Jessica Lee Rose

Jessica Lee Rose

Rose at the 1st Streamy Awards.
Born April 26, 1987
Salisbury, Maryland, U.S.
Occupation Actress
Years active 2006–present

Jessica Lee Rose (born April 26, 1987) is an American-New Zealand actress who first gained popularity after playing the role of lonelygirl15.

In June 2006, Rose debuted as lonelygirl15, a fictional teenage homeschooled character named Bree who appeared in many video blogs on the popular video-sharing website YouTube.[1] The mystery surrounding the possible fictionality of her character led to an outing by the Los Angeles Times which thrust her into the mainstream spotlight. In 2007, Rose won a Webby for this role.

After Bree was killed off in lonelygirl15 in August 2007, Rose played "Jen K." on ABC Family's Greek. She went on to appear in various movies, such as Perfect Sport and SyFy's Ghost Town, and other web series, such as Hooking Up and Sorority Forever. She signed on to do the independent movie Look At Me with her Lonelygirl15 co-star Yousef Abu Taleb in March 2010.

Early life

Rose was born in Salisbury, Maryland and moved to Mount Maunganui, Bay of Plenty in New Zealand when she was eight.[1] She attended Mount Maunganui College in 2000–2003 for part of her secondary school education. Afterward she attended an acting class at Studio 111 in Auckland.[2] In January 2004, she moved to Auckland to study at the Academy of Film and Television Make Up.[3]

During the course of her studies, Rose's film career included doing make-up and costume work on a New Zealand short film titled Us,[4] as well as doing extras' make-up on the set of Peter Jackson's King Kong.[5] She played a leading role in a short film titled Dearly Beloved[6] and played a supporting role in the short film Unleash the Fury.[7]

After Rose's parents separated, she returned to Salisbury in May 2005[1] to live with her father. She then enrolled in the New York Film Academy (NYFA) at Universal Studios in Universal City, California.[6] In her search for acting jobs, she found a listing for an independent film project The Children of Anchor Cove on Craigslist.[1] She auditioned for the lead part and was offered the role of Bree. Rose signed a non-disclosure agreement and was told that the project would consist of a series of videos released to the World Wide Web over the Internet.[1] The idea concerned her at first, as she was afraid the project was pornography,[8] but she was convinced otherwise and agreed to partake. Although initially unpaid, as lonelygirl15 grew popular, she and co-star Yousef Abu-Taleb received salaries.[8]

YouTube fame

Screen capture of Jessica Lee Rose playing Bree from lonelygirl15
Main article: lonelygirl15

The lonelygirl15 video blogs, which first appeared in mid-2006, featured Rose as a 16-year-old girl named Bree posting under the alias lonelygirl15. The videos, which seemed genuine and presented lonelygirl15 as an actual person, initially dealt with typical teenage angst issues but soon after introduced a bizarre narrative surrounding secret occult practices within her family. The series was an immediate hit and became the most subscribed channel on YouTube[9] but suspicions arose as to whether the videos were genuine or some sort of a promotional gimmick.[10] An investigation by the Los Angeles Times would reveal the lonelygirl15 videos as a work of fiction.[11] A firestorm ensued in the news media through September 2006 during which Jessica Rose and the creators of lonelygirl15 gained international attention and were interviewed by various magazines and television shows.[2] In October 2006, the United Nations chose Rose via her character Bree to participate in an ad campaign to promote the UN's antipoverty cause.[12]

On August 3, 2007, Bree was killed off, and Rose landed a role on Greek as "Jen K.", Rusty Cartwright's girlfriend.[13] On the show, her character referenced the actress's breakout role stating "It's like I'm living with lonelygirl15!"[14] "Weeping Willow", a sixth season episode of the television series Law & Order: Criminal Intent, was inspired by the lonelygirl15 videos.[15]

Post-YouTube career

After her departure from lonelygirl15, Rose was signed by United Talent Agency[1] and was cast in the ABC Family series Greek in the role of "Jen K" and the 2007 Chris Sivertson film I Know Who Killed Me, which starred Lindsay Lohan.[16] She then played "Tina", an aspiring wrestler,[17] in the award-winning sports drama Perfect Sport.[18] In January 2009, Rose appeared in the music video for The White Tie Affair's song "Candle (Sick and Tired),"[19] and the following October, she appeared in the Syfy television movie, Ghost Town.[20]

On April 4, 2008, it was announced that she would star in a web television series called Blood Cell[21] about "a young woman [who] must race against the clock to stop a sadistic madman after receiving a disturbing late-night phone call from a friend in danger."[22] The series was released in October 2009 through theWB.com to little media fanfare.[23] She also starred in another web series called Sorority Forever from Big Fantastic, the creators of Prom Queen. The series followed three incoming freshman in "the hottest sorority on campus" with some Gossip Girl and Veronica Mars elements to it.[24] Additionally, she appeared in Hooking Up, a 10 episode web series from HBO featuring other recognized faces from the web including video bloggers sxePhil and KevJumba.[25]

In November 2008, Rose teamed up with friend and fellow Sorority Forever star Taryn Southern to form a web production company called Webutantes, to potentially produce female-driven comedy web series.[26] The two presented together at the 2009 Streamy Awards.[27]

In 2009, Rose appeared in the web series Poor Paul, which is produced by former lonelygirl15 co-star Yousef Abu-Taleb[28] and the second season of the web series The Crew.[29] Aside from acting, she is an Anaheim Ducks fan and periodically blogs for NHL.com.[30]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
2007 I Know Who Killed Me Marcia
2008 Perfect Sport Tina
2009 Ghost Town Chloe TV film
2011 ElfQuest: A Fan Imagining Aroree Short film
2013 Look at Me Elizabeth
2013 Casting Couch Alex
Television
Year Title Role Notes
2007–2008, 2011 Greek Jen K. 11 episodes
2008 Sorority Forever Julie Gold 39 episodes
2008 Casanovas Jess "The Strip Tease" (season 1: episode 13)
2008 Blood Cell Julia 9 episodes
2008 Hooking Up Meg Henley 10 episodes
2009, 2011 Poor Paul Beatrice 8 episodes
2009 The Crew Map "A Pirate's Life" (season 2: episode 3)
"Mis-Guided" (season 2: episode 4)
2010 BlackBoxTV Julia Anderson "Cats Got Your Tongue?" (season 1: episode 7)
2010–2011 The Temp Life Tammy Roeder "The Other Roeder" (season 5: episode 3)
"The Counselor's Counselor" (season 5: episode 4)
"The Hungover" (season 5: episode 5)
2012 Chronicles of a Man Child Dana "For the Bible Told Me So" (season 1: episode 1)
Web series
Year Title Role Notes
2006–2008 Lonelygirl15 Bree Avery 150 episodes
2006 OpAphid Bree (voice) "Everyone Hates Cassie: What a Poor, Lonely Girl." (season 1: episode 8)

Awards and recognitions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Gentile, Gary (September 14, 2006). "Sudden Fame Amazes 'Lonelygirl15' Star". The Washington Post. Associated Press. Retrieved March 27, 2008.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Atkinson, Kent (September 13, 2006). "Lonelygirl15 revealed as 19-year-old NZ actress". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved March 27, 2008.
  3. ↑ "TVNZ LAUNCHES ?SORORITY FOREVER,? A NEW ORIGINAL DIGITAL SERIES AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY ONLINE, FROM". TVNZ. Retrieved September 12, 2009.
  4. ↑ Rose, Jessica Lee (Makeup and Costume). Us (Short film). New Zealand.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Rowan, Juliet (February 24, 2007). "Fame game takes some getting used to for Lonelygirl". Retrieved September 12, 2009.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Hutcheon, Stephen (September 13, 2006). "Lonelygirl: a Rose by any other name". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 2. Retrieved September 13, 2006.
  7. ↑ Rose, Jessica Lee (Actor). Unleash The Fury (YOUTUBE VIDEO) (Short film). New Zealand: Obstruction Productions. Retrieved September 12, 2009.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Davis, Joshua (December 2006). "The Secret World of Lonelygirl". Wired Magazine. Retrieved September 12, 2009.
  9. ↑ Gannes, Liz (January 24, 2007). "Carmen Electra in Lonelygirl15’s Bedroom". NewTeeVee. Retrieved November 3, 2009.
  10. ↑ Sternbergh, Adam (August 20, 2006). "Hey There, Lonelygirl". New York Magazine. Retrieved November 3, 2009.
  11. ↑ Rushfield, Richard and Claire Hoffman (September 13, 2006). "Lonelygirl15 Video Blog Is Brainchild of 3 Filmmakers". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 3, 2009.
  12. ↑ Vranica, Suzanne (October 9, 2006). "U.N. Enlists Internet Star for Antipoverty Pitch". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 27, 2008.
  13. ↑ Frankel, Daniel (October 4, 2007). "LonelyGirl15". Variety. Retrieved March 27, 2008.
  14. ↑ Rose, Jessica Lee (Actor) (September 3, 2007). Greek (Television production). ABC Family. Retrieved September 3, 2007. It's like living with lonelygirl15!
  15. ↑ Starr, Michael (November 24, 2006). "L&Onely Girl: Abducted web mystery gal.". New York Post. Archived from the original on March 15, 2008. Retrieved September 8, 2008.
  16. ↑ "Lonelygirl15 Co-Stars With Lohan in I Know Who Killed Me". February 16, 2007. Retrieved September 12, 2009.
  17. ↑ "Jessica Rose, aka lonelygirl15, wants to wrestle boys". LA Times Blog. April 10, 2008. Retrieved September 12, 2009.
  18. ↑ "Award Winning Independent Film, Perfect Sport, is Released on DVD". PR.com. May 20, 2009. Retrieved September 12, 2009.
  19. ↑ "The White Tie Affair – Candle (Sick And Tired)". The Worm. Retrieved September 12, 2009.
  20. ↑ "Saturday's TV Highlights: 'Always and Forever' on Hallmark". Los Angeles Times. October 23, 2009. Retrieved October 29, 2009.
  21. ↑ "NZ's Lonelygirl15 takes another crack at web stardom". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved April 12, 2008.
  22. ↑ Moore,Debi (March 12, 2009). "Blood Cell Web Series Will Star LonelyGirl15". DreadCentral.com. Retrieved September 12, 2009.
  23. ↑ Hustvedt, Marc (October 29, 2009). "‘Blood Cell’ Quietly Rings TheWB.com". Tubefilter. Retrieved October 29, 2009.
  24. ↑ Perera, Iman (September 15, 2008). "Sorority Forever: Lonelygirl15’s New Web Series". Retrieved September 12, 2009.
  25. ↑ Shea, Danny (September 8, 2008). "HBO Launches Web Series "Hooking Up" Starring Lonelygirl15". The Huffington Post. Retrieved November 2, 2009.
  26. ↑ Hustvedt, Marc (November 18, 2008). "Jessica Rose and Taryn Southern Team Up As ‘Webutantes’". Tubefilter.tv. Retrieved September 12, 2009.
  27. ↑ "1st Annual Streamy Awards". Getty Images. March 28, 2009. Retrieved September 12, 2009.
  28. ↑ Hustvedt, Marc (September 1, 2009). "Jessica Rose Joins 'Poor Paul' Cast". Retrieved September 20, 2009.
  29. ↑ Hustvedt, Marc (October 7, 2009). "‘The Crew’ Gets Babelgum On Board For Season 2". Tubefilter. Retrieved October 29, 2009.
  30. ↑ Rose, Jessica. "Celeb Blogger Profile: Jessica Rose". NHL.com. Retrieved September 12, 2009.
  31. ↑ "The Official Streamy Awards Nominees". The Streamy Awards. Retrieved September 12, 2009.
  32. ↑ "40 GREATEST INTERNET SUPERSTARS #1 – #40". VH1. Archived from the original on April 6, 2007. Retrieved September 12, 2009.
  33. ↑ Ewalt, David M. (January 23, 2007). "The Web Celeb 25". Forbes. Retrieved September 12, 2009.
  34. ↑ "30 Inspirational Women Under 30". Jane Magazine. May 2007.
  35. ↑ "Jessica Rose is Today's Girl on Maxim". MaximOnline.com. Retrieved March 29, 2008.
  36. ↑ Koenig, Jeff (November 20, 2009). "The Five Hottest Stars of Web Series". VideoSurf Blog. Retrieved November 24, 2009.

External links

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