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Jessica Claire Biel (born March 3, 1982) is an American actress and former model, who has appeared in several Hollywood films, including Summer Catch, the remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and The Illusionist, as well as for her television role as Mary Camden in the long-running family-drama series 7th Heaven. A flawless beauty with a down-to-earth attitude, Jessica Biel found success on the small screen portraying Mary Camden, the mostly level-headed eldest daughter of a progressive minister, on the long-running WB drama “7th Heaven” (1996- ) before taking on the big screen in films such as “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” (2003) and “Blade: Trinity” (2004). Named one of People magazine’s “50 Most Beautiful People” in 1999 and Esquire magazine’s “Sexiest Woman Alive” in 2005, Biel’s stunning features and curvaceous figure made her one of Hollywood’s most sought-after young actresses. Receiving critical praise for her role opposite Edward Norton in “The Illusionist” (2006), Biel proved that she was more than just a pretty face. Biel was born in Ely, Minnesota, the daughter of Kimberly "Kim" (née Conroe) and Jonathan Edward Biel, an entrepreneur. Biel, who has a younger brother, Justin, grew up in Boulder, Colorado, where her family had moved when she was very young. She is of Choctaw, German, French, and English descent. Biel’s family moved around during her childhood, living in six different states. Spending most of her formative years in Boulder, CO, Biel would later call the Rocky Mountain town home. An active and adventurous child, Biel began taking dance and voice lessons as a young girl. Obsessed with the musical “Annie,” Biel landed a gig as an understudy for the role in a Connecticut production of the play at the age of eight. Signing with a Denver talent agency at the age of 11, Biel started modeling and attended an International Modeling & Talent Association convention in 1994, where she won an acting scholarship to attend the Young Actor’s Space in Los Angeles. Biel spent the next three years commuting between LA and Colorado, balancing acting classes and auditions with schoolwork. Her hard work on her craft eventually paid off; in the same week, Biel landed the part of Mary Camden on the WB series “7th Heaven” (1996- ), as well as a role in the feature film, “Ulee’s Gold” (1997) opposite Peter Fonda, in which she played his troubled granddaughter Casey – the polar opposite of Mary Camden. During her high school years being tutored on the set of “Heaven,” Biel bonded with co-star Beverly Mitchell in between scenes. Biel initially trained to become a vocalist with the hope of performing in musical theater and appeared in several musicals at an early age including The Sound of Music, Annie, Beauty and the Beast and Anything Goes. It was not until Biel attended the International Modeling and Talent Association Convention in Los Angeles in 1994 when her career started to take off as a fashion model. Biel's first big break came when at 14 years old she landed the role of Mary Camden on the WB TV Series 7th Heaven. The family drama from Aaron Spelling and Brenda Hampton became the most popular series on the fledgling network. Jessica's film career also began at age 15 when she played alongside Peter Fonda in his Golden Globe winning performance in Ulee's Gold (1997). Aside from acting, Jessica became a spokesmodel for L'Oréal cosmetics in 2002. Raising eyebrows in 2000, Biel posed semi-nude for a cover and photo layout in Gear magazine in an attempt to shed her wholesome image and, reportedly, be released from her “Heaven” contract. Because the show was religious in nature and a big hit w/ conservative viewers, her Gear portfolio enraged some, but her alleged ploy worked. She ultimately negotiated a reduced, recurring role on the series, allowing her to attend college and focus on feature films instead. Biel enrolled at Massachusetts’ Tufts University in 2000, returning to LA at the end of her freshman year to finish out the show’s sixth season. Leaving school to focus on her acting career, Biel went on to find work in a number of feature films. Adding a bit of sexy zest, she portrayed Freddie Prinze, Jr.’s fantasy girl in the otherwise dreary baseball comedy, “Summer Catch” (2001) and took on her edgiest project then to date, appearing as promiscuous college student Lara Halleran in writer-director Roger Avary's blunt, sex-soaked adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’ “The Rules of Attraction” (2002). In 2000, Biel posed topless in a layout of Gear magazine, although she did not actually appear frontally nude. It was nonetheless controversial because she was only 17 at the time of the shoot. Her frustration and fear about being typecast was one of the reasons that led to her decision. She blamed her saintly image on 7th Heaven for limiting her film career, including losing a lead role in American Beauty, which eventually went to Thora Birch. Jessica also hoped that by posing she would get out of her 7th Heaven contract, which she accomplished. She later said she regretted posing for the magazine and regards it as a learning experience. Jessica returned to 7th Heaven full time for the 2001—2002 season and then focused her attention on her movie career and has made minimal TV appearances since then. In 2002, she also had a role in the film The Rules of Attraction based on a novel by Bret Easton Ellis. After her departure from 7th Heaven, she accepted the role of Erin Hardesty in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003). The movie was met with moderate critical attention, but was successful commercially making over 80 million dollars stateside with its 9 million dollar budget. She has also had starring roles in Blade: Trinity (2004) and Stealth (2005), the latter of which was a box-office flop, losing $99 million USD. In March 2005, casting for Revolution Studios's big-budget remake of John Carpenter's The Fog was underway. Biel was rumored to be up for the part of Elizabeth Solley (a part originated by scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis). Later reports stated Biel did not want to do any more horror films. The role eventually went to Maggie Grace of Lost. Turning down the role proved to be a wise move: the remake was a box office flop as the film was nearly universally panned for its shallow plot and poor acting. As of January 2006, the film has a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 5%. After a nearly three year absence, Jessica surprised her fans by making one final appearance in the series finale of 7th Heaven in May 2006. The series was later renewed, at last minute, for an 11th and, as it turned out, final season. Biel did not make any future appearances in the show. Finding more mainstream box office success, Biel starred as Erin, the central scream queen, in the hit remake of the 1974 cult horror film, “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” (2003), followed by her appearance in the supposed thriller, “Cellular” (2004). Biel played the spurned romantic interest of a man (Chris Evans) who gets thrown into a high-stakes chase after receiving a random call on his cell phone. Thankfully, her small part in this forgettable actioner went virtually unnoticed, with no harm done to her career. In “Blade: Trinity” (2004), the third installment in the popular B-movie franchise, her role of Abigail Whistler, leader of a group of human vampire hunters who team up with Blade (Wesley Snipes) to do battle with undead thugs, proved to be Biel’s most physical role to date. Not surprisingly, the athletic beauty was more than up for the challenge of months of pre-production training. Next, Biel starred opposite Jamie Foxx and Josh Lucas as a fighter pilot in the less-than-memorable CG action flick “Stealth” (2005), a lowbrow cross between "Top Gun" (1986) and "2001: A Space Odyssey" (1968), followed by a part opposite her “Cellular” co-star and rumored boyfriend Evans in the critically-panned “London” (2005). After several indifferent feature films, her film career finally blossomed when she played a turn-of-the-century duchess in The Illusionist (2006), which received good reviews and generated a profit at the box office. In 2006, she also starred Home of the Brave, about soldiers returning from Iraq, premiered in Los Angeles on December 5, 2006. She next co-starred opposite Adam Sandler and Kevin James in the comedy I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, which went to number one at the box office, making 34 million dollars in its opening weekend, followed by Next, which also starred Nicholas Cage and Julianne Moore. Faring better with her next film, Biel took on a supporting role in Cameron Crowe’s “Elizabethtown” (2005). Though the film itself was savaged by critics and did not make the usual Crowe bank that Hollywood had come to expect from the director, Biel was singled out for her performance as the beautiful girlfriend of a whiz-kid athletic shoe designer (Orlando Bloom) whose ardor cools when her boyfriend experiences a colossal failure. Taking on her first serious period role in 2006, Biel landed the role of Viennese princess Sophie in “The Illusionist” (2006), starring opposite respected actor Edward Norton and once again impressing critics with her abilities as a serious actress. She is slated to appear in at least two more films in 2008: A Woman of No Importance, based on the play by Oscar Wilde about a woman's past which comes back to haunt her when the man who left her with a child becomes the potential employer of their illegitimate son. Taking over Lindsay Lohan's part, it is set to begin filming in the fall of 2007. She'll also appear in Powder Blue, opposite Forest Whitaker, about four desperate individuals who intersect in Los Angeles on Christmas Eve. She was supposedly offered the role of Wonder Woman in the upcoming Justice League film, but (according to one report) she turned the role down. She signed up United Artists's upcoming movie Die a Little. Biel attended the exclusive private Lycée Français de Los Angeles high school but graduated from Concord High School in Santa Monica, CA. In fall 2000, she enrolled in an undergraduate study at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts. During Biel’s freshman year she dated Steve Cincotta, who was also enrolled as a freshman at Tufts and played on the football team. Cincotta would eventually get drafted by the New England Patriots in the 6th round of the 2004 NFL draft. Biel and Concotta parted ways during their days at Tufts and she moved on to date more prominent athletes such as Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees. Having attended Tufts during fall 2000, spring 2001 and fall 2002 semesters, she left before completing a degree program to concentrate on her acting career. Biel's hobbies include ballet, soccer, running and yoga. Biel currently resides in Los Angeles. She dated actor Chris Evans from 2001 to 2006, with at least one time "off" during that period. Together, they appeared in the films London and Cellular. She also dated other actors, Adam LaVorgna, who portrayed the character of Robbie in 7th Heaven, for about two years and briefly Rey-Phillip Santos. Jessica had been linked to New York Yankees star shortstop Derek Jeter. On July 18, 2006, Biel participated in a charity auction to raise medical funds for Colorado teen Molly Bloom, who was injured in an auto accident. John Schiffner of Fergus Falls, Minnesota successfully bid $30,000 to have lunch with Biel. "I promise I'm a cheap date," Biel quipped. Biel and Schiffner lunched at Denver's The Palm restaurant. on August 18, 2006. In January 2007, Biel was linked to Justin Timberlake when pictures surfaced of the two snowboarding in Park City, Utah during the Sundance Film Festival. On May 12, 2007, the gossip was refueled with the release of romantic pictures of Timberlake and Biel on multiple dates, specifically caught kissing while dining in the UK accompanied by producer/mogul Timbaland and then Manchester United footballer Alan Smith. Since then, both Timberlake and Biel have publicly acknowledged their relationship, choosing not to comment in further detail. |
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