Anneliese Louise van der Pol (born September 23 1984 in Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands) is an actress in the television show That's So Raven starring as the oddball Chelsea. Her name is pronounced AH-NUH-LEE-SUH, not ANN-A-LEECE.
Biography
Anneliese was born in the Netherlands, where it is flat, green, and rainy, as she claims. Her dream was to be a ballerina, but a sprained ankle stood in her way. Although she had surgery to correct it, she still can no longer dance en pointe. Her mother, Dyan Ross, was born in Brooklyn, New York. Anneliese's family moved to the United States at the age of 2. She has two sisters, one born in 1982, the other in 1984. Anneliese is currently single and claims absolulety no time for guys and not even enough time for family. Anneliese grew up in Southern, California.
Broadway
A graduate of the Musical Theater Program at The Orange County (CA) High School of the Arts, Anneliese has already made an impressive mark in the world of entertainment. For her captivating performance as Eva Peron in the Buena Park Civic Theatre production of "Evita", she not only won rave reviews from the Los Angeles Times but also earned a place in history as the youngest actress (age 15) to play the role in a professional production. Anneliese also starred as Laurey in "Oklahoma!" for Austin Musical Theatre, and was nominated in May of 2001 for "Best Actress In a Musical" during the 2000-2001 season by the Austin Theatre Critics Table.
That's So Raven
Many people believe that Anneliese's voice overshadows her That's So Raven co-star Raven-Symoné's, especially in the That's So Raven episode 'Road to Audition'. She has said that despite rumors, there is no competition between her and Raven-Symoné: "Raven is a really good friend, and I feel no sense of competition between us whatsoever."
Performances
She and Christy Romano were last minute replacements for the duet with Carlos Ponce in the Walt Disney Christmas Day Parade 2003. LeeAnn Rimes, who was supposed to be Carlos Ponce's duet, was snowed in and could not make it, so Anneliese and Christy were asked to fill in. Because it was last minute, they did not have the clothes that Disney wanted them to wear for the performance, so they were each bought a new outfit (including shoes) for it, which they were allowed to keep. She said she really liked the boots that she got.
Television
On television, she stars as Chelsea Daniels, Raven's best friend and sidekick, who often draws her into humorous escapades in the Disney Channel original comedy series That's So Raven.
Film
In the film "Divorce: The Musical," Anneliese plays the role of a daughter whose parents are going through a divorce. Coincidentally, her character's name is also Chelsea just as it is in That's So Raven. The last name of the character, however, is Weber as opposed to Daniels in That's So Raven.
Music
Anneliese has a vocal range of 3 and a half octaves. She is a soprano and is trained in the belting vocal technique. Recently, Anneliese sang "Over It" for the Disney Channel Original Movie, "Stuck in the Suburbs." She was in the studio recording her first vocal demo CD with veteran music producer/ composer Bob Esty, who has produced, written and arranged numerous hit songs for Barbra Streisand and Cher. Anneliese was also working with award-winning songwriters Allan Rich and Jud Friedman. However, the current status of her demo CD is unknown.