Born in 1977 in Toms River, New Jersey of portuguese descent and a graduate of Ohio University. Although more than a thousand girls auditioned for the role of Violet in Coyote Ugly, Piper found a lot of similarities with her character. “The first time I read the script, I was amazed because there were so many similarities between Violet and me. I grew up in New Jersey and moved to New York and worked in a bar before I got my first acting job.”
For the rest of the character, Piper took a crash course of voice, guitar, piano, dance, and bartending lessons before hopping on the movie-set bar. “At first I was really scared. But after a few takes, I felt better about it. I mean, the crew and the extras are all told to cheer no matter what you do.”
Her own research of the bar was not much of a surprise. "The real Coyote Ugly Saloon was smaller than I imagined but, otherwise, just about what I expected—dim, dark wood, an old jukebox playing lots of country-rock from the ’80s. It was…interesting. I like hole-in-the-wall bars much better than chic places. The movie makes a funny statement about what it means to be a strong woman. The fact that these women not only run the bar, but own it, is pretty interesting. That said, they still have a guy bouncer at the door."
Although she may seem like a go-getter party girl. You just may be surprised where to find her. "I’m a bookworm, so you’re going to find me in a library, not a bar. Even in college, though, I’d go to places surrounded by a bunch of friends. It would take a guy with a lot of guts to single out a girl who’s surrounded by people. I always traveled in packs. Like a coyote."
On her resume: Piper appeared in the recent satire Whiteboys, and as FBI agent Karen Sympathy in last summer’s The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle along with the recent film Followers. She also played in Lost and Delirious (2001) and will soon star in Slap Her She's French, in theaters November 8, 2002.
Her fave drink: "I’m really kind of a lightweight when it comes to drinking. But I’m not one of those pink- or blue-Hawaiian-tropical-drink girls. A cold can of Schaefer is fine for me."
Coyote Ugly is this Coyote's first major film and perhaps the film that could rocket her to stardom.
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