Donna Rusch
- Actress
Donna Rusch was born and raised in Houston, Texas. Her first memory of
wanting to be an actress was watching Mary Ann after school in reruns
of
Gilligan's Island (1964).
She took her first acting class in middle school and while attending
South Houston High School, split her time between cheerleading and
starring in plays such as "Wait Until Dark", "A Company of Wayward
Saints", "MacBeth and "Little Women". Donna graduated from the
University of Houston with her Bachelor of Arts degree in
Radio/TV/Film. She landed a job as a part-time Desk Assistant at the
country's #1 All-News Radio Station, KTRH-740 AM, Houston. She quickly
rose to become a Reporter, earning numerous local and statewide awards
including "Best News Series in Texas" from UPI. After 3 years, Donna
went to the smaller city of Beaumont, Texas to prime her television
reporting skills. Soon she became the city's first female solo 10'clock
weeknight News Anchor. But after nearly 4 years, her love of acting won
out. Donna moved back to Houston and signed with top Texas Talent
Agent, Jenny Bosby of the Pastorini-Bosby Talent Agency. On her first
national commercial audition, Donna booked the job for Texaco Express
Lube. For 17 years she worked without stopping, primarily in
commercials, voiceover and as a spokeswoman for Industrial Films and
Web Content for clients such as ExxonMobil, Shell, Compaq Computers,
Continental Airlines and Chevron. A fun fact, before he became a star,
Donna starred with
Matthew McConaughey in a training
film for Exxon Aviation. In 1995,Donna became Host of "Texas Today", a
live daily morning show featuring Hollywood stars visiting the city,top
chefs, book authors and a live band. In 2000, her first TV movie role
was as a Reporter in
Hell Swarm (2000), directed
by Tim Matheson, made famous by his
Otter role in National Lampoon's Animal House (1978).
Donna also became known as "Renee Rusch", a traffic reporter on several
radio stations and served time as a TV Traffic Anchor on both the NBC
and CBS television affiliates. In 2011, Donna made the move to Los
Angeles with her husband Craig Beisel and their two daughters. She
quickly hooked into the Independent Film world with a lead role in the
award-winning film
Home from War (2012), accepted to
Cannes 2013. She can be seen in co-star roles in TV episodes of
Criminal Minds(2013) and Revenge(2013). She stars in the thriller
The Channel (2016), set to be
released in 2013. She has also booked National and Regional commercials
for Curves, Sara Lee and Reliant Energy. Donna enjoys volunteering as
an acting coach for stage productions by the "Spotlight Academy for
Students", a ministry of Calvary Community Church in Westlake,
California.
