Alexandra Wilson

Alexandra Wilson
Born	Alexandra Lynette Wilson
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1982-present

Alexandra Lynette Wilson is an American actress. She is best known for playing the original Josie Watts on the soap opera Another World (1988-1991). She also starred in the television series Homefront (1991-1992) and the major motion picture Small Soldiers (1998).

Alexandra Wilson involved herself with the social aspects of school, performing and cheerleadering at Chantilly High School in Fairfax County, Virginia. Wilson then studied theater and history at Broward Community College in the Miami area, but left after a year to avoid the drug scene.

Wilson's grandmother was one of the first Rockettes. Her mother (Elaine Wilson), an award-winning drama teacher at Chantilly High School, sparked her interest in acting, as early as age five. Wilson recounted her mother's influence: "She put me in some of her productions, and she taught me in high school. I was never sure I could do it, but I knew I had to be an actor."

After graduating from high school, Wilson held drama seminars for her mother's students. Later, Elaine Wilson would co-found and serve as President of The Alliance Theatre in Centreville, Virginia.

In 1980, with her parents' encouragement, Wilson moved to New York City to fully pursue a performing career. She initially lived with her ex-Rockette grandmother and paid for acting, dancing, and singing classes by waitressing for customers like Paul Newman, Mick Jagger, and Matthew Broderick. While auditioning for musicals, Wilson discovered that she preferred television and films over theater, as she admittedly struggled with dancing, though she could sing and act.

Wilson's early television roles were minor parts in the primetime series The New Mike Hammer (1984) and Spenser: For Hire (1986). By 1988, her film credits included Diner, Silent Madness, The Secret of My Success, and The Distance Between. From the age of 19, she has supplemented her income by appearing in a number of commercials, most notably for Pizza Hut, Tide, Coke, and later, Claritin.

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