Shannyn was born in Hawaii, raised in Reno, Nevada and moved to L.A. to study dance. A casting director noticed her when she was helping a friend DJ at a birthday party for Gwyneth Paltrowin October 1999. Six months after being "discovered," Shannyn was cast as the fair maiden Jocelyn opposite Heath Ledgerin A Knight's Tale. She likes to perform what she describes as "jazz, crazy modern, and hip-hop" dancing, but wishes she had stuck with tap and ballet from when she was younger. She continues to DJ classic rock and '80s tunes. When she was in high school, she has been dancing for four years, competing for three years. She loved many forms of dance including jazz, ballet, lyrical and tap. Shannyn attended Dance Unlimited and trained under Gina Hernandez. She says she loved it there. She was dancing four days a week and some day, she wanted to dance professionally. Though dancing was her first calling, Shannyn admits that acting always intrigued her. She also spinned records at local bars and lounges, and acted in commercials. After having been spotted by one of Hollywood's most influential casting directors, she embarked on a spree of auditions before coming across A Knight's Tale. Most of the auditions she went on, she passed up the projects because she just wasn't interested but when she read A Knight's Tale, she knew she wanted to do this movie. Coming up next, Sossamon has another starring role in the romantic film 40 Days and 40 Nights, opposite Josh Hartnett But despite her newfound success in the film industry, Shannyn won't be handing over her turntables for a star on the Boulevard anytime soon.