Victoria Hemingson

Morsell was born in Madison, Wisconsin and attended Ventura High School in California.^[3] After a decade-long career in Hollywood, she transitioned to academia and creative writing, eventually earning a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Creative Writing from Antioch University Los Angeles.^[3]

Morsell's acting career was defined by her ability to play both dramatic and comedic roles on television and films.^[4] Morsell began her acting career in the late 1980s, appearing in the horror-comedy Saturday the 14th Strikes Back (1988).^[5] Throughout the 1990s, she became a frequent star on major television networks.^[6]

In 1995, Morsell gained international recognition among the gaming community for her lead role in Sierra On-Line's Phantasmagoria.^[7] Written by Roberta Williams, the game was a pioneer in the "Full Motion Video" (FMV) genre, requiring Morsell to film extensively in front of blue screens.^[8] Her portrayal of Adrienne Delaney, a novelist trapped in a haunted mansion, remains a cult favorite in the survival horror genre.^[9]

As the lead character Adrienne Delaney, she spent months filming in front of blue screens for what was then one of the most expensive and ambitious video games ever made.^[10] Morsell has noted that while she enjoyed the craft of acting, she became disillusioned with the "business" of Hollywood, specifically the long waits for brief auditions.^[3] She chose to leave the industry shortly after her final television roles in 1997 to focus on her family and education.^[3]

Morsell transitioned to professional writing under the name Victoria Hemingson.^[11] Her writing process is heavily influenced by her acting background, focusing on deep character exploration and psychological tension.^[3] She wrote Awful Necessary Things her primary literary work, this novel won the Grand Prize in the Mystery/Thriller category of the 2021 Book Pipeline Unpublished Contest.^[3]

She wrote essays and short fiction, such as the personal nonfiction piece Lifesavers, have been published in Hippocampus Magazine, Shondaland, and Santa Monica Review.^[11]

Morsell started dating David Homb, her co-star of Phantasmagoria in the late 1990s; they broke up on mutual terms and remained close friends.^[12] Morsell married to screenwriter David Hemingson on September 19, 1998.^[3] They live in Los Angeles and have two children.^[13]

In her personal writing, she has been open about her past struggles, including an eating disorder she faced during her early years as a receptionist and actress.^[3] She is an active member of the retro-gaming community and frequently collaborates with fellow Phantasmagoria cast members for charity streams and fan events.^[3]