They agreed to fly Carly out from her hometown of Valparaiso, Indiana for the screen test. Carly’s open and honest, friendly attitude
quickly won over Shriner, Teschner, and everyone else who met her. In all likelihood, she already had the part as she left the audition
room, but on her way out the door, Carly turned and said to them, “Hey! You all should come back to our hotel – they put us up in a real
nice one with a pool,” not knowing that “they” were standing in front of her, Carly said goodbye, returning home with a four-year
contract, and most of all, Shriner as a best friend for life.
Life on the set
The newly formed father and daughter team made their acting genuinely sincere on both GH and Port Charles (a GH spin-off), and Carly
performed in over 480 episodes on Port Charles alone during a six-year period. She was twice nominated for a Young Artist Award;
once in 1999 and again in 2000, as well as a Young Star Award nomination in 1999 for Best Performance by a Young Actress in a
Daytime TV Program.
“I liked working on GH/PC. I got the best wardrobe because I was a rich kid, and the sets were so cool. I learned to run the camera and
everything on the set. Everyone was so nice to me everyday,” says Carly. “It was a great life for me. Kin and Susan Brown became part
of my family. We all still celebrate birthdays together and all the holidays.”
During this time, Carly also worked on several television shows and movies including two episodes of Dawson’s Creek (2000) as the
soccer girl Molly Sey, as well as playing Susan Olsen/Cindy Brady in the television movie Growing Up Brady (2000). She also appeared in
one episode of The George Lopez Show (2002) as Ashley.
Carly’s voice is featured in Babe: Pig in the City (1998) and also in Pixar’s Toy Story 2 (1999), serving as additional voices for the films.
During this time, Carly worked with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson for FOX News. She also worked in several commercials, including Got
Milk?, Enterprise Rent-a-Car and McDonald’s as well as getting cast in an unsecured Disney pilot called Web Girl (Virtually Casey: working
title).
While Carly might have been disappointed Web Girl wasn’t picked up for the studio, her worries would come to nothing due to her
winning the role of the manipulative, rascally (yet lovable) prankster Melina Bianco in Lizzie McGuire. Carly shot 12 episodes of LM (2001-
2003) and also appeared in The Lizzie McGuire Movie (2003), reprising her role as the free-spirited Melina.
“I had to make myself different from all the other characters. I knew this one girl at school that was really mean and bossy, so I imitated
her. I was eight, and I was only supposed to do one show. They liked my character, so they wrote me into the last year,” says Carly.
“My favorite memories of LM are Hilary and I writing our names in rubber cement and setting it on fire, and Jake [Thomas] and I
continually going into this one sound stage basement looking for Lucille Ball’s ghost. We wanted to find her really bad. I have no idea
what we would have done if we found her!”
Time for the big screen
In 2003, with the LM Movie under her belt, Carly auditioned for her first feature film and won the part of Millie in Jacob Estes’ Mean
Creek.
The story of a trip up river and a practical joke going tragically wrong, Mean Creek won wide acclaim and dramatic credibility for Carly
and the rest of the cast, winning the Humanitas Prize at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival, and also being awarded the 2005
Independent Spirit Festival Special Distinction Award for best ensemble cast.
“A lot of people want to try and hide that kids actually do the kinds of things that were shown in Mean Creek,” says Carly. “It made
[parents] wake up and see that it's really going on.”
During this time, Carly made a return to television in an episode of Cold Case (2004). In August of 2004, she took a working holiday to
sunny France as she visited Cannes for Mean Creek’s premiere, as well as a snow-laden trip in January 2005 to the Sundance Film
Festival in Utah.
“The French Rivera and Paris were simply amazing. I am so glad my mom took so many pictures because I was only 13, and I don’t want
to ever forget that experience. Sundance was nice - but very cold!” says Carly.
Finding a true passion for film, she appeared in a small student film called We All Fall Down (2005). Carly also found time to squeeze in
three other films that year; Firewall (2006), with Harrison Ford, Eye of the Dolphin (2006), and Prey (2007) which was filmed in South
Africa. When asked why she chose these roles, Carly said they suited not only her criteria as an actor, but also as a concerned
environmentalist.
“I love the ocean and I love animals, so it’s important to me that people see we must do all we can to preserve not only the creatures
themselves, but also their environments,” said Carly. “I’m a person first and an actress second; I want to do what’s best for all of us.
People aren’t the only creatures that matter. We share this world and we’re the ones that have to take care of it.”
At this time, Carly again tried her hand at modeling, having done print work for Abercrombie & Fitch in 2005. She completed a few
projects (and still continues to work) for designer Jessica McClintock in the early part of 2006, but had to postpone modeling for a short
while when she had the opportunity to do her biggest role to date.
Getting a kick out of Gracie
In 2006, Carly had the opportunity to do a movie very near and dear to her heart called Gracie. An avid soccer player since the age of
five, she finally had the chance to combine two of her passions in a single project.
Set in 1978, Gracie is an inspirational film about a teenage girl who overcomes the loss of her brother and fights the odds to achieve
her dream of playing competitive soccer at a time when girls soccer did not exist.
Schroeder was faced with a battle of her own when Gracie director Davis Guggenheim and Elizabeth Shue, producer, were set on
finding an actual female soccer player and even initiated a nationwide casting call for the part of Grace Bowen.
However, just as Gracie overcomes her personal hurdles, Carly also won the part through sheer determination and strength of will.
Undeterred, Carly began an intense three-month work-out that included a daily regime of not only physical fitness, but training in
advanced soccer skills with professional athletes and trainers.
Once she got the part, Carly had to train even harder to really hone her soccer skills. All this on top of the normal demands of shooting
a feature film, including memorizing lines, taking direction and working with other actors.
A month before Gracie opened Carly toured 19 cities in 33 days. In what she considers her most challenging role to date, Gracie
premiered in June 2007 to approving audiences of soccer players and fans across the country.
“I love Gracie!” says Carly “She has the spirit and passion to go after something she wants with all her heart. Gracie is the motivation
for every girl to never quit.”
An “Eye” for the environment
While Gracie was in theaters, Carly’s other movie, Eye of the Dolphin, was getting noticed, winning two awards from the 2007
International Family Film Festival; a Best Child Actor win for Carly, and a Drama Feature win for the movie.
The movie has been well received and continues to receive honors, including being named as an Official Selection for the Tribeca Film
Festival, Delray Beach Film Festival, Kids First! Film Festival, Tiburon Film Festival, USA Family Film Festival and the Worldfest Houston
Film festival.
At the 2007 Kids First Awards in October, Carly received the award for Best Emerging Actress; while the film received the Best Feature
Award (ages 12-18).
Carly, who has always been interested in the conservation and preservation of marine life, is glad the movie is doing so well because it’
s also sending out a much-needed message. “It has won a lot of awards,” says Carly. “Eye of the Dolphin is a visually beautiful movie,
but the important thing about it is that it also touches on the idea of ‘third phase’ dolphin captivity.”
What’s next?
With such a hectic schedule, it’s hard for even her to say but at this time but she is looking into two to three other projects while
attending school where she’s a junior. Carly says, “My next project will probably be something near the water. What can I say…I’m a
water-baby!”
Carly enjoys sports, including baseball, scuba diving, swimming, lacrosse, karate, surfing, soccer and horseback riding.
At this time, Carly has just finished appearing in an episode of "Ghost Whisperer" with Jennifer Love Hewitt. She is also getting ready
for her next major project.
quickly won over Shriner, Teschner, and everyone else who met her. In all likelihood, she already had the part as she left the audition
room, but on her way out the door, Carly turned and said to them, “Hey! You all should come back to our hotel – they put us up in a real
nice one with a pool,” not knowing that “they” were standing in front of her, Carly said goodbye, returning home with a four-year
contract, and most of all, Shriner as a best friend for life.
Life on the set
The newly formed father and daughter team made their acting genuinely sincere on both GH and Port Charles (a GH spin-off), and Carly
performed in over 480 episodes on Port Charles alone during a six-year period. She was twice nominated for a Young Artist Award;
once in 1999 and again in 2000, as well as a Young Star Award nomination in 1999 for Best Performance by a Young Actress in a
Daytime TV Program.
“I liked working on GH/PC. I got the best wardrobe because I was a rich kid, and the sets were so cool. I learned to run the camera and
everything on the set. Everyone was so nice to me everyday,” says Carly. “It was a great life for me. Kin and Susan Brown became part
of my family. We all still celebrate birthdays together and all the holidays.”
During this time, Carly also worked on several television shows and movies including two episodes of Dawson’s Creek (2000) as the
soccer girl Molly Sey, as well as playing Susan Olsen/Cindy Brady in the television movie Growing Up Brady (2000). She also appeared in
one episode of The George Lopez Show (2002) as Ashley.
Carly’s voice is featured in Babe: Pig in the City (1998) and also in Pixar’s Toy Story 2 (1999), serving as additional voices for the films.
During this time, Carly worked with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson for FOX News. She also worked in several commercials, including Got
Milk?, Enterprise Rent-a-Car and McDonald’s as well as getting cast in an unsecured Disney pilot called Web Girl (Virtually Casey: working
title).
While Carly might have been disappointed Web Girl wasn’t picked up for the studio, her worries would come to nothing due to her
winning the role of the manipulative, rascally (yet lovable) prankster Melina Bianco in Lizzie McGuire. Carly shot 12 episodes of LM (2001-
2003) and also appeared in The Lizzie McGuire Movie (2003), reprising her role as the free-spirited Melina.
“I had to make myself different from all the other characters. I knew this one girl at school that was really mean and bossy, so I imitated
her. I was eight, and I was only supposed to do one show. They liked my character, so they wrote me into the last year,” says Carly.
“My favorite memories of LM are Hilary and I writing our names in rubber cement and setting it on fire, and Jake [Thomas] and I
continually going into this one sound stage basement looking for Lucille Ball’s ghost. We wanted to find her really bad. I have no idea
what we would have done if we found her!”
Time for the big screen
In 2003, with the LM Movie under her belt, Carly auditioned for her first feature film and won the part of Millie in Jacob Estes’ Mean
Creek.
The story of a trip up river and a practical joke going tragically wrong, Mean Creek won wide acclaim and dramatic credibility for Carly
and the rest of the cast, winning the Humanitas Prize at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival, and also being awarded the 2005
Independent Spirit Festival Special Distinction Award for best ensemble cast.
“A lot of people want to try and hide that kids actually do the kinds of things that were shown in Mean Creek,” says Carly. “It made
[parents] wake up and see that it's really going on.”
During this time, Carly made a return to television in an episode of Cold Case (2004). In August of 2004, she took a working holiday to
sunny France as she visited Cannes for Mean Creek’s premiere, as well as a snow-laden trip in January 2005 to the Sundance Film
Festival in Utah.
“The French Rivera and Paris were simply amazing. I am so glad my mom took so many pictures because I was only 13, and I don’t want
to ever forget that experience. Sundance was nice - but very cold!” says Carly.
Finding a true passion for film, she appeared in a small student film called We All Fall Down (2005). Carly also found time to squeeze in
three other films that year; Firewall (2006), with Harrison Ford, Eye of the Dolphin (2006), and Prey (2007) which was filmed in South
Africa. When asked why she chose these roles, Carly said they suited not only her criteria as an actor, but also as a concerned
environmentalist.
“I love the ocean and I love animals, so it’s important to me that people see we must do all we can to preserve not only the creatures
themselves, but also their environments,” said Carly. “I’m a person first and an actress second; I want to do what’s best for all of us.
People aren’t the only creatures that matter. We share this world and we’re the ones that have to take care of it.”
At this time, Carly again tried her hand at modeling, having done print work for Abercrombie & Fitch in 2005. She completed a few
projects (and still continues to work) for designer Jessica McClintock in the early part of 2006, but had to postpone modeling for a short
while when she had the opportunity to do her biggest role to date.
Getting a kick out of Gracie
In 2006, Carly had the opportunity to do a movie very near and dear to her heart called Gracie. An avid soccer player since the age of
five, she finally had the chance to combine two of her passions in a single project.
Set in 1978, Gracie is an inspirational film about a teenage girl who overcomes the loss of her brother and fights the odds to achieve
her dream of playing competitive soccer at a time when girls soccer did not exist.
Schroeder was faced with a battle of her own when Gracie director Davis Guggenheim and Elizabeth Shue, producer, were set on
finding an actual female soccer player and even initiated a nationwide casting call for the part of Grace Bowen.
However, just as Gracie overcomes her personal hurdles, Carly also won the part through sheer determination and strength of will.
Undeterred, Carly began an intense three-month work-out that included a daily regime of not only physical fitness, but training in
advanced soccer skills with professional athletes and trainers.
Once she got the part, Carly had to train even harder to really hone her soccer skills. All this on top of the normal demands of shooting
a feature film, including memorizing lines, taking direction and working with other actors.
A month before Gracie opened Carly toured 19 cities in 33 days. In what she considers her most challenging role to date, Gracie
premiered in June 2007 to approving audiences of soccer players and fans across the country.
“I love Gracie!” says Carly “She has the spirit and passion to go after something she wants with all her heart. Gracie is the motivation
for every girl to never quit.”
An “Eye” for the environment
While Gracie was in theaters, Carly’s other movie, Eye of the Dolphin, was getting noticed, winning two awards from the 2007
International Family Film Festival; a Best Child Actor win for Carly, and a Drama Feature win for the movie.
The movie has been well received and continues to receive honors, including being named as an Official Selection for the Tribeca Film
Festival, Delray Beach Film Festival, Kids First! Film Festival, Tiburon Film Festival, USA Family Film Festival and the Worldfest Houston
Film festival.
At the 2007 Kids First Awards in October, Carly received the award for Best Emerging Actress; while the film received the Best Feature
Award (ages 12-18).
Carly, who has always been interested in the conservation and preservation of marine life, is glad the movie is doing so well because it’
s also sending out a much-needed message. “It has won a lot of awards,” says Carly. “Eye of the Dolphin is a visually beautiful movie,
but the important thing about it is that it also touches on the idea of ‘third phase’ dolphin captivity.”
What’s next?
With such a hectic schedule, it’s hard for even her to say but at this time but she is looking into two to three other projects while
attending school where she’s a junior. Carly says, “My next project will probably be something near the water. What can I say…I’m a
water-baby!”
Carly enjoys sports, including baseball, scuba diving, swimming, lacrosse, karate, surfing, soccer and horseback riding.
At this time, Carly has just finished appearing in an episode of "Ghost Whisperer" with Jennifer Love Hewitt. She is also getting ready
for her next major project.
Welcome to my Official Site!
| © 2008 Carly Schroeder |
Carly's tag-along trip to her cousin’s audition in 1993 turned out
to be her lucky day and the start of her career as an actress.
While there, the cute three-year-old was spotted by the casting
director and asked if she would consider working for them. While
Carly’s mom, Kelli, was hesitant at first, the prospects of tucking
away money for a college education appealed to her.
“Carly going to Chicago once a month for a job would be fine as
long as it didn’t interfere with our family time,” Kelli said.
After her first job, she began doing print work in Chicago for
Sears, K-Mart, Spiegel, Land’s End, Chuck E. Cheese’s, and many
other print advertisers. Two years later in 1995, renowned child
director Bob Ebel was so taken by Carly’s wide-eyed innocence
and extra spark of enthusiasm, he asked her to do a few
commercials.
It was one of Ebel’s commercials - the one for Shake n’ Bake -
which caught the eye of General Hospital cast member Kin Shriner.
In 1997, ABC had decided that Shriner’s character, Scotty
Baldwin, should have a daughter. Since he would be working very
closely with the new cast member, Shriner asked if he could
participate in the selection of Baldwin’s daughter.
Two weeks before a decision was to be made, the studio was
down to five candidates for the part and still uncertain of whom to
cast. It was at this serendipitous time that Carly’s commercial for
Shake n’ Bake began to air on national television.
Shriner said, “Every time I turned on the tube, there was this
blonde-haired, blue-eyed, quirky little girl that made me laugh.”
Knowing that Scotty Baldwin had found his daughter at last,
Shriner immediately showed the commercial to GH casting director
Mark Teschner and executive producer, Wendy Riche.
to be her lucky day and the start of her career as an actress.
While there, the cute three-year-old was spotted by the casting
director and asked if she would consider working for them. While
Carly’s mom, Kelli, was hesitant at first, the prospects of tucking
away money for a college education appealed to her.
“Carly going to Chicago once a month for a job would be fine as
long as it didn’t interfere with our family time,” Kelli said.
After her first job, she began doing print work in Chicago for
Sears, K-Mart, Spiegel, Land’s End, Chuck E. Cheese’s, and many
other print advertisers. Two years later in 1995, renowned child
director Bob Ebel was so taken by Carly’s wide-eyed innocence
and extra spark of enthusiasm, he asked her to do a few
commercials.
It was one of Ebel’s commercials - the one for Shake n’ Bake -
which caught the eye of General Hospital cast member Kin Shriner.
In 1997, ABC had decided that Shriner’s character, Scotty
Baldwin, should have a daughter. Since he would be working very
closely with the new cast member, Shriner asked if he could
participate in the selection of Baldwin’s daughter.
Two weeks before a decision was to be made, the studio was
down to five candidates for the part and still uncertain of whom to
cast. It was at this serendipitous time that Carly’s commercial for
Shake n’ Bake began to air on national television.
Shriner said, “Every time I turned on the tube, there was this
blonde-haired, blue-eyed, quirky little girl that made me laugh.”
Knowing that Scotty Baldwin had found his daughter at last,
Shriner immediately showed the commercial to GH casting director
Mark Teschner and executive producer, Wendy Riche.
by Louie Neira
 |
last updated on April 15, 2008
 |
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