Jessica Claire Timberlake (néeBiel/biːl/; born March 3, 1982) is an American actress. Biel began her career as a vocalist appearing in musical productions until she was cast asMary Camden in the family drama series7th Heaven (1996–2007).[2]
Biel family in 2008; left to right: Justin, Jessica, Kimberly, and Jonathan Biel
Jessica Claire Biel was born on March 3, 1982[6][7] inEly, Minnesota, to Kimberly (née Conroe), a homemaker and spiritual healer, and Jonathan Biel, a business consultant andGeneral Electric worker.[8][9] Her paternal great-grandfather was the son ofHungarian Jewish immigrants, which she discovered on the showWho Do You Think You Are?;[10][11] she also has German, French, English, and Scandinavian ancestry.[12][13]
Biel initially trained to be a vocalist.[16] At age nine, she appeared in several musical productions in her hometown, playing lead roles in productions such asThe Sound of Music andBeauty and the Beast.[17] At 11 she participated in a competition sponsored by theInternational Modeling and Talent Association in Los Angeles where she acquired an agent and professional talent manager.[18] She began modeling for print advertisements and appeared in commercials for products such asDulux Paint andPringles.[8] In her film debut, Biel played the character Regrettal, a lead role in the ambitious musical filmIt's a Digital World, produced and directed byPaul Greenberg. At age 14, after auditioning for several television pilots, Biel was cast asMary Camden, the oldest daughter and second-oldest child in the family drama7th Heaven.[18]
Biel landed her first feature film role asPeter Fonda's granddaughter in the critically acclaimed dramaUlee's Gold, released in 1997. Her performance earned her aYoung Artist Award.[19] In spring 1998, during a break from filming7th Heaven, she co-starred inI'll Be Home for Christmas withJonathan Taylor Thomas as his character's love interest.[17] When she was 17, she posed for a risque photo shoot that appeared in the March 2000 issue ofGear. Producers of7th Heaven were outraged and brought legal action againstGear.[17] She later expressed regret for doing it, claiming she had been used and that she had been shown different pictures from those published.[20] In 2001, Biel played the love interest ofFreddie Prinze, Jr. in the baseball-themed filmSummer Catch. In 2002, she starred aspromiscuous college student Lara in the ensemble filmThe Rules of Attraction, an adaptation of theBret Easton Ellisnovel. The movie received mixed reviews, became a box-office hit, and has since gained a cult following.[21][22]
Biel was cast in her first top-billing role inThe Texas Chainsaw Massacre.[23] 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.[23][24] In 2003, Biel began work on the third installment of theBlade film series,Blade: Trinity. Despite negative reviews,Trinity was a box office hit, grossing $150 million worldwide.[25] After finishing it in 2004, she headed to Australia to shoot the action-thrillerStealth.[26] Biel also appeared in the 2004 filmCellular; played a supporting role, Ellen, in theromantic comedyElizabethtown (2005); and starred in theindie filmLondon. 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.[8]
At the start of 2008, Biel shotEasy Virtue, an adaptation of the play byNoël Coward. Like the play, the film is set in the 1920s and Biel plays young widow Larita, who impulsively marries John Whittaker in France and must face her disapproving in-laws on returning to England. The film premiered in September 2008 at theToronto International Film Festival.[30] Critics praised Biel for her performance, withTodd McCarthy ofVariety saying Biel "more than kept up" with veteransKristin Scott Thomas andColin Firth and praising her "sparkling" performance.[31][32]The Hollywood Reporter described her performance as "an irresistible force of nature — a kind, witty, supremely intelligent and beautiful woman who ... is capable of rejoinders that thoroughly undercut her opponent's withering criticism."[33] Biel also performed two songs on the film's soundtrack, "Mad About the Boy" and "When the Going Gets Tough".[citation needed]
Biel starred in the thriller filmEmanuel and the Truth About Fishes, which premiered at theSundance Film Festival on January 18, 2013.[38] In April 2008, Biel began working on the political satireAccidental Love, withJake Gyllenhaal. The film centers around a woman who accidentally gets a nail lodged in her head and travels to Washington, D.C. to fight for better health care. In May 2009, Biel spoke about the film's production turmoil, saying: "That was definitely an experience, something I could not say no to. I am a huge David O. Russell fan. It's just heartbreaking that so many people put so much work into this particular project only to have it sit there, unfinished."[39] The film was released onvideo on demand on February 10, 2015,[40] and received largely negative reviews from critics.[41]
In 2015, Biel starred in the independent dramaBleeding Heart, in which she plays a yoga instructor named May who meets her biological sister Shiva (Zosia Mamet), a sex worker, for the first time.[42] The film premiered on April 17, 2015, at theTribeca Film Festival, receiving mixed reviews, though Biel earned praise for her performance. Richard Lawson ofVanity Fair commented: "Though she's not given too much to work with in terms of character, Biel plays May with appealing nuance, creating a low-key, bliss-based Angeleno, all light and airy and gentle and poised, who discovers within herself an untapped hardness and anger and strength... when Biel has to conjure up more profound emotions, she proves adept, and surprisingly subtle."[43] Clayton Davis ofAwardsCircuit.com also praised her performance, writing, "With an internalized and very subtle performance, Biel excels in her ability to find the very motivation of May."[44]
On August 2, 2017, Biel's eight-episode limited series murder mystery,The Sinner, debuted onUSA Network. Biel is both executive producer and played the series' lead character Cora Tannetti. She stated that she moved into production so that she could develop projects with challenging and interesting roles rather than waiting for them to happen.[49]
Biel starred in and executive produced the 2022 true-crime drama miniseriesCandy onHulu.[50]
Biel is set to lead the upcoming sci-fi thrillerUrsa Major directed by brothers Jonathan and Josh Baker.[51]
In May 2025, Biel was announced as one of the executive producers on the7th Heaven reboot in development atCBS Studios.[52]
AlongsideRobert F. Kennedy Jr., Biel publicly lobbied in June 2019 against California's vaccination bill that would limit medical exemptions from vaccinations without approval from a state public health officer.[59][60][61]
Charitable causes and commercial enterprises
On July 18, 2006, Biel participated in a charity auction to raise medical funds for teen Molly Bloom, who was injured in a limousine accident.[62] "I promise I'm a cheap date", Biel quipped in a pre-recorded video. John Schiffner ofFergus Falls, Minnesota, successfully bid $30,000 to have lunch with Biel. Biel and Schiffner lunched atThe Palm restaurant inDenver,Colorado, on August 18, 2006.[63]
In early 2007, Biel co-founded the Make the Difference Network with her father and another business partner, Kent McBride.[64]
Biel teamed with nonprofit health care organization WomanCare Global to develop content that will provide girls with sex education.[67]
In 2021, Biel teamed up with Jeremy Adams, a natural products entrepreneur, and co-founder Greg Willsey, to launch Kinderfarms, a health and wellness brand for families.[68]
^Certain award groups do not simply award one winner. They acknowledge several different recipients, have runners-up, and have third place. Since this is a specific recognition and is different from losing an award, runner-up mentions are considered wins in this award tally. For simplification and to avoid errors, each award in this list has been presumed to have had a prior nomination.
^abHirschberg, Lynn (April 2012)."The Biel Appeal".W. New York City. pp. 98–103. Archived fromthe original on August 11, 2014. RetrievedAugust 4, 2014.
^"Young Artist Award winners".The Times of India. Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. 2011.Archived from the original on April 23, 2012. RetrievedAugust 2, 2012.
^Bonin, Liane (August 24, 2001)."Jessica Biel regrets her racy photo shoot".Entertainment Weekly. New York City.Archived from the original on September 3, 2016. RetrievedAugust 31, 2016.First of all, I wasn't happy with those pictures either. I saw pictures that were different from the ones that ran in the magazine. We thought the layout was going to be much more subdued... So I was shocked and my family was heartbroken about the pictures that ran... That photo shoot was just a really bad decision on my part and I got myself involved with people who weren't thinking about me and were instead thinking about what kind of a story they could get out of it.
^abStein, Adam (June 2007)."The Summer of Jessica Biel".GQ: 2.Archived from the original on November 5, 2014. RetrievedSeptember 9, 2017.Then, in February, she grabbed the tabloid brass ring for reportedly nabbing the world's most eligible bachelor, Justin Timberlake. The couple announced in March 2011 when they officially split, following a brief ski trip to Telluride, Colorado.
^Candler, TC (January 25, 2006)."Jessica Biel. A Revealing Interview".independentcritics.com. Archived fromthe original on February 18, 2006.I went home for one day, unpacked, repacked and went to Australia.
^"Biel Beats Johansson in Sexy Women Poll".Hollywood.com. April 3, 2007. Archived fromthe original on May 9, 2007. RetrievedJune 13, 2010.Both actresses were romantically linked to Justin Timberlake during the beginning of 2007
^McCarthy, Todd (September 10, 2008)."Easy Virtue Movie Review From The Toronto Film Festival".Variety. Los Angeles, California.For several years it has been clear that Biel is one of the great, beautiful babes of her generation. But if her abilities as a spirited, sharp-witted comedienne with a smart sense of timing had not frequently been demonstrated, it's only because she had seldom been asked to display them.
