Rachel Bilson

Rachel Bilson

Bilson on the set of Jumper, November 2006.
Born Rachel Sarah Bilson
August 25, 1981 (1981-08-25) (age 29)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation Actress
Years active 2003–present
Height 5

Rachel Sarah Bilson (born August 25, 1981) is an American actress. Bilson grew up in a California show business family, and made her television debut in 2003, subsequently becoming well-known for playing Summer Roberts on the prime time drama series The O.C. Bilson made her film debut in the 2006 film The Last Kiss and starred in the 2008 action/sci-fi film Jumper.

Contents

Early life

Bilson was born in Los Angeles, the daughter of Janice (née Stango), a sex therapist, and Danny Bilson, a writer/director/producer.[1] Bilson's father is Jewish and her mother, a native of Philadelphia, is Italian American.[2][3] Bilson's father comes from a show business family; her great-grandfather, George Bilson, (born in Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK) was the head of the trailer department at RKO Pictures, her Brooklyn-born great-grandmother, Hattie Bilson, was a screenwriter, and her grandfather, Bruce Bilson, is a film director.[2][4] Bilson's parents divorced during her childhood, and in 1997, her father remarried Heather Medway, an actress and the mother of Bilson's half-sisters Hattie and Rosemary.

Bilson has been noted as having a "self-destructive, rebellious period" during her teen years.[5] When she was 14, she and a group of her brother's friends were involved in a car accident, a head-on collision with another car.[6] As a result, Bilson was unconscious for a few days, has a scar above her right eye, and sometimes suffers from migraines and memory loss.[7] She has stated that the experience "changed" her,[6] encouraging her to "stop... getting into trouble"[4] and stopping her from "going down that road".[6] Bilson graduated from Walter Reed Middle School in 1995 and from Notre Dame High School in 1999. During her time at Notre Dame, she appeared in productions of Bye Bye Birdie, Once Upon a Mattress and The Crucible.[8]

Career

Bilson attended Grossmont College in a suburb of San Diego, but dropped out after one year,[9] taking her father's advice to pursue a professional acting career[4] and making several appearances in commercials, including advertisements for Subway restaurants, Raisin Bran and Pepto-Bismol.[4] She made her screen acting debut in early 2003, appearing in episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter. Bilson was subsequently cast in The O.C., which debuted in August 2003. Her character, Summer Roberts, was initially intended to appear in only a few episodes, but became a series regular after a successful run, as Bilson's on-screen romance with Seth Cohen (Adam Brody) became a noted aspect of the series.[9]

As a result of the success of The O.C., Bilson has become well-known among teenage audiences. At the 2005 Teen Choice Awards, Bilson collected three awards: "Choice Hottie Female", "Choice TV Actress (Drama)" and "Best Onscreen TV Chemistry" (jointly won with Adam Brody).[10] In 2005, Maxim magazine named her sixth in their annual "Hot 100 List";[11] in 2006, the publication awarded her #14.[12] The UK edition of FHM Magazine named her 28th in the 2006 100 Sexiest Women in the World list,[13] while the US Edition Ranked her 77th in 2005.[14] Bilson was also named one of People magazine's "100 Most Beautiful People" in 2006.[15] In January 2008, radio host Howard Stern named her the "hottest chick in Hollywood."[16]

Bilson's first film role was in The Last Kiss, a romantic comedy-drama also starring Zach Braff. In the film, which opened in 2006, she plays a college student who seduces Braff's character. It was reported that she called for a body double during the sex scenes because she was uncomfortable being nude in front of the camera. She does appear in the scene for the final film, wearing a flesh-colored bra. "I was terrified!" she admitted. "But Zach really helped me through it, and we're friends, so he made it very comfortable, and Tony made it very comfortable, and it was actually a really nice setting. And I'm happy I did it, because I can say I did my first sex scene, and I never have to do that again!"[17] One review of the film noted that Bilson played the role with "surprising depth",[18] although another critic described her role as "Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction as an airhead valley girl with a hot bod".[19]

Bilson has stated that she prefers acting in feature films to appearing on television, and that she would like the kind of roles "that Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson are offered".[9] She has specified that though she is "grateful" for the success of The O.C.,[20] she feels that the show "is over" and that she is "ready to move on" to film roles.[21] In September 2006, unconfirmed reports surfaced that Bilson was linked to star in a film version of the comic book character Wonder Woman;[22] Bilson has stated that these reports were untrue.[23]

In late 2006, Bilson was cast in the role of Millie in Doug Liman's thriller Jumper, as the replacement for actress Teresa Palmer; the film was released on February 14, 2008.[24] She also appeared in a two-episode arc on The O.C. creator Josh Schwartz's NBC comedy, Chuck,[25] and in the film New York, I Love You, and appeared in the 100th episode of How I Met Your Mother ("Girls Versus Suits") as Ted Mosby's latest love interest.[26] In September 2008 she started shooting the indie romantic film Waiting for Forever, directed by James Keach.[27]. In September 2009, Rachel appeared as a celebrity guest judge in the third episode of Project Runway (season 6) [28]. In that same episode, she states about her height saying,"I'm only 5'2" [29]."

Personal life

Bilson and Hayden Christensen met on the set of Jumper in 2007 and became engaged in 2008.[30] In June 2010, US Weekly reported that they have split up.[31][32] In August 2010, her rep confirmed that the couple's engagement was off.[33] She and Adam Brody, her co-star on The O.C., dated for three years. Their relationship ended in 2006.[34]

Bilson has been recognized by several media sources as being a "fashion junkie".[35][36][37] She has described herself as having a "vintage" sense of style, and noted Kate Moss and Diane Keaton as inspirations.[37] Her clothes often have a "boho" feel to them. She approached DKNY Jeans in late 2007 with a view to design a clothing line with the popular fashion brand.[38] Together they created Edie Rose. The collection was launched in September 2008. It consisted of mainly black and white separates with a splash of yellow that could easily work with an existing wardrobe. Her idea was to keep fashionable items accessible to young women by keeping the prices of each piece under $100.[39] An advertising image was released in July 2008 which featured Bilson modelling her Edie Rose collection.[40] Of her line, she said in an interview with Teen Vogue that "I wanted to keep it as separate as possible from Rachel Bilson the actress. I'm hoping people will appreciate it for the clothes, not the person behind them."[41] Much of her fashion collection was lost when her home was burglarized in May 2009.[42] Before appearing in Maxim, Bilson had turned down requests to appear seminude in men's magazines, specifying that she feels that her body "is sacred" and "not there for the whole world to see".[43]

Bilson's fashions and sense of style made her the unwitting target of the Bling Ring, who burglarized her home on several occasions.[44][45]

Filmography

Film
Year Film Role Notes
2006 The Last Kiss Kim
2008 Jumper Millie Harris
2009 New York, I Love You Molly Snow
2010 Waiting For Forever Emma Twist Post-production
Television
Year Title Role Notes
2003 8 Simple Rules Jenny Episode: "Career Choices"
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Colleen Episode: "Dirty Girls"
The O.C. Summer Roberts 2003-2007 (92 episodes)
2004 That '70s Show Christy Episode: "5:15"
2007 Chuck Lou Palone 2 episodes
2010 How I Met Your Mother Cindy Episode: "Girls Versus Suits"

References

  1. ↑ Silverman, Stephen M (2007-02-22). "Rachel Bilson: My mama Gave Me Advice". People. http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20012533,00.html. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Spencer, Amy (2008-09-07). "Rachel Bilson‘s Divine Inspiration". NY Post. http://www.nypost.com/pagesixmag/issues/20080907/Rachel+Bilsons+Divine+Inspiration. Retrieved 2008-09-09. 
  3. ↑ Gensler, Howard (2006-09-11). "It's star- and navel-gazing at this year's fest". Philadelphia Daily News. http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/15489977.htm. Retrieved 2007-01-20. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Bried, Erin (May 2006). "Just beachy". Self (magazine): 36–38. 
  5. ↑ "Rachel Bilson's car crash wake up". Monsters and Critics. 2006-09-20. http://people.monstersandcritics.com/article_1209882.php/Bilsons_car_crash_wake_up. Retrieved 2007-01-20. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Bilson Relives Car Crash Terror". Teen Hollywood. 2006-10-10. http://www.teenhollywood.com/d.asp?r=134025&c=1055. Retrieved 2007-01-20. 
  7. ↑ Williams, Lowri (2005-05-05). "'The OC's Rachel Bilson Reveals Her Near Death Experience". EntertainmentWise. http://www.entertainmentwise.com/news?id=16737. Retrieved 2007-01-20. 
  8. ↑ "Bilson Backed schoolmate McPhee During American Idol". Contact Music. 2006-07-09. http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/article/bilson%20backed%20schoolmate%20mcphee%20during%20american%20idol_1007605. Retrieved 2007-01-20. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 O'Toole, Lesley (2006-10-31). "Rachel Bilson: She's the one". The Independent. http://news.independent.co.uk/people/profiles/article1943630.ece. Retrieved 2007-01-20. 
  10. ↑ AP (2005-08-15). "Teen Choice awards". TheAge.com. http://www.theage.com.au/news/film/teen-choice-awards/2005/08/15/1123957997282.html. Retrieved 2007-01-20. 
  11. ↑ Maxim (2005-05-10). "Maxim Magazine Unveils Their "Hot 100" for 2005; Eva Longoria Crowned #1 This Year". Press release. http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20050510005399/en. Retrieved 2007-01-20. 
  12. ↑ Maxim (2005-05-15). "Maxim Magazine Unveils Their 'Hot 100' for 2006". Press release. http://www2.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/05-15-2006/0004361818&EDATE=. Retrieved 2007-01-20. 
  13. ↑ "FHM 100 Sexiest Women in the World 2006". MyKensington.co.uk. 2006. Archived from the original on January 18, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070118184447/http://www.mykensington.co.uk/kensington/celebs-fhm-women.htm. Retrieved 2007-01-20. 
  14. ↑ "FHM 100 Sexiest Women 2005". FreeJose.com. 2005. http://www.freejose.com/lists/fhm/2005/. Retrieved 2007-01-20. 
  15. ↑ "RACHEL BILSON". People Magazine. 2006. http://www.people.com/people/gallery/0,26335,1184666_1185920_13,00.html. Retrieved 2007-01-20. 
  16. ↑ "Stern Show News". Marksfriggin.com. http://www.marksfriggin.com/news08/1-21.htm#tue. Retrieved 2008-10-25. 
  17. ↑ "Rachel Bilson gets sexy in "The Last Kiss"". chinadaily. 2006-09-15. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/entertainment/2006-09/15/content_689681.htm. Retrieved 2009-06-16. 
  18. ↑ Wang, Li (2006-09-15). "Goofy Braff gets serious for mature take on modern relationships". PennLive.com. http://www.pennlive.com/entertainment/patriotnews/index.ssf?/base/entertainment/1158112527185230.xml&coll=1. Retrieved 2007-01-20. 
  19. ↑ Verniere, James (2006-09-15). "Boys don’t cry". The Boston Herald. http://theedge.bostonherald.com/movieReviews/view.bg?articleid=157537. Retrieved 2007-01-20. 
  20. ↑ Murillo, Kathy Cano (2005-09-13). "Q&A: Rachel Bilson". The Arizona Republic. http://www.azcentral.com/ent/movies/articles/0913bilson0913.html. Retrieved 2007-01-20. 
  21. ↑ Cribb, David (2006-09-12). "Rachel Bilson to quit 'The O.C.'?". Digital Spy. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/a36985/rachel-bilson-to-quit-the-oc.html. Retrieved 2007-01-20. 
  22. ↑ Gough, Bob (2006-09-14). "Report: Rachel Bilson Cast as Wonder Woman". ComicBookMovie.com. http://www.comicbookmovie.com/news/articles/2977.asp. Retrieved 2007-01-20. 
  23. ↑ Bilson mentioned that she has not been cast in the role on Jimmy Kimmel Live, 9/15/06
  24. ↑ Tyler, Josh (2006-10-16). "Rachel Bilson Is A Jumper". Cinema Blend. http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Rachel-Bilson-Is-A-Jumper-3635.html. Retrieved 2007-01-20. 
  25. ↑ NBC (2007-09-13). "Rachel Bilson ('The O.C.') to guest-star as potential love interest in multi-episode arc on NBC's new action-comedy series 'Chuck'". Press release. http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=20070913nbc01. Retrieved 2008-02-01. 
  26. ↑ Joyce Eng (02 October 2009). "Rachel Bilson Appearing on How I Met Your Mother — As the Mother?". TVGuide.com. http://www.tvguide.com/News/Rachel-Bilson-Met-1010443.aspx. Retrieved 2009-10-02. 
  27. ↑ Waiting For Forever at the Internet Movie Database
  28. ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Runway_%28season_6%29
  29. ↑ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1377375/bio
  30. ↑ Rachel Bilson and Hayden Christensen are engaged. Accessed 2009-04-20.
  31. ↑ "Engaged Rachel Bilson, Hayden Christensen "Taking a Break"". US Weekly. http://www.usmagazine.com/healthylifestyle/news/engaged-rachel-bilson-hayden-christensen-taking-a-break-1970241. Retrieved 2010-06-18. 
  32. ↑ "Rachel Bilson 'taking a break' from fiance Hayden Christensen". New York Post. http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/rachel_bilson_taking_break_from_1wDi3FR5FjaSuqIBdoXNFP. Retrieved 2010-06-18. 
  33. ↑ Shira, Dahvi (August 9, 2010). "Hayden Christensen & Rachel Bilson Call Off Engagement". People.com. http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20408970,00.html. Retrieved August 10, 2010. 
  34. ↑ Rachel Bilson and Adam Brody split. Accessed 2009-11-15.
  35. ↑ Pearson, Ryan (2006-09-20). "Rachel Bilson, fashion junkie". PE.com. http://www.pe.com/entertainment/stories/PE_Fea_Ent_D_movie.bilsson.23a970b.html. Retrieved 2007-01-20. 
  36. ↑ Fischer, Paul (2006-08-22). "Interview: Rachel Bilson "The Last Kiss"". Dark Horizons. http://www.darkhorizons.com/news06/bilson.php. Retrieved 2007-01-20. 
  37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 Guest (October 2006). "Rachel Bilson The Last Kiss Q&A". FutureMovies. http://www.futuremovies.co.uk/filmmaking.asp?ID=185. Retrieved 2007-01-20. 
  38. ↑ "Rachel Bilson to design Edie Rose collection for DKNY Jeans". Sassybella.com. 2008-03-13. http://www.sassybella.com/index.php/2008/03/13/rachel-bilson-to-design-edie-rose-collection-for-dkny-jeans/. Retrieved 2008-10-25. 
  39. ↑ "Rachel Bilson Launches Edie Rose For DKNY Jeans". accesshollywood.com. http://www.accesshollywood.com/rachel-bilson/rachel-bilson-launches-edie-rose-for-dkny-jeans_video_738481. 
  40. ↑ "Rachel Bilson models her Edie Rose line for DKNY Jeans". Sassybella.com. 2008-03-13. http://www.sassybella.com/index.php/2008/07/21/rachel-bilson-models-her-edie-rose-line-for-dkny-jeans/. Retrieved 2008-10-25. 
  41. ↑ Rachel Bilson Edie Rose Interview. Accessed 2009-04-10.
  42. ↑ Rachel Bilson's L.A. Home Is Burglarized
  43. ↑ "Rachel Bilson Believes Her Body Is Sacred & Only for Boyfriend To See". StarPulse.com. 2006-10-10. http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2006/10/10/rachel_bilson_believes_her_body_is_sacre. Retrieved 2007-01-20. 
  44. ↑ ABC News: "Exclusive: Inside Hollywood's 'Bling Ring'" page 1
  45. ↑ Vanity Fair: "The Suspects Wore Louboutins" Page 4

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