History Creator / SummerGlau

* OlderThanTheyLook: She's 35, but you'd be forgiven for believing she was at best in her early twenties.

* SyFyChannelOriginalMovie ''Mammoth'', which featured a mammoth corpse reanimated by aliens that sucked the life force out of those it encountered.

* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5lW0tSKlbk&feature=related That one episode of]] ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' where she [[AsHimself played]] herself.

* Isabel Rochev in ''{{Series/Arrow}}''.

* BadassAdorable: Par for the course playing a DanceBattler.
* BewareTheNiceOnes: Also in line with being a BadassAdorable.

* DoesNotLikeShoes: She has tendonitis in her heels and arthritis in her toes,[[note]]Not surprising, given her background as a ballerina. Ballet is a strenuous art that can mess up even the toughest feet; see ''Film/BlackSwan'' for a great example.[[/note]] so shoes are actually painful for her to wear. She has said that boots, specifically cowboy boots, are more comfortable for her.

* BadassAdorable: Par for the course being a DanceBattler.

* DoesNotLikeShoes: Summer has tendonitis in her heels and arthritis in her toes,[[note]]Not surprising, given her background as a ballerina. Ballet is a strenuous art that can mess up even the toughest feet; see ''Film/BlackSwan'' for a great example.[[/note]] so shoes are actually painful for her to wear. She has said that boots, specifically cowboy boots, are more comfortable for her.

-->[[http://www.empireonline.com/interviews/interview.asp?IID=316 "I think the thing I like about River is that she gets to be barefoot so much of the time. I don’t like shoes very much."]]

* HospitalHottie: Portrayed one in a supporting role for ''Grey's Anatomy''.

!!Tropes commonly associated with her works:

A native of San Antonio, Texas, '''Summer Lyn Glau''' (born July 24, 1981) is a classically trained [[{{Ballet}} ballerina]] who broke into acting in 2002 with a guest spot on ''Series/{{Angel}}'' (playing a ballerina). Her career has primarily been composed of [[ActionGirl active women]] and [[BrokenBird damaged girls]] (usually combined) in science fiction and fantasy series.

* A [[http://www.newsgab.com/attachments/celebrity-pictures/395823d1304453242-summer-glau-79-firebird-glau_01.jpg silver 1979 Pontiac]] [[CoolCar Trans Am]] whose interior she designed.

A native of San Antonio, Texas, '''Summer Lyn Glau''' (born July 24, 1981) is a classically trained ballerina who broke into acting in 2002 with a guest spot on ''Series/{{Angel}}'' (playing a ballerina). Her career has primarily been composed of [[ActionGirl active women]] and [[BrokenBird damaged girls]] (usually combined) in science fiction and fantasy series.

* OlderThanTheyLook: She's 34, but you'd be forgiven for believing she was at best in her early twenties.

* {{Moe}}: Plus {{badass}}.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
** Before she met Creator/JossWhedon, she was almost a Power Ranger, saying she was the second choice for ''Series/PowerRangersWildForce''.[[note]]She claims as the Pink Ranger, but that season had no Pink Ranger, only white with pink highlights.[[/note]]
** She also tried out for the role of Kitty Pryde in ''Film/XMenTheLastStand''. For her audition, she recited a scene Whedon wrote for Kitty during his run on ''[[Comicbook/XMen Astonishing X-Men]]''.

* OldShame: Her first acting roles were in some commercials from the late 90s/early 00s. However, these commercials were for specific affiliates in Texas and California, promoting local businesses, thus it's very hard for anyone to find copies of these commercials. Summer has said herself, "This is a good thing."
* OneOfUs: Summer is a big fan of science-fiction movies, and is also a Creator/DCComics fan.

* DyeingForYourArt:
-->''I have a scar on my face from when I was shooting. I was at a shooting range and a shell flew back and burned my face, so [director] David Nutter let it show all through the pilot [of ''Series/TerminatorTheSarahConnorChronicles''], and if you watch you can see it all through the episode. I thought that was great because she is supposed to be human[-like].'' -- from ''[[http://www.ifmagazine.com/feature.asp?article=2293 IF Magazine]]''.
* RealLife/MeanCharacterNiceActor: Despite playing killer robots, psychopaths, and other assorted crazy characters, she is frequently described as one of the nicest people in Hollywood.

* DawsonCasting: Summer has frequently been cast as characters who are either teenagers or [[RobotGirl supposed to be teenagers]]. She is in her thirties, but can pull off the teenage appearance with almost unnerving ease.

* TheCastShowoff: Expect her to do a few ballet steps in any show she is in.

Her first role (the aforementioned ''Angel'' guest spot) got a standing ovation from the cast and crew after recording [[OneSceneWonder her single scene of dialogue]], and critical reviews for her performance as [[Series/{{Firefly}} River]] [[Film/{{Serenity}} Tam]] and [[Series/TerminatorTheSarahConnorChronicles Cameron]] have been overwhelmingly positive. However, she has yet to get much mainstream recognition as her roles have largely been reserved to [[CultClassic TV shows and films that failed to perform on the business end]].

A native of San Antonio, Texas, '''Summer Lyn Glau''' (born July 24, 1981) is a classically trained ballerina who broke into acting in 2002 with a guest spot on ''Series/{{Angel}}'' (playing a ballerina). Her career has primarily been composed of [[ActionGirl active women]] and [[BrokenBird damaged girls]] in science fiction and fantasy series.

!!Tropes commonly associated with Summer Glau.

* OlderThanTheyLook: She's 33, but you'd be forgiven for believing she was at best in her early twenties.

A native of San Antonio, Texas, Summer Glau is a classically trained ballerina who broke into acting in 2002 with a guest spot on ''Series/{{Angel}}'' (playing a ballerina). Her career has primarily been composed of [[ActionGirl active women]] and [[BrokenBird damaged girls]] in science fiction and fantasy series.

* DoesNotLikeShoes: Summer has tendonitis in her heels and arthritis in her toes[[note]]Not surprising, given her background as a ballerina. Ballet is a strenuous art that can mess up even the toughest feet; see ''Film/BlackSwan'' for a great example.[[/note]], so shoes actually are painful for her to wear. She has said that boots, specifically cowboy boots, are more comfortable for her.
--> [[http://www.empireonline.com/interviews/interview.asp?IID=316 "I think the thing I like about River is that she gets to be barefoot so much of the time. I don’t like shoes very much".]]

-->''I have a scar on my face from when I was shooting. I was at a shooting range and a shell flew back and burned my face, so [director] David Nutter let it show all through the pilot [of Series/TerminatorTheSarahConnorChronicles''], and if you watch you can see it all through the episode. I thought that was great because she is supposed to be human[-like].'' -- from [[http://www.ifmagazine.com/feature.asp?article=2293 IF Magazine]].

* OlderThanTheyLook: She's 33, but you'd be forgiven for believing she was at best in her early 20s.

* OneOfUs: Summer is a big fan of science fiction movies, and is also a DCComics fan.
* PhraseCatcher: After an infamous incident of Summer screwing up her lines during the filming of ''Firefly'', the other cast members - most notably Creator/NathanFillion - took to [[UnusualEuphemism yelling her name as an expletive]] whenever anything went wrong. Nathan is rumored to have taken the tradition on to his succeeding shows including ''Drive'' and ''Castle''.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
** Before she met up with Joss Whedon, she was almost a Power Ranger, saying she was the second choice for ''Series/PowerRangersWildForce'' [[note]]She claims as the Pink Ranger, but that season had no Pink Ranger, only white with pink highlights.[[/note]]
** She also tried out for the role of Kitty Pryde in ''Film/XMenTheLastStand''. For her audition, she recited a scene JossWhedon wrote for Kitty during his run on ''[[Comicbook/XMen Astonishing X-Men]]''.

* ''Webcomic/{{xkcd}}'': She [[http://xkcd.com/311/ beats up everyone]] and [[http://xkcd.com/581/ beats both Randall Munroe and Nathan Fillion in an electric skateboard race]]

* The {{Western}} ''Legend Of Hell's Gate'' playing a girl named Maggie Moon.
* NBC's superhero drama ''Series/TheCape'' in which she plays a cyber-sleuth blogger reporter known as [[ShoutOut Orwell]], who apparently becomes the title hero's sidekick and, like with River and Cameron, [[WaifFu is more dangerous than her size implies]].

* ''{{Series/Chuck}}'' as one of the "Greta" agents. ([[http://seat42f.com/images/stories/tvshows/Chuck/Season4/S0408/Chuck-Versus-The-Fear-Of-Death-Summer-Glau-1.jpg Not surprisingly,]] one of the more AxCrazy Gretas.)
* A [[http://www.newsgab.com/attachments/celebrity-pictures/395823d1304453242-summer-glau-79-firebird-glau_01.jpg silver 1979 Pontiac]] [[CoolCar Trans Am]] that she designed the interior of.

* Cameoed as a nurse on ''GreysAnatomy''.
* ''The Initiation of Sarah (2006)'', where she played [[MagicalGirl Sarah's]] {{Muggle}} sister Lindsay.
* A Hallmark Special [[http://www.hallmarkchannel.com/helpfortheholidays Help for the Holidays]], where she plays an elf out to restore a family's Christmas spirit.

Her first role (the aforementioned ''Angel'' guest spot) got a standing ovation from the cast and crew after recording [[OneSceneWonder her single scene of dialogue]], and critical reviews for her performance as [[Series/{{Firefly}} River]] [[Film/{{Serenity}} Tam]] and [[TheSarahConnorChronicles Cameron]] have been overwhelmingly positive. However, she has yet to get much mainstream recognition as her roles have largely been reserved to [[CultClassic TV shows and films that failed to perform on the business end]].

-->''I have a scar on my face from when I was shooting. I was at a shooting range and a shell flew back and burned my face, so [director] David Nutter let it show all through the pilot [of TheSarahConnorChronicles], and if you watch you can see it all through the episode. I thought that was great because she is supposed to be human[-like].'' -- from [[http://www.ifmagazine.com/feature.asp?article=2293 IF Magazine]].

* Creator/SciFiChannel original movie ''Mammoth'', which featured a mammoth corpse reanimated by aliens that sucked the life force out of those it encountered.
* ''TheUnit''

* ''Franchise/{{Terminator}}: Series/TheSarahConnorChronicles'': Notable also for making a ''Terminator'' into a sympathetic character while still going on [[AxCrazy violent, shotgun happy-rampages]]. She also played Allison Young, a not-very crazy, very-not-psychic resistance fighter who nonetheless proved to be as tough as Sarah Connor in terms of sheer {{Determinator}}-ability.