Actress sues IMDB for revealing her age

An unidentified actress is suing the parent company of the Internet Movie Database for over $1 million for revealing her age and refusing to remove it after she requested the site do so.

The actress, who is using the alias Jane Doe in the suit, is seeking $75,000 in compensatory damages and $1 million in punitive damages from retail giant Amazon, which owns the popular Hollywood database.

The suit describes the actress as being of Asian descent and using an Americanized stage name. She testifies that she subscribed to IMDB Pro in 2008, which required the use of a credit card, which included her legal name. Shortly after that, she noticed that her actual birthday had been added to her profile. She says she notified the site and requested that it be removed, but IMDB refused and the date of birth is still available for anyone to see.

The actress said she has taken pains to keep her legal name and date of birth hidden and there was no way IMDB could have learned of it independently. She accuses the site of misusing her credit card information "to perform unlawful records searches and then added personal and confidential information" to her public profile.

The suit claims the actress "has experienced a significant decrease in credits, earnings, and employment opportunities" since her birthday was posted.

"In the entertainment industry, youth is king," the suit reads. "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."