Alona Tal (Hebrew: אלונה טל, IPA: [aˈlona ˈtal]; born (1983-10-20)October 20, 1983[1]) is an Israeli actress and singer. She is known for her roles in Veronica Mars as cheerleader Meg Manning, in Supernatural as budding monster hunter Jo Harvelle, as Sonya Lebedenko in the final season of Burn Notice, and in SEAL Team as grad student Stella Baxter.

Alona Tal
אלונה טל
Tal at the Children Uniting Nations Academy Award Viewing Party in 2009
Born (1983-10-20) October 20, 1983 (age 41)
NationalityIsraeli
Occupation(s)Actress, singer
Years active2003–present
Spouse
(m. 2005)
Children2

Early life

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Alona Tal was born and raised in Herzliya, Israel.[2] Her father Ami Tal is a computer professional of both Sephardi Jewish and Mizrahi Jewish (Turkish-Jewish) descent, whose original surname was originally "Mizrahi"; whereas her mother Ayala (née Sabat) is a lawyer and is of Ashkenazi Jewish (Polish-Jewish) descent.[3] Both her parents were born in Israel. Her parents divorced when she was 9.[2] She has two sisters as well as two half-sisters from her father's later relationship.[2] She attended the Thelma Yellin High School in Givatayim, Israel, majoring in theatre.[2] She is Jewish and has described herself as a "spiritual person".[4] She served in the military theatre of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).[2]

Career

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Tal started her career after her military service, with a children's musical video tape in which she played an evil witch. Following that, she appeared in a commercial for a laundry detergent, and then appeared in the lead role in the Israeli film Lihiyot Kochav (To Be A Star).

During the filming of the movie Tal was offered two roles in two different Israeli television shows, and she took both. The first was a soap opera named Tzimerim, about the life of a family that runs a hotel; the second one was HaPijamot (The Pyjamas), a sitcom about a struggling band determined to make it in the real world. She took part in the first three seasons and later took part as a guest star which gave her the chance to show her musical talent. Although she was the main character only in the first three seasons, she appeared in the fourth season for several episodes.

Tal also appeared in the music video for "Final Warning", by Skylar Grey.

Tal moved to New York City, where she met singer Wyclef Jean and recorded a song with him (the song "Party to Damascus" has Tal singing the chorus in Hebrew).[citation needed]

She landed a role on Veronica Mars, that of Meg Manning, one of Veronica Mars's few friends. She also played the recurring role Jo Harvelle on the second, fifth, and seventh seasons of Supernatural. Tal also guest-starred on the series finale of Monk as Adrian Monk's stepdaughter, Molly Evans. In 2010, she performed the voice of Catherine-B320 (also known as Kat) in the video game Halo: Reach. In 2013, she starred in the mystery series Cult. She played the role of "Sonya" in the seventh and final season of Burn Notice.

In November 2020, Tal was cast as Ivy in the second season of the drama series Truth be Told.[5]

Personal life

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On March 23, 2005, Tal married American actor Marcos A. Ferraez. Tal announced on October 23, 2016, at a Supernatural panel that she was expecting her first child. She celebrated her pregnancy with a baby shower on January 29, 2017. Guests included fellow Israeli actresses Gal Gadot and Noa Tishby.[6] She has two daughters, born in March 2017 and September 2022.[7][8]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2002 Pim Pam Po In the Magic Castle Shusha the Witch original title: Pim Pam Po BeArmon HaKsamim
2003 To Be a Star Lilach original title: Lihiyot Kochav
2007 Taking 5 Devon Thompson
2007 Half Past Dead 2 Ellie Burke Direct-to-video film
2008 College Gina Hedlund
2010 Undocumented Liz
2010 Kalamity Ashley
2013 Broken City Katy
2014 Rescuing Madison Madison
2015 Night of the Living Dead: Darkest Dawn Helen Cooper Voice role
2016 Opening Night Chloe
2022 Grimcutty Melinda Jaynes

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2003 Tzimerim Maya Israeli TV series[citation needed]
2003–2004, 2006 HaPijamot Alona Tal Main role (seasons 1–3)
2004–2006 Veronica Mars Meg Manning Recurring role (seasons 1–2), 10 episodes
2005 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Tally Jordan Episode: "Room Service"
2006 Cold Case Sally (1988) Episode: "8 Years"
2006 7th Heaven Simon's Mystery Friend Episode: "Highway to Cell"
2006 Commander in Chief Courtney Winters Episode: "State of the Unions"
2006 Split Decision Bex Christensen Television film
2006–2007, 2009, 2011 Supernatural Jo Harvelle Recurring role (season 2); guest role (seasons 5, 7)
2007 Frangela Sara Television film
2007 Cane Rebecca King Vega Main role
2008 The Cleaner Jackie Kemp Episode: "Rag Dolls"
2008 Ghost Whisperer Fiona Raine Episode: "Firestarter"
2009 The Mentalist Natalie Episode: "Crimson Casanova"
2009 Knight Rider Julie Nelson Episode: "Knight and the City"
2009 Party Down Heather Episode: "California College Conservative Union Caucus"
2009 Monk Molly Evans Episode: "Mr. Monk and the End: Part 2"
2010 Independent Lens Hannah Senesh Voice role; episode: "Blessed Is the Match"
2010 Lie to Me Becky Turley Episode: "React to Contact"
2010 Leverage Kaye Lynn Gold Episode: "The Studio Job"
2010 The Defenders Ashley Episode: "Nevada v. Carter"
2011 Pretty Little Liars Simone Episode: "Careful What U Wish 4"
2011 Prime Minister's Children Libi Agmon Main role
2011 The Killing Aleena Drizocki Episode: "Beau Soleil"
2011 Against the Wall Nicki Episodes: "Baby, Did a Bad Thing", "Lean on Me or Die"
2011 Three Inches Lily Thereoux Television film
2012 Powers Zora Pilot television film (released on the Internet only)[citation needed]
2013 Cult Kelly Collins Main role[9]
2013 Burn Notice Sonya Recurring role (season 7), 8 episodes
2016 Hostages Zohar Main role (season 2)
2014–2017 Hand of God Jocelyn Harris Main role
2017–2024 SEAL Team Stella Recurring role
2019 The Spy Julia Schneider Episode: "What's New, Buenos Aires?"
2020 Little Fires Everywhere Young Linda McCullough Episode: "The Uncanny"
2020 Away Young Miriam Episode: "A Little Faith"
2021 Truth Be Told Ivy Abbott Recurring role (season 2)[5]
2024 Law & Order Deborah

Video games

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Year Title Role Notes
2010 Halo: Reach Kat Voice role
2019 Gears 5 Kat Voice role; guest appearance

References

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  1. ^ "Ze Ze O Ze Ze". HaPijamot. Season 3. Episode 62. 28 July 2004. 10:13 minutes in. Arutz HaYeladim. Transcript. Trivia: Alona was born October 20.
  2. ^ a b c d e "אלונה טל: "אני עדיין לא מבינה למה לא קראו לי ל'וונדר וומן'?"". Archived from the original on 30 August 2023. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  3. ^ @talalona (10 July 2012). "@michaelharpaz that's awesome!! I just got a scanned copy that my polish mom sent me. ;)" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  4. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 8 June 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. ^ a b Petski, Denise (17 November 2020). "'Truth Be Told': Merle Dandridge, Jason O'Mara, Alona Tal, David Lyons, Among 9 Cast For Season 2 Of Apple Series". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 30 August 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  6. ^ "Zen Mama! Alona Tal Celebrates Daughter's Upcoming Birth with Celestial-Themed Baby Shower". People. 31 January 2017. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
  7. ^ "Alona Tal Welcomes Daughter Charlie". People. 7 March 2017. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
  8. ^ "Alona Ferraez on Instagram: "Table for four please . #familyoffour @marcos595 #mycharliegirl #mybaileygirl"". Instagram. Archived from the original on 30 August 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
  9. ^ "CW's Cult Casts Alona Tal..." TVLine. 9 February 2012. Archived from the original on 30 August 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2012.
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