Jessica Biel
Jessica Claire Biel (born March 3, 1982) is an American actress, model, and occasional singer. Biel is known for her television role as Mary Camden in the long-running family-drama series 7th Heaven. She has also appeared in several Hollywood films, including Summer Catch, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Illusionist, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, and The A-Team.
JESSICA BIEL STRIPS for Chuck but not for Larry!!!
Jessica Biel "Your Beautiful"
Early life
Jessica Claire Biel was born in Ely, Minnesota. Her mother, Kimberly (née Conroe), is a homemaker and spiritual healer. Her father, Jonathan Biel, worked for GE and was also an entrepreneur and business consultant.[2][3][4] She is of German, French, English, and Choctaw ancestry[5] and has a younger brother, Justin, born in 1985.[6][7] Biel's family moved frequently during her childhood, living in Texas, Connecticut, and Woodstock, Illinois, before finally settling in Boulder, Colorado. While growing up, Biel played soccer[8] and also trained as a gymnast.[4] She is also an avid snowboarder.[8] From 2000 to 2002, she attended Tufts University.[9]
[edit] Early work
Biel initially trained to be a vocalist, and from age nine appeared in several musical productions in her hometown, playing lead roles in productions such as Annie, The Sound of Music, and Beauty and the Beast.[10]
At twelve, Biel attended The International Modeling and Talent Association conference in Los Angeles where she was discovered and signed by a talent agency. She began modeling for print advertisements, and appeared in commercials for products such as Dulux Paint and Pringles.[2]
Biel also played the character Regrettal, a lead role in a low-budget musical short titled It's a Digital World, but the film was never released. At fourteen, after auditioning for several television pilots, Biel was cast as Mary Camden, the oldest daughter in the family drama 7th Heaven.
[edit] Career
[edit] 1997–2002
Biel on board the USS Abraham Lincoln on June 18, 2004
Biel landed her first feature film role as Peter Fonda's granddaughter in the critically acclaimed drama Ulee's Gold, released in 1997. Her performance earned her a Young Artist Award.[citation needed] In spring 1998, during a break from filming 7th Heaven, Biel starred in I'll Be Home for Christmas, playing the love interest of Jonathan Taylor Thomas.[10]
In 2000, during the fourth season of 7th Heaven, Biel commented that she had grown tired of playing the wholesome preacher's kid, and blamed the show for giving her a squeaky-clean image, causing her to lose out on a role in American Beauty (the part went to Thora Birch).[citation needed] In a last-ditch attempt to be released from her contract, she posed semi-nude for the cover of Gear magazine. The shoot sparked considerable controversy as Biel was still under eighteen at the time. Fans and producers of 7th Heaven were outraged, and the latter brought legal action against Gear magazine.[10] 7th Heaven producer Aaron Spelling made it clear that Biel would be staying with the show for the remainder of her contract, although Biel appeared in minimal episodes in season five, due to her character attending college out of state. She has stated that she regrets the Gear shoot but considers it a learning experience.[11]
In 2001, Biel played the love interest of Freddie Prinze, Jr. in the baseball-themed movie Summer Catch. The next year she starred as promiscuous college student Lara in the ensemble movie The Rules of Attraction, an adaptation of the Bret Easton Ellis novel.
[edit] 2003–2005
After leaving 7th Heaven at the end of its sixth season, Biel was cast in her first top-billing role in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.[12] The film met with mixed reviews but her performance was praised and it was a commercial success, scoring the number-one spot in its opening week and going on to earn more than $80 million in the U.S.[12][13]
In 2003, Biel began work on the third installment of the Blade film series, Blade: Trinity. Almost immediately after finishing it in 2004, she headed to Australia to shoot the action-thriller Stealth.[14] Both movies were critical and box office failures. Stealth had a budget of $130 million but grossed $76 million worldwide.[citation needed] Biel also made a cameo appearance in the 2004 film Cellular.
Biel went on to audition for the role of Claire Colburn in the romantic comedy Elizabethtown, but the role eventually went to Kirsten Dunst.[citation needed] Biel was instead cast in a smaller role as Ellen Kishmore. She then played the title character in the indie film London.
[edit] 2006–present
Biel at the 2005 Stealth premiere
Biel's film career blossomed when she played a turn-of-the-century duchess in the period piece The Illusionist, co-starring Edward Norton and Paul Giamatti. The movie received mostly positive reviews and was a turning point for Biel, who had previously played more contemporary roles.[citation needed] She received the Rising Star Award at the Palm Springs International Film Festival and an Achievement Award at the Newport Beach Film Festival for her performance.[citation needed]
Biel played an Iraq War veteran in the 2006 film Home of the Brave, a drama about soldiers struggling to adjust back into society after facing the hardships of war. Her performance was well-received but the movie was a commercial failure.[citation needed] After being pulled from theaters twice, it eventually went to DVD in late 2007.[citation needed] Biel and Home of the Brave co-star Samuel L. Jackson were nominated for Prism Awards for their performances.[citation needed]
Meanwhile, after a three-year absence from television, Biel returned for what was to be the series finale of 7th Heaven (the show was later unexpectedly renewed at the last minute by The CW Television Network[citation needed]). The episode had already been initially shot, but producer and creator Brenda Hampton was determined to have Biel featured in the episode, so Biel agreed to shoot her scenes during a break from filming her upcoming 2007 film Next.[citation needed]
In Next, Biel played alongside Nicolas Cage and Julianne Moore. She then played in the summer comedy, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, co-starring Adam Sandler and Kevin James. Like her earlier film, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Chuck and Larry received mixed reviews, but opened its first week at number one at the box office.[citation needed] Biel also produced and starred in a short film titled Hole in the Paper Sky, which was released in 2008.[citation needed]
Biel was invited to announce nominations at both the Golden Globe Awards (with Rosario Dawson and Matthew Perry) and the Academy Awards in 2007.[citation needed]
In late 2007, Biel signed on to play a stripper in Powder Blue, alongside Forest Whitaker (who also produced the film), Ray Liotta and Patrick Swayze.
Biel with Josh Lucas on the Stealth set.
At the start of 2008, Biel shot Easy Virtue, an adaptation of the play by Noël Coward. Like the play, the movie is set in the 1920s and Biel plays young widow Larita, who impulsively marries John Whittaker in France and must face her disapproving in-laws on returning to England. The film premiered in September 2008 at the Toronto International Film Festival.[15] Critics praised Biel for her performance, with Todd McCarthy of Variety saying Biel "more than kept up" with veterans Kristin Scott Thomas and Colin Firth and praising her "sparkling" performance.[16][17] The Hollywood Reporter described her performance as "an irresistible force of nature — a kind, witty, supremely intelligent and beautiful woman who ... is capable of rejoinders that thoroughly undercut her opponent's withering criticism."[18]
In 2009, Biel lent her voice to the animated science-fiction film Planet 51.
In April 2008, Biel began working on the political satire Nailed, with Jake Gyllenhaal. The movie centers around a woman who accidentally gets a nail lodged in her head, then travels to Washington D.C. to fight for better health care. Filming wrapped up in late June after several production shutdowns.[citation needed] She is also co-producing and starring in Die a Little, a contemporary adaptation of the novel by Megan Abbott.[citation needed] A filming start date has not been set.
[edit] Musical endeavor
Biel auditioned for the a cappella choir the Tufts Amalgamates while studying at University but was not accepted.[9]
Biel performed two songs on the Easy Virtue soundtrack, "Mad About the Boy" and "When the Going Gets Tough".
Biel performed the role of "Sarah Brown" with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in a fully-staged concert production of Guys and Dolls during the 2009 season at the Hollywood Bowl.[19][20] On the last night, she received a rousing standing ovation from 17,000 people.[4]
Biel also landed a part in Lincoln Center Theater's two-week-long workshop of the musical version of the Pedro Almodóvar classic Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, along with Salma Hayek.[4]
[edit] Charity work
Jessica Biel in 2007
On July 18, 2006, Biel participated in a charity auction to raise medical funds for Colorado teen Molly Bloom, who was injured in a limousine accident.[21] 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 The Palm restaurant in Denver, Colorado[22] on August 18, 2006.[23]
In early 2007, Jessica co-founded the Make the Difference Network[24] with her father and another business partner, Kent McBride. Make the Difference Network (MTDN) is a cause-oriented social network that connects non-profit organizations with potential donors and increases the awareness for small-to-medium non-profit organizations. MTDN's mission is to democratize giving by increasing the visibility of thousands of non-profit organizations and empowering potential donors to search, select, and fund these organizations' specific "wishes" and then to see the results of their giving.[25][26] Make the Difference Network was also featured at the 2007 Clinton Global Initiative, where they made a commitment to democratize giving through the use of a social network.[27]
In 2010, Biel climbed to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro with members of the United Nation Foundation to raise awareness of the global water crisis.[28] Also in 2010, Biel's humanitarian and charity work (as well as her popularity with young people) earned her a nomination for a Do Something Award. The awards show, produced by VH1, is dedicated to honoring people who do good and is powered by Do Something, an organization that aims to empower, celebrate, and inspire young people.[29]
[edit] Honors
[edit] Awards
1998: Young Artist Award — Best Performance in a Feature Film – Supporting Young Actress in Ulee's Gold
2005: ShoWest Award Female Star of Tomorrow — 2005 ShoWest Convention
2007: Rising-Star Award — Palm Springs International Film Festival 2007 Gala Awards
[edit] Rankings
This section is in a list format that may be better presented using prose. You can help by converting this section to prose, if appropriate. Editing help is available. (July 2010)
Ranked #99 in Stuff magazine's "102 Sexiest Women In The World" (2002).
Ranked #98 on VH1's "100 Hottest Hotties".(2003)
Esquire magazine named her the "Sexiest Woman Alive" in a 2005 six-part series, with each month revealing a different body part and clue to the woman's identity.[2]
Ranked #1 in Stuff magazine's "100 Sexiest Women" (2007).[30]
Ranked as #5 on Maxim's Hot 100 for 2007[31] and #11 on Maxim's Top 100 for 2009.[32]
Ranked #7 by AskMen.com readers in the list "Top 99 Women 2008."[10]
Ranked #4 by FHM US magazine in their 2009 list of "100 Sexiest Women".[7]
Actress Jennifer Garner praised her saying "there's an earthiness and a strength to it" that brings her beauty to another level.[4]
[edit] Personal life
Biel dated actor Adam LaVorgna from 1998 to 2001. They were co-stars in the film I'll Be Home for Christmas and on 7th Heaven.[33][34] She dated actor Chris Evans from 2001 to June 2006, and appeared opposite him in the films Cellular and London. She has also been romantically linked to actor Ryan Reynolds,[12] and baseball player Derek Jeter.[12][35][36] [37] She started dating singer Justin Timberlake in 2007, they broke up in March 2011.[38][39]
[edit] Filmography
Year↓ Title↓ Role↓ Notes
1996–
2006 7th Heaven Mary Camden Young Artist Award (Best Leading Actress) – 1998
Nominated—Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Actress 2002, 2003
1997 Ulee's Gold Casey Jackson Young Artist Award for Best Supporting Actress
1998 I'll Be Home for Christmas Allie
2001 Summer Catch Tenley Parrish
2002 The Rules of Attraction Lara Holleran
2003 The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Erin Hardesty Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Actress
MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance
2004 It's a Digital World Regrettal (voice)
2004 Cellular Chloe
2004 Blade: Trinity Abigail Whistler
2005 Stealth Lieutenant Kara Wade
2005 Elizabethtown Ellen Kishmore
2005 London London
2005 Family Guy Brooke (Voice) Episode: "Brian the Bachelor"
2006 The Illusionist Duchess Sophie von Teschen Newport Beach Film Festival Best Achievement Award
2006 Home of the Brave Vanessa Price
2007 Next Liz Cooper Nominated—Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actress
2007 I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry Alex McDonough
2008 Hole in the Paper Sky Karen Watkins Short film, also executive producer
2008 Easy Virtue Larita Whittaker
2009 Planet 51 Neera (voice)
2009 Powder Blue Rose-Johnny
2010 Valentine's Day Kara Monahan Nominated—Teen Choice Award for Hissy Fit
2010 The A-Team Capt. Charisa Sosa
2011 The Tall Man Julia Denning
2011 New Year's Eve Tess
2012 Playing the Field Stacie
2012 Total Recall Melina
2012 The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea Cindy Produced by her production company, Iron Ocean Films.
???? Nailed Alice Eckle
References from Wikipedia.com
