Jessica Biel

Jessica Claire Timberlake (née Biel ; born March 3, 1982) is an American actress.

She has received various accolades, including a Young Artist Award, and nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award and two Golden Globe Awards.

Jessica Claire Biel was born on March 3, 1982 in Ely, Minnesota, to Kimberly (née Conroe), a homemaker and spiritual healer, and Jonathan Biel, a business consultant and General Electric worker.

Her paternal great-grandfather was the son of Hungarian-Jewish immigrants, which she discovered on the show Who Do You Think You Are?; she also has German, French, English, and Scandinavian ancestry.

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 and trained as a level six gymnast.

Biel began her career as a vocalist appearing in musical productions until she was cast as Mary Camden in the family drama series 7th Heaven (1996–2006), in which she achieved recognition.

In 1997, Biel won the Young Artist Award for her role in the drama film Ulee's Gold.

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.

In spring 1998, during a break from filming 7th Heaven, she co-starred in I'll Be Home for Christmas with Jonathan Taylor Thomas as his character's love interest.

From 2000 to 2002, she attended Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts.

Biel initially trained to be a vocalist.

At age nine, she appeared in several musical productions in her hometown, playing lead roles in productions such as The Sound of Music and Beauty and the Beast.

At 11 she participated in a competition sponsored by the International Modeling and Talent Association in Los Angeles where she acquired an agent and professional talent manager.

She began modeling for print advertisements and appeared in commercials for products such as Dulux Paint and Pringles.

In her film debut, Biel played the character Regrettal, a lead role in the ambitious musical film It's a Digital World, produced and directed by Paul Greenberg.

When she was 17, she posed for a risque photo shoot that appeared in the March 2000 issue of Gear.

Producers of 7th Heaven were outraged and brought legal action against Gear.

She later expressed regret for doing it, claiming she had been used and that she had been shown different pictures from those published.

In 2001, Biel played the love interest of Freddie Prinze, Jr. in the baseball-themed film Summer Catch.

Biel has since starred in such films as The Rules of Attraction (2002), Blade: Trinity (2004), Stealth (2005), The Illusionist (2006), I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry (2007), Valentine's Day (2010), The A-Team (2010), New Year's Eve (2011), Total Recall (2012), and Hitchcock (2012).

In 2002, she starred as promiscuous college student Lara in the ensemble film The Rules of Attraction, an adaptation of the Bret Easton Ellis novel.

The movie received mixed reviews, became a box-office hit, and has since gained a cult following.

Biel was cast in her first top-billing role in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

She received further recognition for her lead role as Erin Hardesty in the horror film The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003).

Although the film met with negative reviews, 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. In 2003, Biel began work on the third installment of the Blade film series, Blade: Trinity.

Despite negative reviews, Trinity was a box office hit, grossing $150 million worldwide.

After finishing it in 2004, she headed to Australia to shoot the action-thriller Stealth.

Biel also appeared in the 2004 film Cellular; played a supporting role, Ellen, in the romantic comedy Elizabethtown (2005); and starred in the indie film London.

In 2005, Esquire named her the "Sexiest Woman Alive" in a six-part series with each month revealing a different body part and clue to the woman's identity.

In 2006, Biel played a turn-of-the-century duchess in the period piece The Illusionist, co-starring Edward Norton and Paul Giamatti.

While her casting was met with a mixed response, her performance was ultimately praised.

James Berardinelli of Reelviews called her the "film's real acting revelation", while Todd McCarthy of Variety wrote, "Handily employing a refined English accent where the others lay on a light Austrian veneer, Biel is entirely stunning enough to fight to the death over."

Biel played an Iraq War veteran in the 2006 film Home of the Brave, a drama about soldiers struggling to readjust to society after facing the hardships of war.

In Next Biel starred alongside Nicolas Cage and Julianne Moore.

She appeared in the summer comedy I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, co-starring Adam Sandler and Kevin James.

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.

At age 14, after auditioning for several television pilots, Biel was cast as Mary Camden, the oldest daughter and second-oldest child in the family drama 7th Heaven.

In 2017, Biel was the executive producer and star of the USA Network limited drama series The Sinner, for which she received nominations for a Golden Globe Award and a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie.