'Mini-Me' Actor Seeks Annulment From Model

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The diminutive actor best known for playing Mini-Me, the pint-sized look-alike protege of Dr. Evil in the "Austin Powers" movies, has gone to court to challenge the claims of a leggy, blond model that he has married her.

A hearing in the annulment proceedings brought by Verne Troyer, who stands just 32 inches tall, is set for June 17, his attorney said Friday.

Silberberg said his client filed papers Feb. 23 seeking to annul Genevieve Gallen's marriage claims, which he said were fabricated and financially motivated.

"There is no valid marriage. That's why we're asking for an annulment," Silberberg said. It was not clear on what grounds Gallen was asserting a marriage to Troyer.

Silberberg said the upcoming hearing in Los Angeles County Superior Court in Santa Monica was on a motion to deny Gallen's request for financial information from Troyer.

Neither Gallen, 31, whose real last name is Gowman, nor a representative could immediately be reached for comment. Her Web site (http://www.genevievegallen.com) shows the buxom, blond model and yoga instructor posed for several photos in a bikini. It describes her as standing 5-foot-6-inches tall and says she aspires to be featured as a Playboy centerfold.

She and Troyer, 35, both natives of Michigan, were widely reported last summer to have become engaged, with some gossip accounts saying they later broke off their relationship.

Silberberg denied that the two ever made "formal wedding plans."

Troyer has worked in Hollywood for about a decade, getting his first break as a stunt double for a 9-month-old baby in the film "Baby's Day Out." Other credits include a bit part in "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" and the role of Griphook the Goblin in "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone."

He is best known for his role as Mini-Me, the tiny clone of the diabolical Dr. Evil played by Mike Myers in the big-screen espionage spoofs "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me" and "Austin Powers in Goldmember."