Early life
Forlani was born in Twickenham in London, to Pier Forlani (an Italian, from Ferrara) and Barbara (who was English). At the age of eleven, Forlani entered the Arts Educational School in London, where she began to study acting. During her six years at the school, she also studied dance, which led to performances on stage in The Nutcracker and Orpheus in the Underworld.
Career
Forlani's parents moved to San Francisco in 1993, in order to allow for wider casting opportunities in Hollywood films. Subsequently, Forlani was cast in the television mini-series J.F.K.: Reckless Youth and the film Police Academy: Mission to Moscow.
In 1995 she played the supporting role of Brandi Svenning in Kevin Smith's cult classic, Mallrats. In 1996, Forlani appeared in a supporting role in the blockbuster action movie The Rock. She continued to appear in both widely released and smaller-budget films. Forlani was cast in the 1998 film, Deep Rising, but due to creative conflicts left the set during the first few days of filming; that same year, her starring role in Meet Joe Black (co-starring Anthony Hopkins and Brad Pitt) was Forlani's most financially successful film. Next, she appeared in Antitrust, a thriller that was released in January of 2001 to mixed reviews.
Forlani was the new face of L'Oreal in 2001. She has been ranked Ranked #51 (2000) and #89 (2001) in Stuff magazine's 100 Sexiest Women, #85 (2001) in FHM magazine's 100 Sexiest Women and was slotted in Loaded's Hot 100 Babes.
In the fall of 2006, Forlani joined the cast of CSI: New York in a recurring role as a medical examiner, Dr. Peyton Driscoll.
In February 2007, Forlani portrayed Tori Bodeen in the movie version of Nora Robert's bestselling book [Carolina Moon]
Personal life
Forlani has dated actors Benicio Del Toro, John Cusack (between 1997 and 1998), Brad Pitt, Ben Stiller (between 1998 and 1999) and is engaged to Dougray Scott.
