Stephanie Nicole Lemelin was born June 29th, 1979, outside Philadelphia, PA, to parents Rejean & Rona Lemelin. Her family (including brother Brian) moved from New Jersey, to Atlanta, to Alberta, and finally, Massachusettes—due to her father's job as an NHL goalie. By the time Stephanie entered 6th grade, she'd been in 5 schools—which she credits as her intro to the basics of acting. Always a fan of the stage, Stephanie performed in numerous school plays and local community theaters.  Her favorite role was "Wendy" in Peter Pan. Eventually, Stephanie signed with a kids modeling and talent agency in Boston and was soon starring in various local commercials and industrial films. Graduating in 1997, Stephanie served as both her junior and senior high school class co-president. Next, Stephanie pursued a B.A. in Communications (with a minor in English) at the prestigious University of Pennsylvania. She joined the editing staff of a women’s literary magazine, and studied the business/production side of the entertainment industry. During the summer, Stephanie interned at The Cameo Agency in Boston. Her junior year, she studied abroad at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia-- simultaneously interning for Network 9 as a production assistant and working in the editing bay. When Stephanie graduated college in 2001, she felt ready to take on Los Angeles.

Stephanie hit the ground running when she moved to Los Angeles, right away booking a guest star spot on the TV show “Undeclared” created by Judd Apatow. Next she landed a lead in the independent film, Raising Flagg, with Alan Arkin, followed by her first series regular role in a TV pilot (for ABC) called “The Funkhousers.” Every year after that proved equally successful, with Stephanie being cast as a series regular in 3 FOX comedy pilots and 1 Sci-Fi drama. Throughout the years, she kept busy doing various guest star spots on popular shows like “Malcolm in the Middle” (FOX) and “CSI: Las Vegas" (CBS). Finally in 2006, after 6 consecutive pilots, Stephanie's luck changed when CAVEMEN was picked up for series on ABC. They filmed 13 espiodes, though only 6 aired before the writer's stike shut down much of Hollywood. As soon as everyone went back to work, Stephanie was cast right away in a fun guest star spot opposite David Spade on "Rules of Engagement" (CBS) followed by another series regular role in pilot number 7, this one an hour-long dramedy called "Good Behavior" (ABC).

Stephanie also became active in the independent film scene-- acting, writing and producing films with the production company, In-Motion Pictures, alongside her husband, A.J. Draven, and friend, Tom Shell. Together they made 3 movies in 2 years, with more in development. To learn more, visit their website at www.inmotionpix.com.

Besides appearing in live-action films and TV shows, Stephanie began doing voice-overs in 2007. After several commercials, Stephanie finally crossed over into the animated features world when she was cast as the snow leopard Mei Ling in Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Furious Five. This was truly a dream come true for Stephanie, who loves all kids movies, and hopes to write and produce some of her own one day. Keep your fingers crossed...!

Off-screen, Stephanie is a big advocate of community service, steadily volunteering since 2002 with the Los Angeles-based group Free Arts for Abused Children. In 2004, Stephanie also began writing children's books with a group therapy project called Camp MakeBelieve Kids, based out of Nevada. In May 2006, Stephanie went to New Orleans to volunteer with Emergency Communities in St. Bernard's Parish. The experience was as inspiring as it was depressing, and she encourages everyone to support the citizens who are still experiencing the nightmare of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. While in Louisiana, Stephanie "accidentally" rescued a dog she named Stanley (for the NHL Stanley Cup— because he's a champion!) Today, Stan lives happily in L.A. with his big brother, Brucely (another rescue, from the L.A. pound) and of course, Stephanie & A.J.