JESSICA BIEL
Date of Birth: March 3, 1982
Born in Minnesota, Biel was raised with her brother Justin in Boulder, Colorado. With a talent for music, Biel first began performing professionally on stage at the age of nine in productions such as Annie, The Sound of Music and Beauty and the Beast.
The natural beauty turned to modeling and commercial work while in her teens. She won a scholarship to the Young Actor's Space in Los Angeles after competing in the International Modeling and Talent Association's
Annual Conference in 1994. It was at this convention that she first garnered notice. Two years later she landed her most famed role as Mary Camden in the television drama 7th Heaven.
The highly successful show provided Biel with an enormous amount of exposure and fan base, but after several years Biel began having difficulties with her ties to the show. Despite roles in Ulee's Gold (1997) and I'll Be Home for Christmas (1998), she felt her contract prevented her from getting the film roles she wanted when she was passed up for the part of Jane in American Beauty. She then posed semi-naked in Gear magazine in March 2000, in hopes the show would release her from her contract.
She was let out of her 7th Heaven contract in 2002, but when her film career didn't take off quite as quickly as she hoped, she returned as a guest on the series. However, she finally made the leap to the big screen with roles in films such as Blade: Trinity (2004), The Illusionist (2006) and The A-Team (2010).
In 2005, Biel was voted "Sexiest Woman Alive" by Esquire magazine, ranked No. 18 on Maxim magazine's "Hot 100 of 2005" and No. 21 in FHM's "100 Sexiest Women in the World 2005."
An animal lover, she donates her time to PETA and Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking with her dog. Other activities include jogging and yoga. She makes her home in the Los Angeles area.