Summer Lyn Glau (born July 24, 1981) is an American actress and dancer, known for playing River Tam in the science fiction series Firefly and follow-up movie Serenity, and for playing Cameron in the series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.
Glau was born in San Antonio, Texas, where she grew up with her two younger sisters. She is of Scots-Irish and German descent. Her mother is a schoolteacher and her father a general contractor.
Glau received a scholarship to a ballet company and was home-schooled from grades 3 to 12 to accommodate her ballet training.Glau was classically trained as a ballet dancer and also studied tango and flamenco. After a serious ankle injury ended her dancing career, Glau later moved to Los Angeles in 2002 to pursue a more active acting career.