Jessica Claire Biel is an American actress and former model.
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.Early life
Jessica Claire 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 went to Angevine Middle School in Lafayette. She is of Choctaw, German, French, and English descent.
Early career
Jessica Claire 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.
Rise to fame (1996-2002)
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.
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.