Kimberly J. Brown

Kimberly Jean Brown (born November 16, 1984) is an American actress. She is best known for her leading role as teen witch Marnie Piper in the Halloweentown film series (1998–2004), co-starring alongside Debbie Reynolds. Brown first gained recognition for her portrayal of Marah Lewis in the CBS soap opera Guiding Light (1993–1998, 2006), which earned her a nomination for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series. She garnered further critical acclaim for her performance as Ava Walker in the comedy-drama film Tumbleweeds (1999), for which she won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Breakthrough Performance. Brown also starred as Annie Wheaton in the ABC horror miniseries Rose Red (2002), which was written by Stephen King. She went on to appear in the comedy film Bringing Down the House (2003), the horror film Big Bad Wolf (2006), and the comedy film Friendship! (2010). Early life and career Born in Gaithersburg, Maryland, Brown began her career at age five. By the time she was 11, she had already enjoyed success as a child model with Ford Models, performed in multiple Broadway shows and earned an Emmy nomination for her portrayal of Marah Lewis on Guiding Light. She also found work as a voice actress, lending her voice to commercials, A Bug's Life and the English dub of Vampire Princess Miyu. At the age of 13, Brown was cast in her most notable film, the Disney Channel Original Movie Halloweentown, in which she played 13-year-old Marnie Piper, a young witch who is determined to learn magic from her grandmother Aggie, portrayed by Debbie Reynolds. In September 2016, Brown recalled her audition for the film when she had to react to the conversation where it was revealed the character Marnie is a witch. Brown read for the role twice before being cast. Halloweentown aired on October 17, 1998, and was well received by audiences, leading Disney Channel to produce three sequels; Brown reprised her role as Marnie in two of them. She was replaced by Sara Paxton in the fourth installment, Return to Halloweentown, a decision over which Brown expressed confusion and disappointment. Fans of the franchise were unhappy with Paxton's portrayal of the character and some major entertainment outlets were critical. BuzzFeed said that the first three films were the best thing about Halloween while the fourth film was best left ignored, while MTV said fans should act as if the fourth film had never happened.