Biography
Caris Vujcec is an award-winning American-born actress, writer, producer and director of Mediterranean descent. With a career spanning Broadway, television and original content creation, as a storyteller and filmmaker, she has a passion for narratives highlighting dynamic, powerful and vulnerable, multi-faceted female leads. Caris created, wrote, executive produced, co-directed and solo-directed, and leads the cast in the international award-winning digital series, The Pepper Project. Having recently garnered the Best Actress Award at the 2022 Los Angeles Web Festival, with Pepper: Ricochet winning Best Suspense Thriller Mystery as well, Caris is recognized as an actor and indie-creator of note in the global arena.
She is best known for her role in the hit romantic comedy, P.S. I Love You, and for her long-standing recurring role of Detective Louise Campesi on Law & Order - both Criminal Intent and SVU (opposite Mariska Hargitay and Danny Pino). Broadway credits include understudying both the title role of Chole (Uma Thurman) and supporting role, Jeanette (Blair Brown) in 'The Parisian Woman' by Beau Willimon, directed by Pam MacKinnon. Off-Broadway, Caris most recently (2024) covered Maggie Siff in the lead role, Marina, in 'Breaking The Story' by Alexis Scheer, directed by Jo Bonney. Her favorite regional credits include Gertrude in Hamlet at The Pittsburgh Public Theater, Lady Macbeth at The Repertory Theater of St. Louis and Nadia in David Hare's The Vertical Hour at The Pioneer Theater in Salt Lake City.
The Pepper Project series, having screened to much acclaim at numerous festivals and in competitions worldwide, ranked the #1 U.S. digital series in the 2021 Web Series World Cup, #7 World - landing in the Top Ten earning the Most Awarded Thriller/Crime Series, and has won and been nominated, along with Pepper: Ricochet, for over 40 awards. Festivals include: DC Web Fest 9 (2021), where Caris was honored with the Inaugural Legacy Creator Award; New Jersey Web Festival, Best of the Best and Outstanding Thriller, 2021; Best Director and Outstanding Thriller, 2018; Best Director and Best Suspense/Thriller, Minnesota Web Fest; Best Action, Miami Web Fest, 2021; Best Thriller, 2017; Best Suspense/Thriller, International, Seoul Web Fest 2021; Sound Design, Sisicly Web Fest 2021; Baltimore Next Media Web Fest, Best Action, 2021; Best Dramatic Actress, 2018; Brooklyn Web Fest, Best Drama Series; Dances With Films; die Seriale, Best Actress; Austin Web Fest, Best Actress, Sound Design, Audience Choice; Sicily Web Fest, War/Action/Adventure; Miami Web Fest, Best Suspense/Thriller; Bilbao Web Fest - Starlet Amets; ITVFest and La Femme.
Caris passionately believes in and supports indie-creator content, having presented and served on Jury Panels at such U.S.-based and International Festivals as: Montreal Digital Web Fest; die Seriale, Germany - Official Jury, 2019, and Pitch Deck Creation Workshop; International Creator Panel, 2017; Minnesota Web Fest, Jury 2018, 2019; Sicily Web Fest, International Creator Panel, 2017; Austin Web Fest, Female Filmmaker Panel, 2017.
Caris received a Master of Fine Arts in Acting and Directing from The University of Missouri-Kansas City and graduated with a B.S. from The S.I. Newhouse School of Communications and Department of Drama at Syracuse University. She was inducted into the Liverpool Central School District's Fine Arts Hall of Fame, 2015 Honorees, which recognizes outstanding achievement in the area of fine arts, in the community and at-large. She is an active member of New York Women in Film and Television (NYWIFT) and Catalyst Storieroad, and is a faculty member at The New York Conservatory of Dramatic Arts. She also has served as an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Film and Speech at CUNY Hostos in the Bronx. An avid cyclist, Caris rides for BIKE MS and is a ten-time Elite 200 fundraiser for the NYC Chapter. She is a daughter, sister and proud aunt to five amazing people, and is based in New York City.
13 wins and 1 nominations
