Michelle Lynn Monaghan was born on 23 March 1976 in the 700-population town of Winthrop, Iowa in the United States. To the day she remains loyal to her hometown supporting the Iowa Hawkeyes football team, however, since she can recall she has wanted to get out of Iowa. Her first try was Chicago, the nearest big city, where she studied journalism at Collumbia College, set to become an investigative television reporter. Meanwhile she started modeling to pay the tuition. On her third year of studies she realized it wasn't creative enough for her and recalled how much she loved acting. Without a professional education on acting Michelle headed to New York City on 1999 where she dedicated fully to modeling and became a strong figure in runways and catalogs.

Michelle wouldn't define any moment in her like as the breakthrough, she shares, "People always ask, 'Is this your breakthrough role?' I think 'well God, every job I ever get that I've never had is like a breakthrough role for me'. That Secret deodorant commercial I did six years ago was a breakout thing for me." Her present recognition over her latest roles in "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang", "North Country" and most importantly "Mission: Impossible: III", won her the title of an overnight success but she stands strong remembering the hard times and the "50 or 60 roles I didn't get for every one I got".

During her first years in the acting world Michelle continued to do several commercials while she landed small roles in tv series "Young Americans", "Hack", "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" and later as a recurrent character in hit series "Boston Public". Her first movie "Perfume" released on 2001 didn't get her noticed but she soon got a supporting role in Richard Gere and Diane Lane's "Unfaithful". The titles of her following roles speak for themseleves: "In Runs in the Family", "Winter Solstice", "The Bourne Supremacy", "Mr. and Mrs. Smith", "Constantine" and "Syriana". These last two movies ended up only featuring her in the deleted scenes due to the lengh of the films, but her exposure would still be higher than ever on 2005 to the point that her two most important movies premiered on the same day. "North Country", alongside Charlize Theron, and "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang" with Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer.

2005 didn't just feature Michelle in five movies but in the new role of spouse, getting married on August 25th to her longtime sweetheart, australian graphic designer Pete White.

On 2006 Michelle was seen all over the world in "Mission: Impossible: III" opposite Tom Cruise, and is currently filming "Gone, Baby, Gone" directed by Ben Affleck.

Filmography

• Eagle Eye (2008)
• Made of Honor (2008)
• Gone Baby Gone (2007)
• The Heartbreak Kid (2007)
• Mission: Impossible III (2006)
• North Country (2005)
• Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005)
• Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)
• Constantine (2005)
• The Bourne Supremacy (2004)
• Winter Solstice (2004)
• It Runs in the Family (2003)
• "Boston Public" (8 episodes, 2002-2003)
• "Hack" (1 episode, 2002)
• Unfaithful (2002)
• Perfume (2001)
• "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (1 episode, 2001)
• "Young Americans" (2 episodes, 2000)