Valarie Rae Miller

Miller's first wave of screen credits came through the late-1990s sitcom circuit — guest appearances on *Family Matters* and *Malcolm & Eddie* that didn't make her a household name but kept her working and visible. Around the same period, she was hosting *Disney's One Saturday Morning* (1998–2000) and *Gladiators 2000* (Season 2), which suggests she was building a dual track in front of the camera: performer and host, simultaneously. That kind of hustle tends to get overlooked in retrospectives. The real turning point was *Dark Angel*. James Cameron and Charles H. Eglee's Fox series cast Miller as Original Cindy, a motorcycle messenger and Max's (Jessica Alba) closest friend in a dystopian 2019 Seattle — and the character became one of the show's most discussed elements, partly for her wit and partly because the writing gave her actual arcs rather than just reaction shots. The series ran two seasons, 2000 to 2002, and while it didn't survive long enough to resolve its storylines, it gave Miller the kind of genre-fan recognition that follows an actor for decades. She also joined the cast of *Reaper* (2007–2009), the CW's demon-hunter dramedy, extending her footprint in genre television. Her film work runs an interesting parallel track. *All About the Benjamins* (2002) and *Hollywood Homicide* (2003) came quickly after *Dark Angel* wrapped. *Crank* (2006) — and if you've seen that film, you know it doesn't exactly traffic in subtle supporting performances — put her in a completely different register. Then there's *La La Land* (2016), Damien Chazelle's awards-season juggernaut, where she has a supporting role. Hard to say if that credit gets her enough attention, but it's there. Voice acting has filled out her more recent years: Tiffany Fox in *Batman: The Enemy Within* and Wish Bear in *Care Bears: Unlock the Magic* show she's found a durable lane in animation and interactive media (Wikipedia; TMDB).