“Jane Doe” claims information was obtained illegally, severely detrimental to her career

Oct 20, 2011 08:43 GMT  ·  By
Mystery actress takes IMDB to court for publishing her legal name and real age online
   Mystery actress takes IMDB to court for publishing her legal name and real age online

Actors and celebrities in general often sue for defamation but, more often than not, they do so because lies about them come out in print. This time, one star is taking matters to court because IMDB published the truth about her.

Word of a new lawsuit against Amazon.com’s subsidiary IMDB (that is, Earth’s Biggest Movie Database) has spread like wild fire – and it’s not hard to see why.

The legal filing is here.

A woman who doesn’t want her identity known, identified solely as “Jane Doe,” claims that IMDB published her legal name and real age on her profile page at imdb.com.

Ever since she started in the industry, the woman has been trying hard to keep both these details about her personal life a secret, but it suddenly became impossible for her do so when IMDB published them online.

Not only did the website reveal this information about “Jane” without her consent, but it also got a hold of it in an illegal manner, by using the information she punched in when she signed up and paid for IMDB Pro in 2008 and was promised all data would remain confidential.

Since her real date of birth and name (believed to be some hard-to-pronounce foreign name) were printed, the actress claims to have received fewer offers than before.

“In the entertainment industry, youth is king. If one is perceived to be ‘over-the-hill,’ i.e., approaching 40, it is nearly impossible for an up-and-coming actress, such as the Plaintiff, 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,” the lawsuit states.

“Plaintiff has suffered a substantial decrease in acting credits, employment opportunities and earnings since Defendants’ addition of Plaintiff’s legal date of birth to the Internet Movie Database,” it further says.

The woman is now asking for upwards of $1 million (€729,820) in damages, citing “breach of contract, fraud, and violation of privacy.”