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Jennifer Love Hewitt (born February 21, 1979) is an American actress and singer-songwriter. She is well-known for her television and film roles in the Fox television series Party of Five, as Sarah Reeves, and also starred in I Know What You Did Last Summer and its sequel, as Julie James. Hewitt can currently be seen on the CBS television series Ghost Whisperer, as Melinda Gordon, a young newlywed who communicates with the dead. In the mid-1990s, Jennifer Love Hewitt transformed from a Barbie-hawking child actress into a men’s magazine mainstay with her role in the thriller, “I Know What You Did Last Summer” (1997). She had already begun building a following with her perky, girl-next-door role on the hit teen drama “Party of Five” (Fox, 1994-2000), but her tight tops and blood-curdling screams in the hair-raising blockbuster made her into a household name. Hewitt’s frenzied popularity resulted in her own spin-off TV series, a sequel “Summer” film, and the release of several pop albums before she settled into a career of lightweight family films and TV, including a starring role in the supernatural drama series “The Ghost Whisperer” (CBS, 2005- ). Hewitt was born in Waco, Texas, the daughter of Patricia Mae (née Shipp), a speech-language pathologist, and Herbert Daniel Hewitt, a medical technician. Hewitt grew up in Nolanville, Texas; after the divorce of her parents, Hewitt and her only sibling, Todd Hewitt, were brought up by her mother. Her first name was given to her by her brother, after a girl he was fond of as a youngster, while her middle name, "Love", was given to her by her mother after her best friend in college. Despite what skeptics might have said later on, Jennifer Love Hewitt did not adopt her catchy middle name as a showbiz ploy; it was given to her on Feb. 21, 1979 — the day she was born in Waco, TX. She was raised in the small town of Killeen, which could barely contain her talent even at the age of six when she performed “The Greatest Love of All” at a livestock fair. Dance classes and impromptu performances at local venues followed, leading to the nine-year-old Hewitt being cast in an internationally touring song and dance group called Texas Show Team. The following year, she landed a contract with L.A. Gear sneakers, dancing in their traveling promotional shows and appearing in a commercial with Michael Jordan. At the advice of a talent scout, Hewitt and her mother relocated to Los Angeles so that the big dreamin’ Texan could take a shot at stardom. As a young girl, Hewitt was attracted to music which led to her first encounters with the entertainment industry. At the age of three, she sang "The Greatest Love of All" at a livestock show. Just a year after that, at a restaurant-dance hall, she entertained an audience with her version of "Help Me Make It Through the Night". By the time she was five, Hewitt already had tap dancing and ballet in her portfolio. At nine, she became a member of the Texas Show Team (which also toured in the Soviet Union). At the age of ten, at the suggestion of talent scouts, she moved to Los Angeles, California, with her mother to pursue a career in both acting and singing. After moving to Los Angeles, Hewitt appeared in more than twenty television commercials. Her first break came as a child actor on the Disney Channel variety show Kids Incorporated (1989 – 1991), where she was credited as just Love Hewitt. During this time she danced in and sang all the songs for a live action video called "Dance! Workout With Barbie" released by Buena Vista. In 1993, she played Pierce Brosnan's daughter in a pilot for NBC called Running Wilde, which featured Brosnan as a reporter for Auto World magazine whose stories cover his own wild auto adventures, but the series wasn't picked up and the pilot never aired. She later played on television in several short-lived series, such as Fox's Shaky Ground (1992 – 1993), ABC's Byrds of Paradise (1994), and McKenna (1994 – 1995). Finally, Hewitt became a young star after landing the role of Sarah Reeves on the popular Fox Television show Party of Five (1995 – 1999), joining the cast during its second season. She continued the same role in the short-lived Party of Five spin-off, Time of Your Life (1999). Hewitt was also one of the producers, but the show was cancelled after only half a season. Hewitt, a child actress of the wide-eyed, over-enunciating, hyperventilating-with-enthusiasm variety, quickly landed work in commercials, signing a two-year spokesmodel contract with Mattel’s Barbie. In 1989, she was hired on the Disney sitcom "Kids Inc." (Syndicated, 1984-86; Disney Channel 1986-1992) which centered on a wholesome, song-and-dance trained kid band that performed current pop hits. Still under contract with L.A. Gear, Hewitt recorded a promotional CD single for the brand – a cover of Blondie’s “Heart of Glass” – and with the press coverage that “Kids Inc.” was receiving, seemed poised to launch a teen pop career. After taping a Barbie-themed workout video under her Mattel contract in 1991, Hewitt released an album called Love Songs (1992) for Japan pop audiences – a group apparently more receptive to the sugary sweet pre-teen sound. The hungry young performer had almost more than she could handle that year, cast in three TV series – including two failed pilots and one that ran half a season – and appointed Youth Ambassador at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Outside the song and dance arena, she had straight acting roles in the video release “Munchie” (1992), "Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit" (1993), and the TV film “Little Miss Millions” (1993). Two different sitcom families claimed Hewitt as a teenage daughter in 1994 – midseason replacement “Byrds of Paradise” (ABC, 1994) which was cancelled in the summer, and in the fall, “McKenna” (ABC, 1994-95) for just one season. She made her film debut in the independent film Munchie (1992). Hewitt became a film star after a lead role in the horror film I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997). The film had great box-office success (125,000,000 U.S. dollars worldwide), and Hewitt became one of the most popular young stars in the USA (together with her co-stars: Freddie Prinze Jr., Ryan Phillippe, and Sarah Michelle Gellar). She also appeared in the sequel I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998), which was not as successful as the first film but brought in more money than the first on its opening weekend. Other notable film roles included the high-school comedy Can't Hardly Wait (1998) and a starring role with Sigourney Weaver in the romantic comedy Heartbreakers (2001). In 2000, Hewitt appeared in The Audrey Hepburn Story. That same year, she was the "most popular actress on television" due to her Q-rating (a measurement of a celebrity's popularity) of thirty-seven. For that reason, Nokia chose her to become its spokesperson, because of her "fresh image", and her being "a symbol of youthfulness and wholesomeness". In 2001, she appeared in the music video for the Enrique Iglesias song, "Hero", as the singer's love interest. Hewitt wrote I'm Gonna Love You for the movie The Hunchback of Notre Dame II because, although she was a well-known singer at the time, her character Madellaine was the only character who didn't sing in the movie. The song won an award for Best Song on DVD Awards. Since September 2005, Hewitt has starred in the television series Ghost Whisperer. In Australia, Ghost Whisperer has been popular since its introduction; in the United States, the show averages 9-11 million viewers for each new episode. Hewitt has also auditioned for many roles. She was asked to play "Juliet" in Romeo + Juliet, but the director felt she wasn't modern looking. The role went to Claire Danes. She also had to give up the role of "Darlene" in Brokedown Palace because of scheduling conflicts. In 2005, Hewitt proved naysayers wrong once again by returning to regular series television and headlining “The Ghost Whisperer” (CBS, 2005- ), where she starred as a young paranormal investigator with the gift of communicating with earthbound spirits. Audiences seemed willing to accept Hewitt in this new adult persona – enough that she was nominated for People’s Choice, Kids Choice, and Teen Choice Awards in 2006. In 2007, she received a Saturn Award for Best Actress in a Television Program. Hewitt also auditioned for the role of "Elektra" in Daredevil. Hewitt confirmed that she would not pose nude or do nude scenes in movies. In 1991, Meldac funded the recording of Hewitt's first album, when she was just 12. The album was only released in Japan in 1992 where Hewitt became a pop star. Her explanation for her success in Japan is that the Japanese "love perky music. The poppier the music, the better.", After she joined the cast of Party of Five in 1995, she signed to Atlantic Records, who rushed her first single and second album Let's Go Bang out in October. Neither the single nor the album generated much public interest. Juggling her music career with her acting career, she recorded her follow-up in 1996. The first single, "No Ordinary Love" failed to chart and led to the album doing the same. Atlantic dropped Hewitt, who didn't return to the music scene for 3 years. In 1999, she recorded the single "How Do I Deal" for the I Still Know What You Did Last Summer Soundtrack. The song became Hewitt's first charting single by climbing to #59 on the Hot 100 and #36 on the Top 40 Mainstream. It also reached #8 in Australia. In 2002, Hewitt signed to Jive Records and recorded her fourth album with singer/songwriter/producer Meredith Brooks. The first single, "BareNaked", became her biggest radio hit to date when it peaked at #24 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart, #31 on the Adult Top 40 and #25 on the Top 40 Mainstream. It also climbed to #6 in Australia. The success of the single propelled her album of the same name to peak at #37 on the Billboard 200 and #31 in Australia. However, it only remained on the chart for 3 weeks. The second single, "Can I Go Now", failed to chart in the US, while only managing to peak at #12 in Australia. Since 2003, Hewitt hasn't actively done anything in the music industry, but a compilation called Cool with You: The Platinum Collection was released in Asia. In 2004 she appeared in the made-for-television musical "A Christmas Carol" in the singing role of Ebenezer Scrooge's fiance' Emily. Hewitt is an honorary godparent of the Audrey Hepburn Children's Fund. Hewitt began dating Scottish actor Ross McCall in January 2006 after he made an appearance on Ghost Whisperer. In November 2007, while on vacation in Hawaii, they became engaged. Some paparazzi photographs were secretly taken during this vacation of a slightly plumper than usual Hewitt and subsequently criticized by bloggers. Hewitt responded: "I've sat by in silence for a long time now about the way women's bodies are constantly scrutinized.... What I should be doing is celebrating some of the best days of my life and my engagement to the man of my dreams, instead of having to deal with photographers taking invasive pictures from bad angles." She has also dated singer-guitarist John Mayer, talk show host Carson Daly, actor/model Kip Pardue, writer Chris Benson, singer-songwriter Rich Cronin and actor Will Friedle. |
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