The Sensational Sasha!

Sasha Alexander is quite simply put Ah-MAZING!!

If you're looking for all sorts of background/career information on her, I don't blame you, but this isn't the post for that... there are plenty of online resources to help you which I won't pretend I can contest with.  Try Wikipedia or IMDB.  This post is a collection of all the fun, random tidbits about her life that she chooses to share with us through Twitter, interviews and other #Sashanistas.

THAT being said... in no particular order, here are some random fun facts about The Sensational Sash!
I'll try REAL hard to keep my commentary out of this!  It will be in italics though if I can't help myself.  You understand, she's entirely too incredible to NOT gush over!

- She reads tweets and fan mail and does her BEST to reply and interact with us... all. the. time.  To be fair, she tries to pick and choose and respond to as many different people as possible.
- "Real life Rizzoli" the incredible JCap (aka Jessica Capshaw - Grey's Anatomy)!
- The first movie she ever cried during was "The Champ"
- She was in a band called "Everything Nice" when she was 16
- Purchased "50 Shades of Grey" for her mother-in-law... SOPHIA LOREN!
- Multi-lingual: English (um, obviously), Serbian, Italian & (learning) French
- Her friends thought she'd go onto Directing, but acting is her first love
- She gets REAL excited for Olympic athletes (and honestly, probably anyone who works hard to realize a dream)
- Prefers Starbucks over Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf
- Inspired by her husband and children
- Tried Zumba for the first time in Mexico
- Arnold Palmer instead of choosing between Iced Tea or Lemonade
- Would love to be on Broadway as an actress, not in a musical... she admits that she's "tone deaf" and Edoardo claims that she shouldn't sing The Birthday Song solo ;) (uh, SAME HERE! LOL)
- When fans comment that they'd like to hear her sing, she usually responds with some version of "no really, you probably wouldn't" (LOL!)
- Favorite Shakespearean Play is a toss up between "The Twelfth Night" and "The Taming of the Shrew"
- Favorite cake: Sweet Lady Jane's Triple Berry
- In-N-Out Order: Fries and a Protein Burger
- Betty White is one of her idols
- Pets: 3 goldfish
- Favorite Nora Ephron film: When Harry Met Sally
- Justin's Organic Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups are her favorite
- Shops at Trader Joes
- LOVES cheese: "Do I eat cheese? We're an Italian family. Cheese in our house is like toilet paper." -- Then clarified: "I meant it's a necessity in our home like toilet paper."
- One of her favorite cheeses is vouchon from France
- She is "the disciplinarian" and Edoardo is "the softie"
- Signature dish: eggplant parm (one of mine too!)
- Star Struck moment: When she met Leslie Nielson (she loves the Naked Gun movies)
- Uses her sense memory and past experiences to draw on for the emotional, tearful scenes
- If she could sit down and talk to Maura she'd tell her "Stop talking so much! I can't keep up!"
- Drink of choice: gin
- Doesn't really watch reality tv including having never seen an ep of Jersey Shore (As if I needed more reason to respect her and think she's Ah-MAZING!)
- No true favorite color, but she likes green
- Wants to Guest Star on: Curb Your Enthusiasm, Walking Dead or Louie
- Prefers walking to running
- Soda: Diet Coke
- Likes shopping and fashion
- She tries not to read fanfic (sorry people!  You can understand why though, right?)
- No tattoos
- Favorite ways to de-stress: go to spa, take a nap, read a book
- Gets teased about her outdated iPod Playlists
- She would love to do SNL (UM how have we not campaigned this?!?!)
- Loves "Modern Family"
- Works out with a Personal Trainer who once said "Get on all fours and give me a fire hydrant with a kick." (AMAZING one-liner!)
- Favorite late night guilty pleasure: chocolate
- Best concert she's ever been to: Madonna's "Like a Virgin" Tour when she was 16
- Chose to observe real autopsies in prep for role of Maura
- Tries hard to read all of her tweets even if she doesn't reply
- Takes random pics of things in public and shares them with us
- Her favorite part of being a mom is "the unconditional love between us" (my heart just melted!)
- Allergic to cats
- Can't do without her wallet and cell
- Favorite ice cream flavor: mint chip
- Frequently travels to Europe to visit family and for holidays
- If she ever lived in another country she'd choose Switzerland or France
- Maura's medical terminology usually goes right out of her mind when they yell "cut"
- Recommends the movie "My Week with Marilyn"
- Nicknames: Sushi, Sashi, Smoosh
- Mascara of choice: Mac
- Favorite kind of shoe: "a flat one"
- Nutella makes her silly
- Maura's shoes hurt her feet every day so she wears flip flops between scenes
- Always happy to meet fans and it's never a bother
- Tweezes her own eyebrows
- During the "long", "intense" takes to shoot 3x10 she cut her neck a little "but it was worth it!"
- Depending on the level of emotion of a scene, she can either pop in and out between takes, or stays in that mode
- Has stopped drinking coffee mid-day because it makes her "spazzy"... only allowed one cup/day now (How do we get video of this Sash?? ;) I get that way from 3-4p EVERY day regardless of caffeine intake LOL)
- Plays a huge role in her commitment to fight "podo" > http://fightpodo.org/
- When a good song is on the radio in the morning (like Chameleon by Boy George), that means "it's going to be a good day"
- Makes a drink she's coined "The Bellini Ponti"
- Most like Maura in heart and humor... not in "vocabulary or science knowledge"
- Favorite part about playing Maura: since she "loves every part about playing her" she picked a few favorites: wardrobe, intelligence, sense of humor, quirky
- Guest DJd at "The Sound LA"
- Loved Tina Fey's "Bossypants"
- Sleeps on her back or side
- Favorite thing about acting is that every day is different and fun
- Sensors Lucia from seeing most of her work at this point
- It's weirder for her to watch someone she knows watching her on tv, than to watch herself (uh, follow that??)
- Advice to pregnant women: get all the sleep you can now because [when the baby comes] there will be no more sleep.
- Likes to cook and be cooked for
- One personality trait she appreciates most in people: kindness
- Tips for actors: believe in yourself and always continue to hone your craft
- Tip on how to not breakdown into tears from exhaustion: coffee, red bull and a hug (Seriously can't handle her genuine sweetness!!)
- Hints of what to expect in upcoming episodes (get ready for it!!): "there will definitely be some dead people"
- If she weren't in showbiz she'd be a therapist or an architect
- Not a smoker (because she's clearly an intelligent woman!)
- She likes Kate and Maura, but Maura is her favorite
- To mock being tasered, she watched YouTube videos and talked to their Detective
- When asked how she keeps in shape, jokingly responded "craft services on set" (that means the catered food that's always around for cast/crew)
- Favorite thing about JaM's friendship: "they respect each other"
- Filming intense episodes is as draining as it looks
- Cannot do without her family, phone and iPad
- Goes to Italy once or twice a year
- Lucia speaks fluent Italian (how awesome!! SO wish my grandparents passed that part of our heritage down...)
- Was a "nervous mess" the night before Lucia started Kindergarten (Aww! ...and of course! Any awesome mom would be)
- Had never played chess before episode 2x09
- One of her favorite perfumes is Kai
- Likes to have people over to swim, eat and relax (Again, we're kindred spirits for sure! Italian Girl thing?? ;) )
- Favorite Adele songs: Rolling in the Deep and Someone Like You
- In her fridge: Champagne, Perrier, and pasta for sure (Seriously, I A-DORE you!  ...def an Italian thing LOL)
- LA Visitor recommendations: Santa Monica, Malibu and touristy things
- Uses Wellness Formula from Whole Foods to get over a cold
- Shops at Whole Foods
- She described THIS RizzIsles blog as "insanely wonderful" and thanked me for "the love and commitment"! (Most amazing tweet I've EVER received obviously!!! LOL)
- Girl crushes and fangirls over Lena Dunham and calls it girl crushing/fangirling!
- She knew some Italian before Edoardo
- Amused by wine-related ecards (as per the one I tweeted that she laughed at and said she liked... not necessarily an all-the-time thing I suppose)
- Carry-on of choice: Louis Vuitton duffle bag
- Her Kathy Rose arrowhead necklace brings her grounding, peace and good energy when she travels
- Favorite reminder of home when she travels is her Hermes journal in taupe leather that her best friend bought her when Leonardo was born
- Strangest thing she ever packed after a trip is a little wicker baby chair she would use at her grandparents house in Belgrade, Serbia.
- After her Serbian grandparents passed, she brought the wicker baby chair home and now her children use it (So sweet... melts my heart. Grandparents are life's greatest people! xo)
- Purchased glass blown oil and vinegar bottles in Corsica that they use almost daily
- In-flight reading: "Why Be Happy When You Can Be Normal?" by Jeanette Winterson
- Dream travel companions: William Shakespeare and Gandhi
- Uses Egyptian Magic moisturizer for her lips and dry spots
- Favorite airport: ZRH - Zurich, Switzerland
- Travels in "The Beatnik" jeans, Rag & Bone t-shirt, Jenni Kanye sweater and a colorful scarf (a scarf and accessories always makes you more pulled together for long travel days!)
- Obsessed with "Homeland"
- Watches "Game of Thrones"
- Says she's "always proud of Jessica Capshaw" (specifically answered in response to being asked about Jess' S9 performances on Grey's so far this year)
- Traits of her's she most hopes Lucia learns from her: kindness and compassion
- "Every minute of every day" was her answer to "when was the last time you stared at your little loves in complete awe?" (seriously with these last two points - could she be any more AhMAZING?!?!)
- Agrees with JCap that "SoulCycle" workout "lifts [your] ass as well as [your] spirit"
- She loves playing everything about Maura but her quirkiness is always fun
- Openly supports Obama and equality (...like I need more reason to insanely girl crush this woman?!)
- Chose Lucia as her daughter's name because it means "to bring light" and she always liked the name Lucy
- Chose Leonardo as her son's name because it seemed the most fitting of all the Italian names they chose from
- Played a big role in helping coordinate Common Sense Media's 2012 Game On event
- If she had to give up chocolate or cheese, it'd probably be cheese... "that's tough" though
- She would love to do commentary for the DVD "extras"
- She's pretty organized most of the time
- Listed "family time, game trucks and food trucks" as what she was looking forward to at the Game On event
-


Some of her favorite Rizzoli and Isles scenes/lines:
- 3x01: Flashback scene before going into warehouse
- 3x03: Jane and Maura's reaction to the "evidence" that the "dead guy" isn't dead
- 3x06: Maura talking to herself about the uses of leather
- 3x07: Pike professing his love to Maura
- 2x09: Jane hiding from sensitivity trainer (Sash: I couldn't keep a straight face filming this scene! I laughed so hard!)
- 2x10: All the Hoyt stuff > "so intense and so well done"
- JaneandMaura sleep overs :)

- "What's the big whoop?!"
- "It's a like Project Runway"
- "Shut it!" (Sash's comment: Maura is pissed!)
- "All mammals have to pee!"



...and that my friends is what we call an Ah-MAZING person!  Ah-MAZING people can have an incredible impact on your life, even from afar, if you let them... and even in the form of portraying a fictional character who energizes and inspires you through her on-screen (and real life!) friendships and strength.

Check back!  This is always being updated!  Feel free to leave with comments with more fun Sasha facts and where I can find it's source and I'd be happy to add it! - Updated 10/28/12 @ 11am

Can't even deal with all of this Sash and her #aMAURAble-ness!! :)

*GIFs not mine > I save awesome things after I reblog them  :)