Danneel Harris

Danneel Harris
Harris in September 2011
Born	Elta Danneel Graul (1979-03-18) March 18, 1979 (age 37) Lafayette, Louisiana, U.S.
Other names	Danneel Harris
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2003–
Spouse(s)	Jensen Ackles (m. 2010)
Children	3

Danneel Harris-Ackles (née Elta Danneel Graul; March 18, 1979) is an American actress and model. She is best known for her roles as Shannon McBain on One Life to Live and Rachel Gatina on One Tree Hill.

Elta Danneel Graul was born in Lafayette, Louisiana, and was raised in the small town of Eunice in St. Landry Parish. Her father Edward E.Graul,Jr. is a practicing ophthalmologist and her mother Deborah Graul works as an interior designer. She was named after her great-grandmother. Her first name is Elta, but she goes by her middle name, Danneel, professionally. The name "Danneel" was inspired by Danneel Street in New Orleans. Her cousin is actress Mary Lou. She moved to Los Angeles and continued her acting training.

Before she landed her first acting role, Harris worked as a model with such companies as Big Sexy Hair and Juicy Jeans. She first appeared in a television commercial. In 2003 Harris landed her first role on the American Broadcasting Company Soap Opera television series One Life to Live as Shannon McBain a student attending the fictional Llanview University. Harris relocated to New York for the role and left the series in December 2004. Harris has since gone on to appear in shows such as How I Met Your Mother, What I Like About You and CSI: Miami. Harris's first film role was in the short film The Plight of Clownana.