Jennifer Love Hewitt Biography
Summary
"Jennifer Love Hewitt" (born February 21 1979) is an American actress and singer-songwriter. She is well-known for her television and film roles in the Fox television series "Party of Five", as Sarah Reeves, and also starred in "I Know What You Did Last Summer" and its sequel, as Julie James. Hewitt can currently be seen on the CBS television series "Ghost Whisperer", as Melinda Gordon, a young newlywed who communicates with the dead.
Biography
Early life and career
Hewitt was born in Waco, Texas, the daughter of Patricia Mae (née Shipp), a speech-language pathologist, and Herbert Daniel Hewitt, a medical technician. Hewitt grew up in Nolanville, Texas; after the divorce of her parents, Hewitt and her only sibling, Todd Hewitt, were brought up by her mother. Her first name was given to her by her brother, after a girl he was fond of as a youngster, while her middle name, 'Love', was given to her by her mother after her best friend in college.
As a young girl, Hewitt was attracted to music which led to her first encounters with the entertainment industry. At the age of three, she sang 'The Greatest Love of All' at a livestock show. Just a year after that, at a restaurant-dance hall, she entertained an audience with her version of 'Help Me Make It Through the Night'. By the time she was five, Hewitt already had tap dancing and ballet in her portfolio. At nine, she became a member of the Texas Show Team (which also toured in the Soviet Union). At the age of ten, at the suggestion of talent scouts, she moved to Los Angeles, California, with her mother to pursue a career in both acting and singing.
Film and music career
After moving to Los Angeles, Hewitt appeared in more than twenty television commercials. Her first break came as a child actor on the Disney Channel variety show "Kids Incorporated" (1989–1991). During this time she danced in and sang all the songs for a live action video called 'Dance! Workout With Barbie' released by Buena Vista.
In 1992, she played Pierce Brosnan's daughter in a pilot for NBC called "Running Wilde", which featured Brosnan as a reporter for "Auto World" magazine whose stories cover his own wild auto adventures, but the series wasn't picked up and the pilot never aired. She later played on television in several short-lived series, such as Fox's "Shaky Ground" (1992–1993), ABC's "Byrds of Paradise" (1994), and "McKenna" (1994–1995). Finally, Hewitt became a young star after landing the role of Sarah Reeves on the popular Fox Television show "Party of Five" (1995–1999), joining the cast during its second season. She continued the same role in the short-lived "Party of Five" spin-off, "Time of Your Life" (1999). Hewitt was also one of the producers, but the show was cancelled after only half a season.
She made her film debut in the independent film "Munchie" (1992). Hewitt became a film star after a lead role in the horror film "I Know What You Did Last Summer" (1997). The film had great box-office success (125,000,000 U.S. dollars worldwide), and Hewitt became one of the most popular young stars in the USA (together with her co-stars: Freddie Prinze Jr., Ryan Phillippe, and Sarah Michelle Gellar). She also appeared in the sequel "I Still Know What You Did Last Summer" (1998), which was not as successful as the first film but brought in more money than the first on its opening weekend. Other notable film roles included the high-school comedy "Can't Hardly Wait" (1998) and a starring role with Sigourney Weaver in the romantic comedy "Heartbreakers" (2001).
In 2000, Hewitt appeared in "The Audrey Hepburn Story". That same year, she was the 'most popular actress on television' due to her Q-rating (a measurement of a celebrity's popularity) of thirty-seven. For that reason, Nokia chose her to become its spokesperson, because of her 'fresh image', and her being 'a symbol of youthfulness and wholesomeness'.
In 2001, she appeared in the music video for the Enrique Iglesias song, 'Hero', as the singer's love interest.
Hewitt wrote "I'm Gonna Love You" for the movie "The Hunchback of Notre Dame II" because, although she was a well-known singer at the time, her character Madellaine was the only character who didn't sing in the movie. The song won an award for Best Song on DVD Awards.
Since September 2005, Hewitt has starred in the television series "Ghost Whisperer". In Australia, "Ghost Whisperer" has been popular since its introduction; in the United States, the show averages 9-11 million viewers for each new episode. Hewitt has also auditioned for many roles. She lost the role of 'Juliet' in "Romeo + Juliet" to Claire Danes at the last moment. She also had to give up the role of 'Darlene' in "Brokedown Palace" because of scheduling conflicts. Hewitt also auditioned for the role of 'Elektra' in "Daredevil".
To date, she has released four albums with some success, most notably in Japan. Her first album was released in Japan, where she is widely considered a pop star. Her explanation for her success in Japan is that the Japanese 'love perky music. The poppier the music, the better.'
Hewitt confirmed that she would not pose nude or do nude scenes in movies.
Personal life
Hewitt is an honorary godparent of the Audrey Hepburn Children's Fund.
Hewitt has been dating Scottish actor Ross McCall since January 2006. She has also dated singer-guitarist John Mayer, talk show host Carson Daly, actor/model Kip Pardue, singer-songwriter Rich Cronin, (Killingbird guitarist Skyla) and actor Will Friedle.
Polls and honors
Hewitt is widely considered one of the most beautiful women of the past ten years. The following results in several contests illustrate this:
#91 in "FHM"s 100 Sexiest Women In The World (1997)
#91 in "FHM"s 100 Sexiest Women In The World (1998)
#31 in "FHM"s 100 Sexiest Women In The World (1999)
#1 in "Maxim"s Sexiest Women In The World (1999)
#13 in "FHM"s 100 Sexiest Women In The World (2000)
#50 in "FHM"s 100 Sexiest Women In The World (2001)
#15 in "FHM"s 100 Sexiest Women In The World (2002)
#7 in "FHM"s 100 Sexiest Women In The World (2003)
#12 in "FHM"s 100 Sexiest Women In The World (2004)
#19 in "FHM"s 50 Sexiest Women from 1995-2004
#12 in "FHM"s 100 Sexiest Women In The World (2005)
#16 in "FHM"s 100 Sexiest Women In The World (2006)
#29 in "Maxim"s Hot 100 List (2006)
#14 in "FHM"s 100 Sexiest Women In The World (2007)
Awards
Blockbuster Entertainment Award — Favorite Female Newcomer ("I Know What You Did Last Summer") (1998)
Blockbuster Entertainment Award — Favorite Actress ("I Know What You Did Last Summer") (1998)
Teen Choice Award — Choice TV Actress ("Party of Five") (1999)
Teen Choice Award
Teen Choice Award — Movie Actress Of The Year ("I Still Know What You Did Last Summer") (1999)
Teen Choice Award — Female Hottie Of The Year (1999)
People's Choice Award — Favorite Female Television Performer in a New Series ("Time of Your Life") (2000)
DVD Awards — Best Song from an Animated Movie ("I'm Gonna Love You from Hunchback of Notre Dam 2 Soundtrack") (2003)
Kid's Choice Award — Favorite Female Buttkicker ("The Tuxedo") (2003)
Family TV Awards — Favorite Female Actress ("Ghost Whisperer") (2006)
US Hot Hollywood Awards — Hottest Body Style (2007)
Saturn Awards — Best TV Actress ("Ghost Whisperer") (2007)
Lake Arrowhead Film Festival — Humanitarian Award (2007)
Filmography
"Munchie" (1992)
"Little Miss Millions" (1993)
"Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit" (1993)
"House Arrest" (1996)
"Trojan War" (1997)
"I Know What You Did Last Summer" (1997)
"Can't Hardly Wait" (1998)
"Telling You" (1998)
"I Still Know What You Did Last Summer" (1998)
"The Suburbans" (1999)
"Heartbreakers" (2001)
"The Hunchback of Notre Dame II" (2002) (direct-to-video) (voice)
"The Adventures of Tom Thumb and Thumbelina" (2002) (direct-to-video) (voice)
"The Tuxedo" (2002)
"The Truth About Love" (2004)
"If Only" (2004)
"Garfield" (2004)
"Confessions of a Sociopathic Social Climber" 2005
"Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties" (2006)
"Shortcut to Happiness" (2007)
"Delgo" (2007) (voice)
Upcoming:
"She Had Brains, a Body, and the Ability to Make Men Love Her" (2008)
Television work
"Dance! Workout with Barbie
"Kids Incorporated" (cast member from 1989-1991)
"Running Wilde" (1992) (unsold pilot)
"Shaky Ground" (1992-1993)
"The Byrds of Paradise" (1994) (canceled after 13 episodes)
"McKenna" (1994-1995)
"Party of Five" (cast member from 1995-1999)
"Boy Meets World" (Feb 27, 1998) episode 'And Then There Was Shawn'
"Time of Your Life" (1999-2000)
"Disney's Hercules" (1999) Medusa
"The Audrey Hepburn Story" (2000)
"Family Guy" (Jan. 31, 2002) episode 'Stuck Together, Torn Apart'
"A Christmas Carol" (2004)
"In the Game" (2004) (1st unsold pilot)
"In the Game" (2005) (2nd unsold pilot)
"Ghost Whisperer" (2005 - present)
"Confessions of a Sociopathic Social Climber" (2005)
"Family Guy" (2007) As herself
Upcoming:
"Angry Little Girls" (set to air in 2008) (voice)
Commercials
In 2005, Hewitt appeared in a Hanes advertising campaign titled "Look who we've got our Hanes on now". The campaign also featured other celebrities such as Michael Jordan, Cuba Gooding Jr., Marisa Tomei, Damon Wayans, Kevin Bacon, Hugh Hefner, Matthew Perry, and on Spanish-language advertising, Aracely Arambula, and Pablo Montero. In 2006, the campaign added Christina Applegate to their lineup.
Hewitt has appeared in a 'Don't Mess With Texas' commercial. This commercial also features fellow Texans: Matthew McConaughey, Los Lonely Boys, LeeAnn Womack, Lance Armstrong, Owen Wilson, and Erykah Badu. Dallas Cowboys running back Julius Jones, Chuck Norris (star of "Walker Texas Ranger"), and Janine Turner are also seen in the DMWT commercial.
She also appears in a commercial for Rodan & Fields acne medication Proactiv.
Production credits
"Ghost Whisperer" (2005)
"Bunny" (2000)
"The Audrey Hepburn Story" (2000)
"Time of Your Life" (1999)
Discography
Albums
"Love Songs" (1992)
"Let's Go Bang" (1995)
"Jennifer Love Hewitt" (1996)
"BareNaked" (2002) - #37 U.S., #31 Australia
"Cool with You: The Platinum Collection" (2006)
Singles
From "Love Songs": Meldac Records,Japan-only
*1991: 'Dancing Queen' (6/21)
*1991: 'What's It Gonna Take' (10/23) (released as "Love ni Koi Shite" (LOVE????))
*1992: 'Please Save Us the World' (4/23)
From "Let's Go Bang":
*1995: 'Couldn't Find Another Man'
From "Jennifer Love Hewitt":
*1996: 'No Ordinary Love'
From "I Still Know What You Did Last Summer":
*1999: 'How Do I Deal' — #59 U.S., #8 Australia
From "BareNaked":
*2002: 'Barenaked' — #6 Australia (gold)
*2003: 'Can I Go Now' — #12 Australia (gold)
*2003: 'You' (never confirmed)
*2003: 'Hey Everybody' (radio release and limited edition CD singles in Australia)
Soundtracks
From "House Arrest":
*1996: 'It's Good To Know I'm Alive'
From "I Still Know What You Did Last Summer":
*1998: 'How Do I Deal?'
From "Disney's Superstars Hits":
*2002: 'I'm Gonna Love You'
From "If Only":
*2003: 'Love Will Show You Everything', 'Take My Heart Back'
External links
(Official Jennifer Love Hewitt website)
( Jennifer Love Hewitt Bio at CBS - Ghost Whisperer)
(Jennifer Love Hewitt interview)
(Jennifer Love Hewitt Says No To Nude Scenes)
Credit
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article about Jennifer Love Hewitt.
