A genuine Iowa country girl, Michelle was born on March 23, 1976 to Bob and Sharon Monaghan in a small town of Winthrop. Raised along with her two older brothers, John and Bob, she decided to leave her hometown shortly after her high school graduation to pursue a degree in journalism at Columbia College of Chicago, Illinois. In order to pay the tuition, the youngster afterwards took a side job as a model for catalogues which surprisingly went quite well. Showered with heavy demand for print ads, she eventually gave up her study, thus set out to work full-time in modeling.

Fortunately, her parents were very supportive, so Michelle walked freely to New York where she later flourished her status through the runways plus a number of poses in magazines and catalogues. It was also during this period that she began to grow a fondness for acting, immediately earning her TV debut in Warner Bros' drama series, "Young Americans" (2000). She eventually landed a few minor parts in television, most notably on NBC's "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" in 2001 and "Hack" in 2002. This was shortly followed by an initial film appearance in "Perfume" (2001) which sadly went unnoticed.

Not discouraged, Michelle kept looking for another chance, this time satisfyingly made her way to gain people's attention through a supporting role in "Unfaithful" (2002) alongside Richard Gere and Diane Lane (playing Richard Gere's secretary). In the meantime, Monaghan also kept busy by appearing in a number of television commercials.

However, it was Fox's hit series "Boston Public" ) that catapulted her to the spotlight for her brilliant portrayal of an idealistic young high school teacher named Kimberly Woods garnered positive response from both critics and viewers. This breakthrough automatically gave her wider opportunity to craft her name in the entertainment industry.

After her role in the series came to its end by 2003, Michelle put full concentration on the big screen productions, starring in "It Runs in the Family" (2003), opposite Michael Douglas, and "Winter Solstice" (2004), opposite Anthony LaPlagia. Following the tremendous success of her next film, "The Bourne Supremacy" (2004) where she played Kim, one of Joan Allen's team in Berlin, she joined Keanu Reeves in another box office movie "Constantine" (2005). Sadly, her role in the movie, a demon named Ellie, was completely cut from the film. Director Francis Lawrence stated that she was left on the cutting room floor because he wanted Constantine to be completely alone when he meets Angela. Fortunately, her scenes can be seen in the deleted scenes section of the DVD.

Her roles kept on getting better and she appeared in the Brad Pitt-Angelina Jolie blockbuster movie, "Mr and Mrs. Smith" (2005) before she took part in Niki Caro's drama flick entitled "North Country" (2005). Teamed up with Charlize Theron, she played a co-worker of Theron who experienced sexual harassment at a local mining company in Northern Minnesota.

She got involved in the political thriller "Syriana" (2005) opposite George Clooney, Matt Damon and Amanda Peet. She was cast as an important character in the story, but when the audience's reaction at screenings were negative about the too long running time, and her character was a sub-plot, her scenes were cut from the film.

2005 apparently turned out to be a great year for Michelle for she was ultimately billed as the leading actress in "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang" (2005). In this black comedy, she portrayed a struggling actress who is involved in a murder mystery, thus helps Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer to reveal the truth behind the incident. Happily married to her longtime sweetheart, Pete White, since August 2005, this stunning actress later could be seen in "Mission: Impossible 3" opposite Hollywood superstar, Tom Cruise, by 2006.

Within merely several years, Michelle Monaghan has wonderfully compiled such an amazing resume along her career as an American actress. Successfully gaining a number of high-profile appearances either in small or big screen productions, this comely brunette, without doubt, has positioned herself as one of the rising stars in Hollywood film industry. With the natural talent and beauty she possesses, it seems very possible for her to embrace wide recognition as an influential entertainment figure in this universe.