Editing Tricia Helfer

{{Cast Data
| image= bsg-th-1.jpg
| character= [[Number Six]]<br/>[[Shelly Godfrey]]<br/>[[Gina Inviere]]<br/>[[Natalie]]
| born_month= 04
| born_day= 11
| born_year= 1974
| death_month= 
| death_day= 
| death_year= 
| nationality= CA
| imdb= 1065454
}}

'''Tricia Helfer''' (born 11 April 1974) is a Canadian actor and former fashion model. She is best known to viewers as [[Number Six]] on [[Battlestar Galactica (RDM)|the re-imagined ''Battlestar Galactica'']].

Born in [[w:Donalda, Alberta, Canada|Donalda, Alberta, Canada]], Helfer's father was half-English, half-German, while her mother was half-Swedish, half-Norwegian. With her three sisters, she grew up working on her parents' grain farm with aspirations to study animal psychology, as well as to play college volleyball <ref name="playboy">{{cite_magazine|quotes=|last=DeSalvo|first=Robert B.|authorlink=|coauthors=|year=2007|month=February|title=Out of this World: Blasting off with ''Battlestar Galactica'''s Tricia Helfer|magazine=Playboy|volume=52|issue=2|pages=112|id=|url=|accessdate=7 February 2007}}</ref>. She started modeling at 17, after she was discovered by an agent while waiting in a movie-ticket line<ref name="playboy"/>. She moved to [[w:New York, New York|New York]] to start modeling right before her 18th birthday and competed in the Ford Supermodel of the World contest when she was 18, which lead to a ten-year modeling career<ref name="playboy"/>.

== Modeling ==

The actress, who is 5'10" tall with measurements of 34-24-34, has an interesting physical attribute which she claims to be her "favorite quirk": webbed toes.<ref name="life_8-12-05">"Weekend Life" column, <u>LIFE Magazine</u> August 12, 2005: [http://bsgmedia.org/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/bsgmedia_triciahelferlife2.jpg page unknown]</ref>

Helfer won the 1992 Ford Supermodel of the World award; the former Elite model has graced the covers of such magazines as ''Elle'', ''Amica Italia'' and ''Cosmopolitan UK'', and has walked the runways for Christian Dior, Givenchy, Claude Montana, Emanuel Ungaro and other top fashion designers. A model for Victoria's Secret, she has appeared in advertisements for clients including Giorgio Armani, Oil of Olay and Saks Fifth Avenue.

Helfer started acting in 2002 after taking night classes for a year and a half in [[w:New York City|New York City]] and studied at the [[w:Penny Templeton Studios|Penny Templeton Studios]] while she was still modeling. She later studied at Larry Moss in L.A, Margie Haber in L.A. and coached with Crystal Carson in L.A..  After doing correspondent work for the Canadian style/fashion TV-magazine series ''Ooh La La'', Helfer gained attention as an actress when she played the lead female role of Sarah, the hero's love interest, in the two-hour premiere of the Showtime series ''[[w:Jeremiah (TV series)|Jeremiah]]''. She later memorably played a teen model who tries to cut off her own face in an episode of the hit series ''[[w:C.S.I.|C.S.I.]]'' and starred as [[w:Farrah Fawcett-Majors|Farrah Fawcett-Majors]] in the 2004 telefilm ''[[w:Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Charlie's Angels|Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Charlie's Angels]]''. Helfer, who can be seen in the modeling documentaries ''Catwalk'' and ''Unzipped'', also appears in the comedy short ''Eventual Wife'', seen on HBO/Cinemax and on the AtomFilms Web site.

[[Image:Tricia Helfer - Playboy cover.jpg|150px|The February 2007 Issue of ''Playboy''|right|thumb]]
Although her commonly-seen ''Battlestar'' characters of the [[Number Six]] copies have platinum blonde hair, the actress is a natural brunette.  Originally, her own hair was dyed white.  However, this eventually resulted in her hair "breaking off in chunks an inch long", so by the 8th episode of season 2, she switched to a wig, and played [[Gina]] with her own honey-blonde dyed hair.

Helfer hosted the reality series ''[[w:Canada's Next Top Model|Canada's Next Top Model]]'', which is a spin-off of ''[[w:America's Next Top Model|America's Next Top Model]]''.

Helfer donates many of her profits towards charities that benefit animals and animal shelters.

Along with [[Grace Park]] ([[Number Eight]]), Helfer appears in the 2007 installment of the [[w:Command & Conquer|Command & Conquer]] series, [[w:Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars|Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars]], as [[w:Nod characters of Command and Conquer#General Kilian Qatar|General Kilian Qatar]]. 

The actress also appears in a 16-photo pictorial in the [[Playboy Magazine, February 2007|February 2007]] issue of ''Playboy'' magazine.

She also guest starred in ''[[w:Burn Notice (TV series)|Burn Notice]]'''s second season as the main protagonist's handler.

== Filming ''Battlestar Galactica'' ==
Despite difficulties in approving Helfer's casting as Number Six, mainly due to her then-relative lack of acting experience, [[David Eick]] thought "she was great from the first time she auditioned, and I'm glad to say that I managed to convince everyone she was perfect for the part".<ref>{{cite_book|last=Bassom|first=David|authorlink=|authorlinkurl=|coauthors=|year=2005|title=[[Battlestar Galactica: The Official Companion]]|pages=23|editor=ed. Adam "Adama" Newell|publisher=Titan Books|location=|id=ISBN 1-84576-0972}}</ref>

According to an interview in ''Starburst'' magazine, Helfer was originally very confused on how to portray a humanoid robot, so [[Edward James Olmos]] told her to watch the sci-fi classic ''[[Wikipedia:Blade_Runner|Blade Runner]]'' (which Olmos co-starred in), which also features humanoid robots, called "replicants".  Helfer said that watching Blade Runner greatly informed her on how to play her role.  

Additionally, in order to play the role of [[Gina]] in "[[Pegasus (episode)|Pegasus]]", Helfer researched [[Wikipedia:post-traumatic stress syndrome|post-traumatic stress syndrome]] and lost a few pounds. <ref name="TVG_1-2-06"><u>TV Guide</u> January 2, 2006: [http://bsgmedia.org/gallery/albums/TVGuide1206-EJOMary/002.JPG 36]</ref>

Although all the actors cast as the [[Significant Seven]] have been shown portraying multiple copies of their respective Cylons, Helfer has played the largest number of unique, named individuals in the Number Six line: Caprica, Shelley Godfrey, Gina, Natalie, Lida, and Sonja, as well as Baltar's "Virtual Six" (though it remains unclear as to whether this character is actually connected to the Number Six line). Helfer has also played numerous variations of Six, with different appearances and personalities (though their given names, if any, are not revealed).

==See Also==
* [[Playboy Magazine, February 2007]]

==References==
<div style="font-size:85%"><references/></div>

==External Links==
*[http://www.triciahelfer.com/index.php Trica Helfer's official website]

[[Category:A to Z|Helfer, Tricia]]
[[Category:Cast|Helfer, Tricia]]
[[Category:Cast (RDM)|Helfer, Tricia]]
[[Category:RDM|Helfer, Tricia]]

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