Denyse Tontz
{{short description|American actress, singer, and songwriter (born 1994)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2016}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Denyse Tontz
| image =
| image_size =
| caption = Denyse Tontz at ABC Disney International
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1994|9|17}}
| occupation = {{Flatlist |
- Actress
- singer
- songwriter}}
| years_active = 2006–present
| website = {{URL|denysetontz.com}}
| module = {{Infobox musical artist
| embed = yes
| instrument = {{Flatlist |
| label =
}}
}}
Denyse Tontz (born September 17, 1994"miranda rights". Soap Opera Digest. July 15, 2013. p. 45.) is an American actress, singer and songwriter.{{cite web |title=Denyse Tontz, la actriz de origen salvadoreño que protagoniza en EE. UU. el "remake" de la serie "Grand Hotel" |url=https://historico.elsalvador.com/historico/613167/denyse-tontz-la-actriz-de-origen-salvadoreno-que-protagoniza-en-ee-uu-el-remake-de-la-serie-grand-hotel.html |website=EDH |date=June 16, 2019 |publisher=Elsalvador.com |access-date=22 October 2021}} Tontz is known for her roles as Cortney Strathmore on Freeform's The Fosters, Miranda Montgomery on All My Children, Nikki Ortiz on Dog with a Blog, Elena on the 2017 Syfy series Incorporated, and heroine Alicia Mendoza in the 2019 ABC summer series Grand Hotel. She is known in the music world for her single, "United States of Anxiety", debuted in 2016 by People.com.
Personal life
Career
=Acting=
Before she began her acting career, Tontz was a child model and the face of Barbie couture in the UK.{{cite web|title=Official Denyse Tontz's website - Bio|url=http://denysetontz.com/?page_id=2|publisher=DenyseTontz.com}} Tontz made her first appearance on television, appearing on the show E-Ring as Princess Gabrielle. In 2007, she portrayed Alice Keefe in the Nickelodeon movie The Last Day of Summer. In 2008, she was cast as Meagan Todd in the movie Dog Gone along with Luke Benward and French Stewart. Tontz began recurring on Big Time Rush in 2009 playing the role of Jennifer Woods.{{Cite web|url=http://www.top40-charts.com/news.php?nid=82534|title=Nickelodeon Star, Denyse Tontz From Big Time Rush Releases First Single And Video|website=Top40-Charts.com|access-date=2017-06-20}} Tontz revealed on August 6, 2012, that Nickelodeon had renewed Big Time Rush for a 13-episode fourth season, a development that was later independently confirmed.{{cite web|url=http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2012/08/06/nickelodeon-greenlights-fourth-season-of-hit-musical-comedy-series-big-time-rush/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312065703/http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2012/08/06/nickelodeon-greenlights-fourth-season-of-hit-musical-comedy-series-big-time-rush/|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 12, 2016|title=Nickelodeon Greenlights Fourth Season of Hit Musical Comedy Series Big Time Rush|date=August 6, 2012|work=TV by the Numbers|accessdate=July 19, 2016}} However, Tontz herself didn't appear in the season and a cardboard standee of her character was used in place of her in the series finale.
In November 2012 Tontz appeared on the Disney Channel sitcom Dog with a Blog, playing Avery's Central American neighbor and Tyler's crush, Nikki. Nikki is sweet and talented but also initially quite naïve, and her pomeranian Evita becomes the object of Stan's affection.{{cite web|title=Watch Dog with a Blog Season 1 Episode 4 Wingstan|url=http://www.ovguide.com/tv_episode/dog-with-a-blog-season-1-episode-4-wingstan-4415923|website=OVGuide.com|access-date=April 15, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130108130013/http://www.ovguide.com/tv_episode/dog-with-a-blog-season-1-episode-4-wingstan-4415923|archive-date=January 8, 2013|url-status=dead}} It was later announced that Tontz's character would begin to be recurring.
In early 2013 it was revealed that Tontz would be playing Miranda Montgomery in daytime drama All My Children.{{cite web|last=Kroll|first=Dan J|title=Denyse Tontz cast as AMC{{'s}} Miranda Montgomery: Other Tontz news|url=http://soapcentral.com/amc/news/2013/0225-tontz.php|work=Soapcentral|date=February 25, 2013|accessdate=July 28, 2016}}{{cite web|url=http://www.soapoperanetwork.com/2013/02/exclusive-jordan-lane-price-not-miranda-montgomery-soap-casts-denyse-tontz-in-role|title=EXCLUSIVE! Jordan Lane Price NOT Miranda Montgomery; Soap Casts Denyse Tontz in Role|author=Lewis, Errol|date=February 25, 2013|work=Soap Opera Network|accessdate=February 25, 2013}} The first appearance of Tontz as Miranda Montgomery was on the April 29, 2013 premiere episode of All My Children.{{cite web |first=Michael|last=O'Connell |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/all-my-children-one-life-427257 |title=All My Children and One Life to Live Set Online Premiere Date |work=The Hollywood Reporter |date=March 11, 2013 |accessdate=July 28, 2016}}{{cite web|title=Denyse-Tontz.com "All My Children" Premiere|url=http://denysetontz.com/?event=all-my-children-premiere|publisher=Denyse Tontz}} On November 11, 2013, it was announced that Prospect Park had closed production and canceled the series again.{{cite web|url=https://www.tvguide.com/News/All-My-Children-Canceled-1073248.aspx|title=All My Children Dead (Again), Cast Members Say|last=Stanhope|first=Kate|work=TV Guide|date=November 11, 2013|accessdate=November 11, 2013}}{{cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/12/all-my-children-canceled_n_4259562.html|title=All My Children Canceled: Online Soap Not Returning|work=HuffPost|date=November 12, 2013|accessdate=November 12, 2013}}
In July 2015, Deadline Hollywood announced that Tontz was cast as a series regular in the USA pilot, Paradise Pictures, written and executive produced by Suits writer Rick Muirragui and executive produced by Suits creator/executive producer Aaron Korsh. The show was a period drama revolving around ambitious people striving to get to the top in 1940s Hollywood, and Tontz played a bright-eyed aspiring actress named Luciana from Marfa, Texas.{{Cite news|url=https://deadline.com/2016/08/incorporated-denyse-tontz-syfy-thriller-matt-damon-ben-affleck-1201797889/|title=Incorporated: Denyse Tontz Joins Syfy Thriller From Matt Damon & Ben Affleck|last=Petski|first=Denise|date=2016-08-03|website=Deadline Hollywood|access-date=2017-06-20|language=en-US}} The show did not go to series.{{Cite news|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/hollywood-drama-paradise-pictures-passed-845640|title=Hollywood Drama Paradise Pictures Passed Over at USA, Being Shopped Elsewhere|work=The Hollywood Reporter|access-date=2017-06-20|language=en}}
In 2016, it was announced that Tontz would join Matt Damon and Ben Affleck's Syfy thriller, Incorporated, as a series regular, alongside Sean Teale, Allison Miller, Dennis Haysbert and Julia Ormond. Tontz plays Elena, Larson's longtime love, who is forced to sell herself into servitude in order to pay off her family's debts. Created by David and Alex Pastor, the show is set in a distant future where corporations have unlimited power.
In 2019, Tontz starred as Alicia Mendoza on the ABC drama Grand Hotel, which ran for one season.{{Cite web |last=Swift |first=Andy |date=2019-10-01 |title=Grand Hotel Cancelled at ABC |url=https://tvline.com/news/grand-hotel-cancelled-season-2-abc-1097210/ |access-date=2023-08-09 |website=TVLine |language=en-US}}{{cite web|last1=Petski|first1=Denise|title=Grand Hotel: Denyse Tontz to Star in ABC Drama Pilot|url=https://deadline.com/2018/03/grand-hotel-denyse-tontz-star-abc-drama-pilot-1202314114/|website=Deadline Hollywood|accessdate=May 11, 2018|date=March 7, 2018}}
=Music=
In 2012, Tontz released the video for her first single, "Better Than Nothing" featuring Thomas Hrvatin, via YouTube. Shot on an iPhone 4S, the song features Tontz's quirky, playful style of writing. "Better Than Nothing" was also featured on the March 24, 2013 episode of The Mentalist.{{cite web|last=Watts|first=Clark|title=The Multi Talented Denyse Tontz is Electrifying the Industry|url=http://celebrityjabber.com/2012/09/26/mutli-talented-denyse-tontz-electrifying-industry/|publisher=CelebrityJabber|accessdate=September 26, 2012}}{{cite web|title="The Mentalist" (featuring "Better Than Nothing")|url=http://denysetontz.com/?event=the-mentalist-featuring-better-than-nothing|website=DenyseTontz.com|accessdate=March 24, 2013}}
In June 2014, represented by Danny Goldberg, Tontz won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Song for a Drama Series for "Parachute", an original song she wrote for All My Children.{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2014/tv/news/sesame-street-ellen-degeneres-lead-daytime-emmy-creative-arts-winners-full-list-1201238678/|title='Sesame Street,' 'Ellen DeGeneres' Lead Daytime Emmy Creative Arts Winners (FULL LIST)|work=Variety|date=June 21, 2014|accessdate=July 28, 2016}}{{cite web|url=http://www.soapoperanetwork.com/2014/06/41st-annual-daytime-creative-arts-emmy-award-winners|title=And the 41st Annual Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Award Winners Are...|first=Kambra|last=Clifford|date=June 21, 2014|website=soapoperanetwork.com|accessdate=July 19, 2016}}
She released her track "Why" on May 5, 2015, her song and video "Go", on July 4, 2015, and most recently "United States of Anxiety", on July 22, 2016.{{Cite news|url=http://www.people.com/celebrity/denyse-tontz-get-a-first-listen-at-her-new-single/|title=Denyse Tontz: Get a First Listen at Her New Single|date=2016-07-22|work=People|access-date=2017-06-20|language=en-US}}
Filmography
| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Film and television roles |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 2006
| E-Ring | Princess Gabrielle | Episode: "The Two Princes" |
| 2007
| Alice Keefe | Film |
| 2008
| Dog Gone | Meagan Todd | Film |
| 2009
| The Perfect Sleep | Young Porphyria | Film |
| 2009–2013
| Jennifer 1 | Recurring role, 21 episodes |
| rowspan="2" | 2011
| The Nine Lives of Chloe King | Vanessa | Episode: "Responsible" |
| I Hate My Teenage Daughter
| Snotty Girl | Episode: Pilot |
| 2012
| Gloria | Episode: "Weird It Up" |
| 2012–2013
| Mary Ann/Tarantula Girl | Episodes: "The New King, Part 2: The Bro-fessor and Mary Ann", "Meet the Parent" |
| 2012–2014
| Nikki Ortiz | Recurring role |
| 2013
| Series regular |
| rowspan="3" | 2014
| Kim | Episode: "Beer Heist" |
| Melissa & Joey
| Layla | Episode: "Accidents Will Happen" |
| Bones
| Alice Kelly | Episode: "The Geek In The Guck" |
| rowspan="2" | 2015
| Earthfall | Rachel Lannon | Television movie |
| Paradise Pictures
| Luciana Delgado |
| rowspan="2" | 2016–2017
| Cortney Strathmore | Recurring role, 21 episodes{{Cite web|url=http://www.gossipandgab.com/112112/the-fosters-season-4-recap-4-6-justify|title=The Fosters Season 4 Recap: 4.6: Justify|website=gossipandgab.com|date=August 2, 2016|language=en-US|access-date=2017-06-20}} |
| Incorporated
| Elena |
| 2019
| Alicia Mendoza |
Discography
- "Better Than Nothing" (feat. Thomas Hrvatin)
- "Use It"
- "Mr. Hipster"
- "Why" (track only)
- "Go"
=Music videos=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1"
! scope="col"| Year ! scope="col"| Title ! scope="col"| Director |
| 2012
! scope="row"| "Better Than Nothing" | {{TableTBA|N/A}} |
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
- {{official website|http://www.denysetontz.com}}
- {{IMDb name|2218397|Denyse Tontz}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tontz, Denyse}}
Category:Actresses from San Diego
Category:American child actresses
Category:American television actresses
Category:American soap opera actresses
Category:American film actresses
Category:Singers from San Diego
Category:Singer-songwriters from California
Category:American women singer-songwriters
Category:American women pop singers
Category:21st-century American actresses
Category:21st-century American women singers