It's many actors' worst nightmare—and now a tantalizing Hollywood mystery. And just maybe some good publicity?
An anonymous actress is suing the Internet Movie Database and its Washington-based parent company, Amazon, for publishing her true age on IMDbPro without her consent, supposedly costing her a slew of film and TV roles.
Of course, the legal action has only sparked industry chatter as to just who the litigant is.
For now however, all we know is that she's listed as Jane Doe, is of Asian descent and hails from Texas.
According to the complaint filed on Oct. 13 in U.S. District Court, Ms. Doe alleges that she found it necessary to keep private both her birth date and her given name, the latter which is "extremely difficult for Americans to spell and pronounce...and is generally not conducive to obtaining employment" in the entertainment industry.
In court docs, she claims that after having had a regular IMDb page since 2003, she decided to increase her exposure by subscribing with her credit card to the site's higher tier paying service for professionals, IMDbPro, in 2008 without realizing that the Seattle firm published the confidential information she provided, including her real age, to her updated acting profile.
But little did the unidentified thesp realize she suffered harm and loss of job opportunities after IMDb revealed "to the public that Plaintiff is many years older than she looks."
"In the entertainment industry, youth is king," states the complaint. "If one is perceived to be 'over the hill,' i.e. approaching 40, it is nearly impossible for an up-and-coming actress...to get work as she is thought to have less of an 'upside,' therefore, casting directors, producers, directors, agents/managers, etc. do not give her the same opportunities, regardless of her appearance or talent."
Ironically, Jane Doe's real age (which it's fair to assume is near the big 4-0) also worked against her as court papers claim she was also passed up for "40-year-old" parts because "she looks so much younger than her actual age indicates."
The suit goes on to state that the only way IMDb could have gleaned the actress' true age was intercepting it from the credit card information she gave without her permission.
The plaintiff, who did not disclose her identity out of fear of being blacklisted by industry types, is seeking compensatory damages exceeding $75,000 and more than $1 million in punitive damages.
A lawyer for Amazon and IMDb declined to comment on the matter, citing pending litigation.