Jessica Biel: Biography
Biel was born in Ely, Minnesota and raised in Boulder, Colorado. She began her career in teen model prints after being discovered at the 1994 IMTA Convention, and has struggled to break out of the confines of the ‘good girl’ persona. Her breakthrough came when she was cast in Aaron Spelling’s WB production, “7th Heaven” as Mary Camden. Although she gained considerable attention for her work on the show, she became increasingly frustrated with her role, blaming her saintly image for the loss of a leading role in American Beauty to Thora Birch.
Despite a leading role in the acclaimed Ulee’s Gold, Biel felt limited by her TV character and attempted to get out of her contract. When the producers refused, Biel turned to Gear Magazine where she posed nude; the controversial cover and photo spread resulted in her being fired from the television series. However this rash move did little to help her film career and she has continued to appear frequently on 7th Heaven as a guest character. She has been unable to achieve starring roles but did recently appear in Rules of Attraction which received positive reaction from the critics.