Shantel VanSanten is an American model who went on to become an actress. Some people will know her because of movies such as The Final Destination and You and I, while other people might be more familiar with her because of One Tree Hill. Here are 10 fun facts that people may or may not have known about Shantel VanSanten:
1. Her Personal Name Means Stony
Shantel is a variation of Chantal, which started out as a French surname referring to a place that was stony in nature. In time, Chantal became a personal name for women because of the intent to honor Jeanne-Françoise de Chantal, a French woman who was named a Roman Catholic saint because of her founding of a religious order that was willing to accept women who had been rejected by others because of either their age or their poor health. In modern times, Chantal is associated with singing as well because the French chant means “song.”
2. Her Surname Is Toponymic In Nature
Speaking of which, VanSanten is a toponymic surname of Dutch origin. This is because VanSanten means something along the lines of either “Of Xanten” or “From Xanten,” with Xanten being of course, a well-known town in what is now the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. With that said, some examples of VanSanten are referring to the town of Saintes in what is now Belgium because said place was once called Zanten by the Dutch.
3. Born in Luverne, Minnesota
VanSanten was born in a place called Luverne, which can be found in the state of Minnesota. It is one of the smaller cities that can be found situated throughout the United States, though it is interesting to note that it has popped up on the TV screen on more than one occasion. For example, it was one of the towns to have been profiled on a Ken Burns documentary called The War. Furthermore, it was the setting of a season of Fargo.
4. Raised in Spring, Texas
With that said, VanSanten was raised in a place called Spring in the state of Texas. Generally speaking, Spring refers to a significant chunk of what is called Greater Houston, but it is interesting to note that there is a town called Spring as well, which is now called Old Town Spring.
5. Shantel VanSanten Started Out As a Model
Like a number of other actresses, VanSanten started out as a model before she made a successful transition to being an actress. In her case, she started out when she was still 15.
6. Participated in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Model Search
In 2005, VanSanten participated in NBC’s Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Model Search, which was pretty much exactly what it sounded like. Unfortunately, she was one of the four participants who were eliminated in the first round of the competition.
7. Did Some Voice Acting
With that said, it is amusing to note that Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Model Search was far from being VanSanten’s first time on the TV screen. Instead, her first project seems to have been a voice acting role in the English dub of Steel Angel Kurumi, which was a Japanese anime that managed to make its way to the United States.
8. Starred in You and I
In 2011, VanSanten starred in a movie called You and I, which was centered on a teenager named Lana who moves to Moscow to meet another teenager named Janie. Something that results in a series of adventures for the two girlfriends. Lana was played by Mischa Barton, while Janie was played by VanSanten.
9. Has a Role on The Flash
Recently, VanSanten played a semi-important role as Patty Spivot on The Flash. There, she was a police officer rather than a lab assistant who held a very understandable grudge against the metahuman criminal Mark Mardon for the murder of her father but was otherwise neutral on metahumans because she believed that they could be either good or evil.
10. Appeared on Scorpion
More recently still, VanSanten popped up on Scorpion in 2018. Technically, Scorpion is based on the life of a computer expert named Walter O’Brien, who serves as an executive producer for the series. In practice, well, suffice to say that there are a lot of people who have called O’Brien’s claims into question.
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