Jessica Biel was a household name in the 2000s, appearing in tons of hit movies.
But she doesn't seem to be as prominent lately, aside from her recurring role
as herself on Bojack Horseman. Here's why you rarely hear about Jessica Biel anymore.
"Name?"
"Jessica, obviously. I'm Jessica Biel."
"Hmmmm."
"From Stealth. Summer Catch? Rules of Attraction? Nothin'?"
It's been widely reported that Hollywood won't cast Jessica Biel anymore. Even in her heyday,
she was considered by some as something of a lightweight,
often playing characters without much substance. She told Marie Claire in 2017,
"For a very long time, I wasn't thought of as anyone with any credibility in the film world.
Everybody is tramping through the swamp every day in this business. 'I'm worth it,
I'm credible — believe me, give me a shot!' That's the way I feel on a consistent basis."
The New York Daily News reported that an agent told Biel,
"She should get an acting coach and do an independent film or two
that would show off her talent, not her beauty."
She's taken a number of smaller roles in films that have allowed her to be less of a starlet and
more of an actress. She played a single mom in The Truth About Emanuel, a Sundance Film
Festival entry in 2013. In 2015, she played a yoga instructor who finds herself having to protect
her long-lost sister from her pimp boyfriend in Bleeding Heart, which got her some good reviews.
Then, she moved on to projects such as 2016's animated Spark: A Space Tail, and 2016's The Book
of Love. While they haven't all been big projects with box office appeal, they've helped Biel grow
as an actress, and some of the projects have even helped her start her career as a producer.
Jessica Biel produced The Book of Love in 2016 and executive-produced
2017's The Sinner, a limited crime series, which was specifically designed to be a
break from her previous work. She and a partner bought the rights to the book the
show was based on as part of her Iron Ocean production company. Biel told Backstage,
"Nobody would ever offer me something [like this]; nobody would ever let me come in and audition. And
if they would, I probably wouldn't get it because it's just not what you're used to seeing me do."
Instead, producing was a way of regaining control over her acting career,
as Biel explained to Backstage,
"I think I just looked back and I thought I really went one direction for a while. And
I didn't do that on purpose; I genuinely was trying to make the best decisions. But I had
this moment where I thought, I need so much more [...] and I'd better take this into my
own hands or my career is going to go [to] a place that I'm not going to be happy with."
Of course, furthering her acting career isn't the only reason Biel moved into producing.
She told Variety at The Sinner's premiere that the opportunity to be part of the casting process,
work with writers and creators, and be hands-on with character arcs was key. She explained,
"As a creative person, that's the gold."
Biel starred in the first season of The Sinner and continued as executive producer until 2020. She
produced 2019's Limetown on Facebook Watch, which she also starred in, and her latest
producing project is Cruel Summer, a upcoming Freeform TV series which came out in April 2021.
These days, Jessica Biel is a wife and a mother of two. She met pop star Justin Timberlake in 2007,
and they married in 2012. In 2015, they had their first child, Silas Randall. Then,
in January 2021, the pair announced the birth of a second son, Phineas , although it's unclear
exactly when he was born. Timberlake revealed on The Ellen DeGeneres Show,
"He's awesome and he's so cute and nobody's sleeping [...] But we're
thrilled. […] Couldn't be happier, very grateful."
Motherhood has provided its own lessons for Biel. In a 2017 interview with Marie Claire, she said,
"You think you're a selfless person, and then you realize you're not. These little
people come around, and they require so much, and your schedule is really not your own,
nor is it important anymore, and it's very clear that it's your life now revolving around this
dude. I'm not that person who feels like, 'Oh, my whole life changes for my kid,' but it does."
"I literally have no idea what we're doing."
In 2019, Jessica Biel made headlines for her stance on vaccines. She posted to
Instagram an image of herself in front of California's capitol building and stated
that she went to testify about a proposed bill, which is designed
to tighten the process for receiving medical exemptions for vaccinations. The idea of the
bill was to reduce fraudulent exemptions through strengthening oversight. However,
Biel said in the Instagram post that while she supports children getting vaccinations, her
friends had a child with a medical condition that warrants an exemption to the rule. She explained,
"That's why I spoke to legislators and argued against this bill. Not because I don't believe
in vaccinations, but because I believe in giving doctors and the families they treat the ability
to decide what's best for their patients and the ability to provide that treatment."
As part of her stance, she allowed herself to be photographed with anti-vaccination activist
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., which raised many eyebrows. However, her foray into politics did not yield the
results she wished, as Governor Gavin Newsom signed the bill into law a few months later.
Back in mid-2016, Jessica Biel and some investors put together a restaurant concept
designed to appeal to busy, upper-class moms in Los Angeles. Au Fudge was part eatery,
part nursery, with au pairs available by the hour for younger children, leaving parents free to have
a meal out. It seemed like a great idea, until the reviews started coming in. Some Yelpers said that
the kids' area was dirty and unmaintained, and the food was overpriced and mediocre.
In a January 2017 interview with Jimmy Kimmel, the actress outlined her idea,
"This was created for moms, and for ladies and families who just want to go have a safe,
delicious, thoughtfully sourced meal, drink, we have a full bar there,
and have your kids watched by au pairs who are younger and cuter than you."
"I mean, honestly, the restaurant business is way harder than being a producer."
Unfortunately, by 2018, the restaurant had closed. In a July 15 Instagram post, Au Fudge stated,
"Today is our last day of regular business
hours at Au Fudge the restaurant. [...] Thanks for all the support."
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