing depth and strength to such movies as “Independence Day,” “Soul Food” and “The Tuskegee Airmen,” Vivica Fox brings her trademark brand of intensity to the role of outside-the-rules FBI Agent Nicole Scott in “MISSING.”

A tall, statuesque beauty in keeping with Hollywood’s classic starlets of lore, Fox also fills big and small screens with a commanding presence, representing a modern career woman who has strong sense of herself and her place in society. It is those qualities that made her stand out in breakout motion picture roles like “Independence Day,” “Why Do Fools Fall In Love,” “Soul Food” and “The Tuskegee Airmen,” and in a very recent, memorable turn as the female assassin Copperhead in “Kill Bill: Vol. 1” and “Kill Bill: Vol. 2.”

Fox’s work in television has gained her early notice, first starting in daytime soap roles on NBC’s “Generations” and later CBS’s “The Young & The Restless,” and on to primetime roles on to the acclaimed CBS medical drama “City of Angels” and the Fox network sitcom “Getting Personal.”

It could be said the versatile African American actress, who has helped open the doors for other minority actors, was “discovered” in Hollywood legends of old. Coming to Los Angeles in 1982 after graduating from high school in her hometown of Indianapolis, Fox was working as a waitress in Sunset Boulevard restaurant until she caught the eye of noted Hollywood producer Trevor Walton, who signed her to an acting deal at Paramount. From there, she landed her debut movie role as a street-tough hooker in Oliver Stone’s Academy Award-winning “Born on the Fourth of July.”

Fox also earned critical recognition working alongside Halle Berry and Lela Rochon in “Why Fools Fall In Love,” based on the true story of three women who were left widowed and fighting over the estate of late pop singer-songwriter Frankie Lyman. Fox has earned Outstanding Actress nominations four times from the NAACP Image Awards, starting with her role in the 1997 film version of “Soul Food.” She has also showed her comic versatility in the critically received cross-dressing basketball comedy “Juwanna Mann” and the out-to-sea romp “Boat Trip.”

In addition to starring in “Missing,” Fox is featured in the upcoming movie releases “Beauty Shop,” “Getting Played” (also as a producer) and “Blast!”