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Jessica Biel

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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, The Illusionist, and I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, and is also well known for her television role as Mary Camden in the long-running family-drama series 7th Heaven.

Early life
Born Jessica Claire Biel on March 3, 1982 in Ely, Minnesota, to Kimberly Biel (née Conroe) a homemaker, and Jon Biel, an entrepreneur. She has a younger brother, Justin, born in 1985.

Although she was born in Minnesota, her family moved a lot during her childhood, living in Texas, Illinois and Connecticut, before finally settling in Boulder, Colorado, which she calls home.

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Early career
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, she attended The International Modeling and Talent Association Conference in Los Angeles, where she was discovered and signed on by an agency and began doing modeling work in print ads, as well as appearing in commercials for products such as Deluxe Paint and Pringles.

She also played a lead role in a low-budget musical short titled It's a Digital World, but the film was never released.

Rise to fame (1996-2002)
After auditioning for several television pilots, at 14 she was cast as the oldest daughter in a new family drama, 7th Heaven, the show was originally scheduled to air on FOX, but was picked up by The WB Network instead. 7th Heaven would go on to last for 11 seasons, making it the longest-running family drama in television history, and also became the highest-rated show on The WB.

That same year she also landed her first feature film role, playing Peter Fonda's granddaughter in the critically acclaimed drama Ulee's Gold, released in 1997. Her performance as the gothic, rebellious teenager earned her a Young Artist Award.

During a break from filming 7th Heaven, in spring 1998, she shot the holiday movie I'll Be Home for Christmas, playing opposite Jonathan Taylor Thomas.

In 2000, during the 4th 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 cost her to lose out on a role in American Beauty, the part later went to Thora Birch. In a last ditched attempt to be let out of her contract, she posed semi-nude for the cover of Gear magazine. Fans and the producers were outraged, and the shoot also sparked a lot of controversy, as Biel was still a minor 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 5, 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 she 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.

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Film stardom (2003-2005)

Biel aboard USS Abraham Lincoln, June 15, 2004 on Stealth set.After leaving 7th Heaven at the end of the sixth season, she 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 1 spot within the first week of opening.

In fall 2003 she began working on the third installment of the Blade series, Blade Trinity. Almost immediately after finishing Blade, in 2004 she headed to Australia to shoot the action/thriller Stealth. Both movies were critical and box office failures, Stealth being considered one of the biggest bombs of all time, with a budget of $130 million and gross of just $76 million worldwide. She also made a notable cameo appearance in Cellular, toplined by her then real-life boyfriend Chris Evans.

Afterward, she auditioned for the role of Claire Colburn in the romantic comedy Elizabethtown, the role was eventually given to Kirsten Dunst but Biel was cast in the smaller role, Ellen Kishmore. She then played in the indie flick London, again, opposite then boyfriend Chris Evans.

Breakthrough (2006-present)

Biel at the Palm Springs Film Festival in January 2007Her film career blossomed when she played a turn-of-the-Century duchess in the period mystery drama, 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. She was awarded the Rising Star Award at the Palm Springs International Film Festival and won an Achievement Award at the Newport Beach Film Festival for her performance.

Meanwhile, after a 3 year absence, Biel surprised fans by returning for the what was the be the series finale of 7th Heaven. The episode had already been shot, but producer and creator Brenda Hampton was determined to have Biel featured in the episode, so Biel agreed to film her scenes during a break from filming her upcoming movie Next. The show, however, was unexpectedly renewed at the last minute by The CW. Biel has made no appearances since then, stating she is more interested in focusing on her movie career.

She next played an Iraq war veteran in Home of the Brave, a drama about soldiers struggling to adjust back into society after facing the hardships of war. Biel's performance was well-received, but the movie was a commercial failure, after being pulled from theaters twice, it eventually went straight to DVD in late 2007.

She started off 2007 being invited to present at both the Golden Globe Awards (she also announced the nominations along with Rosario Dawson and Matthew Perry), and the Oscars. She and Home of the Brave co-star Samuel L. Jackson were nominated for Prism Awards for their performances. She also produced and starred in a short film titled Hole in the Paper Sky, which is currently showing at film festivals around the country.

Her first movie of 2007 was Next, a sci-fi thriller, playing alongside Nicolas Cage and Julianne Moore. Biel then played in the summer comedy, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry co-starring opposite Adam Sandler and Kevin James. Like her earlier film The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Chuck and Larry received mixed reviews but went straight to number 1 at the box-office.

Jessica Biel signed on for her grittiest role to date, as a stripper, in late 2007, n the yet to be released Powder Blue. She will be playing alongside Forest Whitaker, who also produced the film, Ray Liotta, and Patrick Swayze.

At the start of 2008, Biel flew to England to shoot Easy Virtue, an adaptation of the play by Noel Coward. Like the play, the movie is set in the 1920s and Biel plays divorcee Larita, who marries John Whittaker on the spur-of-the-moment in France, but must face her disapproving in-laws when they return to England. The film will premiere in September 2008 at the Toronto International Film Festival.

In April, she 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 causing her to become a nymphomaniac. Filming finally wrapped in late June after several production shut downs, and is also due to be released in 2009.

She has a few other movies in the pipeline, including the animated sci-fi Planet 51, to which Biel is lending her voice. She is also co-producing and starring in Die a Little, a contemporary adaptation of the novel by Megan Abbott. A start date for filming has not yet been set.

Personal life

Biel at Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego Bay, July 17, 2005Biel was educated by a private tutor on set of 7th Heaven, but attended mainstream school for her last year of high school. She graduated from the exclusive Lycée Français de Los Angeles in Los Angeles. In fall 2000 she enrolled at Tufts University in Massachusetts, and took classes there for 3 semesters, but she left to return to work on 7th Heaven full-time. She has said that she would like to return to college someday and complete her degree.

Biel's hobbies include yoga, soccer and running, she also mentions she goes to the gym 3 times a week. She currently resides in the Brentwood area of West Los Angeles.

Charity work
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 early 2007, Jessica co-founded Make the Difference Network (www.mtdn.com) with her father, Jon Biel, and another business partner, Kent McBride. Make The Difference Network (MTDN) is a cause-oriented social network that connects nonprofit organizations with potential donors and increases the awareness for small-to-medium nonprofit organizations. MTDN's misson is to democratize giving by increasing the visibility of thousands of nonprofit organizations and empowering potential donors to search, select and fund these organizations’ specific “Wishes” and then to see the results of their giving. 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.

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