Sunday, June 15, 2025



Cardinal Sinner to devil’s daughter

This is a breakout year for Elisabeth Harnois ’01, star of Fox’s hit new supernatural drama “Point Pleasant.” The series, in which Harnois plays the daughter of Satan, premiered Jan. 19, just a few days after Harnois returned from promoting her movies at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah.

Harnois has spent 20 years waiting for this break. As a student, she had quite the resume—one that included commercial, television and movie acting as well as a film degree from Wesleyan.

Despite her rather glamorous credentials, her life at Wesleyan was relatively normal. Harnois was described by friends as a diligent student, singing a cappella with the Cardinal Sinners, acting in student-run productions and spending copious amounts of time at Olin Library.

“She was a very hard worker,” said close friend Lauren Singerman ’01, a fellow Cardinal Sinner. “She took her work very seriously.”

Harnois’ commitment started at a young age. Raised in Southern California, she has had an agent from the age of three. She started out primarily in commercials. In 1992 she landed the role of Alice in Disney’s action series “Adventures in Wonderland.” From there, she continued on the television circuit, making appearances on sitcoms such as “Boy Meets World,” “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air” and “Brotherly Love,” as well as several TV movies.

In 1997, just before traveling from L.A. to Middletown, she landed the biggest part she has yet had, as the title character in the TV movie “My Date with the President’s Daughter,” setting her down the initial path to Hollywood stardom.

Now her path has widened. Starring in two films this year, “Pretty Persuasion” and “Strangers with Candy,” Harnois had to take a break from her San Diego-based TV set to attend Sundance. By the time she returned, “Point Pleasant” had debuted on Fox. After the show’s premiere, reviews described the show as one to capture the audiences of both “The O.C.” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”

While both Harnois’ acting and beach-good-looks were praised, her character Christina is claimed to have yet to display the true evil complexities of the Devil’s kin. People magazine wrote “Harnois is effortlessly sexy, but her character seems much too well-bred to be even half demonic.”

Singerman agreed that for what the show may lack in reality, Harnois makes up for in charisma.

“I think [Point Pleasant] is fun,” she said. “I like it. It’s mostly entertaining just to see Elisabeth playing Satan’s daughter.”

After its Wednesday night debut, “Point Pleasant” was immediately moved to the coveted post-“O.C.” slot on Thurdays at 9 p.m.

“Nothing could be more appropriate,” wrote People magazine. “Since both shows are about an attractive young stranger arriving in a seaside community and shaking things up.”

In “Strangers with Candy,” Harnois is slightly outside the spotlight. She plays a supporting role as Monica, a high school student, in this prequel to the television series expected to be released late this summer.

Continuing the high school trend, Harnois plays student Brittany Wells in “Pretty Persuasion,” a comedy/drama about a sexual harassment scandal at a private Beverly Hills high school. “Persuasion” was also picked up at Sundance by distributors, and will be released early this summer.

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