Born August 25, 1981 in Los Angeles, Rachel Sarah Bilson is an American actress. Bilson grew up in 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/science fiction film Jumper. She is currently starring as the Dr Zoe on The CW’s Hart of Dixie.
Bilson was born in LA, California to a Jewish American father, writer/director/producer Danny Bilson, and a Philadelphia-born Italian American mother, sex therapist Janice Stango. Her father comes from a show business family; her great-grandfather, George Bilson, was the head of the trailer department at RKO Pictures, while her Brooklyn-born great-grandmother, Hattie Bilson, was a screenwriter and her grandfather, Bruce Bilson, is a film director. Bilson’s parents divorced during her childhood, and in 1997, her father remarried Heather Medway, an actress and the mother of Bilson’s half-sister Hattie (born December 19, 2001). Her family encouraged her to put her attitude to use by becoming an actress and so, when she was 7 years old, Mr. and Mrs. Bilson helped their daughter land her first role in the film The Wrong Guys with comedian Louie Anderson.
Bilson graduated from Walter Reed Middle School in 1996 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, and appeared on stage together with Katharine McPhee, who attended the same school and would later be a finalist on American Idol. Bilson attended Grossmont College in San Diego, but dropped out after one year, taking her father’s advice to pursue a professional acting career and making several appearances in commercials, including advertisements for Raisin Bran and Pepto-Bismol.
She made her screen-acting debut in early 2003, appearing in episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter, and in the short film, Unbroken. Bilson was subsequently cast in The O.C., which debuted in August of 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. As a result of the success of The O.C., Bilson has become well known among teenage audiences. 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.
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. She also appeared in a two-episode arc on The O.C. creator Josh Schwartz’s NBC comedy, Chuck, 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. In September 2008, she started shooting the indie romantic film Waiting For Forever, directed by James Keach. In September 2009, Rachel appeared as a celebrity guest judge in the third episode of Project Runway (season 6). She stars in the upcoming indie film BBF & Baby nexto to Krysten Ritter and Kate Bosworth. The film began production in Los Angeles in October 2010.
Bilson and Adam Brody, her co-star on The O.C., dated for three years, ending in 2006. She met Hayden Christensen on the set of Jumper in 2007 and became engaged in 2008. In mid-2010, the couple split-up, but were dating again a few months later.
Rachel Bilson Photo Gallery
