Jessica Claire Biel (born March 3, 1982)
is an American actress, model, and occasional singer. Biel is known for her television role as
Mary Camden in the long-running family-drama series
7th Heaven. She has
also appeared in several Hollywood films, including
Summer Catch,
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,
The Illusionist,
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, and
The A-Team.
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 the start of 2008, Biel shot
Easy Virtue, an adaptation of the play by
Noël Coward. Like the play, the movie 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 the
Toronto International Film Festival.
Critics praised Biel for her performance, with Todd McCarthy of
Variety saying Biel "more than kept up" with veterans
Kristin Scott Thomas and
Colin Firth and praising her "sparkling" performance.
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."
In 2009, Biel lent her voice to the animated science-fiction film
Planet 51.
In April 2008, Biel 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, then travels to Washington D.C. to fight for better health care. Filming wrapped up in late June after several production shutdowns.
[citation needed] She is also co-producing and starring in
Die a Little, a contemporary adaptation of the novel by Megan Abbott. A filming start date has not been set.
