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, The Illusionist and I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry. She is also known for her television role as Mary Camden in the long-running family-drama series 7th Heaven.Early life:
Jessica Claire Biel was born in Ely, Minnesota, to Kimberly Biel (née Conroe), a homemaker and spiritual healer, and Jonathan Biel, an entrepreneur and international business consultant. She has a younger brother, Justin, born in 1985. Biel has German, French, English, and Choctaw ancestry. Biel's family moved frequently during her childhood, living in Texas, Connecticut and Woodstock, Illinois, before finally settling in Boulder, Colorado.
Early work:Biel initially trained to be a vocalist, and 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.
At 12 years old, Biel attended The International Modeling and Talent Association Conference in Los Angeles, where she was discovered and signed on by a talent agency. She began doing modeling work in print ads, as well as appearing in commercials for products such as Deluxe Paint and Pringles.
Biel also played a lead role in a low-budget musical short titled It's a Digital World, but the film was never released. At age 14, after auditioning for several television pilots, Biel was cast as the oldest daughter in the family drama, 7th Heaven. The show was originally scheduled to air on Fox, but was picked up by The WB Television Network instead. 7th Heaven would go on to last for 11 seasons, making it the longest-running family drama in U.S. television history, and also became the highest-rated show on The WB.
Career:Biel landed her first feature film role, playing Peter Fonda's granddaughter in the critically-acclaimed drama Ulee's Gold, released in 1997. Her performance earned her a Young Artist Award. In spring 1998, during a break from filming 7th Heaven, Biel starred in the holiday movie I'll Be Home for Christmas, playing opposite Jonathan Taylor Thomas.
In 2000, during the fourth season of 7th Heaven, Biel commented that she grew tired of playing the wholesome preacher's kid, and blamed the show for giving her a squeaky-clean image, which caused her to lose out on a role in American Beauty (the part went to Thora Birch). In a last ditch attempt to be let out of her contract, she posed semi-nude for the cover of Gear magazine. Fans and producers of 7th Heaven were outraged, and the shoot also sparked a lot of controversy, as Biel was still under 18 at the time, but Aaron Spelling made it clear that Biel would be staying with the show until her contract was due to expire (although, she appeared in minimal episodes in season five, due to her attending college out of state). She has now claimed that she regrets the Gear shoot, but considers it a learning experience.
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, The Rules of Attraction, a film adaptation of the Bret Easton Ellis novel of the same name.
Film stardom (2003–2005):After leaving 7th Heaven at the end of the sixth season, Biel was cast as the lead heroine in the remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The film was met with mixed reviews, but became a box office success, scoring the number one spot in its opening week.
In fall 2003, Biel began working on the third installment of the Blade film series, Blade: Trinity. Almost immediately after finishing Blade Trinity in 2004, she headed to Australia to shoot the action/thriller Stealth. Part of the film was shot aboard USS Abraham Lincoln. Both movies were critical and box office failures. Stealth had a budget of $130 million, but grossed just $76 million worldwide. Biel also made a notable cameo appearance in the 2004 film Cellular, which starred her then real-life boyfriend Chris Evans.
Biel went on to audition for the role of Claire Colburn in the romantic comedy Elizabethtown, but the role was eventually given to Kirsten Dunst. Biel was instead cast as Ellen Kishmore, a smaller role. She then played in the indie flick London, opposite then-boyfriend Chris Evans.
