biography of Rachel Bilson

Rachel Sarah Bilson

 (born August 25, 1981) is an American actress. Born to a Californian show-business family, Bilson made her television debut in 2003, and then landed the role of Summer Roberts on the prime-time drama series The O.C. Bilson then made her film debut in The Last Kiss (2006) and later starred in the science-fiction-action film Jumper (2008). From 2011 to 2015, she starred as Dr. Zoe Hart on The CW series Hart of Dixie.

Bilson was born in Los Angeles,  the daughter of Janice Stango, a therapist,  and Danny Bilson, a writer, director, and producer. She has an older half-brother^{[citation needed]} and two younger half-sisters, Hattie and Rosem ary. Her mother is an Italian-American who was raised Catholic, and her father is Jewish; she has said that she grew up in a "Chrismukkah household".

Bilson's father comes from a show business family; he is the son of Mona (Weichman) (1933–2023) and producer-director Bruce Bilson (b. 1928).  Her British great-grandfather, George Bilson (1902–1981), who was born into an Ashkenazi Jewish immigrant family in Leeds, England, worked for RKO Pictures after emigrating to the United States,  heading the movie trailer department, and her great-grandmother, Hattie Bilson (1907–2004), was a screenwriter whose credits included Pal, Canine Detective (1950).

Bilson attended Grossmont College, a community college in a suburb of San Diego, taking her father's advice to pursue a professional acting career. She then made several appearances in commercials, including advertisements for Subway restaurants, Raisin Bran, and Pepto-Bismol. 

She made her TV acting debut in 2003, appearing in one episode 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 Summer's romance with Seth Cohen (Adam Brody) became a noted aspect of the series. 

At the 2005 Teen Choice Awards, she collected three awards: "Choice Hottie Female", "Choice TV Actress (Drama)", and "Best Onscreen TV Chemistry" (jointly won with Adam Brody).  In 2005, Maxim magazine named her sixth in their annual "Hot 100 List";  in 2006, the publication awarded her #14. 

The UK edition of FHM Magazine named her 28th in the 2006 100 Sexiest Women in the World list, while the US edition ranked her 77th in 2005. Bilson was also named one of People magazine's "World's Most Beautiful People" in 2006.  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". 

Bilson's film debut was in The Last Kiss, a romantic comedy-drama also starring Zach Braff in 2006. She played a college student who seduces Braff's character. One review of the film noted that Bilson played the role with "surprising depth",  although another critic described her role as "Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction as an airhead valley girl with a hot bod". 

In late 2006, Bilson was cast in Doug Liman's thriller Jumper, as the replacement for actress Teresa Palmer. The film was released on February 14, 2008. She 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. She appeared in the 100th episode of How I Met Your Mother ("Girls Versus Suits") as Ted Mosby's latest love interest and the Mother's roommate. 

In September 2008, she started shooting the indie romantic film Waiting for Forever, directed by James Keach. In September 2009, Bilson appeared as a celebrity guest judge in the third episode of Project Runway (season 6). Bilson starred in the 2011 indie film L!fe Happens. In 2011, Bilson began starring in The CW series Hart of Dixie, executive produced by The O.C. creator Josh Schwartz. On May 7, 2015, The CW officially canceled the show after four seasons. In 2017 Bilson joined the cast of CMT's Nashville, which reunited her with her former The O.C. co-star Chris Carmack. 

Bilson starred in the ABC drama series Take Two which premiered in June 2018;^[25][26] however, on November 21, 2018, ABC cancelled the series after one season. 

In April 2021, Bilson and her former The O.C. co-star Melinda Clarke launched a podcast titled Welcome to the OC, Bitches!. The podcast focuses on the hosts and guests re-watching and discussing episodes of The O.C..^[29] Several notable guests have appeared on the podcast such as Mischa Barton, Adam Brody, Peter Gallagher, Josh Schwartz, Jem, Bonnie Somerville and Elizabeth Gillies 

In May 2022, Bilson and longtime friend Olivia Allen launched another podcast called Broad Ideas with Rachel Bilson. On each episode, Bilson and Allen interview one or more people from the entertainment industry in a casual, conversational format. The first guest on the show was Kristen Bell, and other notable guests have included Aubrey Plaza, Zooey Deschanel, Elisha Cuthbert, Mena Suvari, and Seth Meyers.

MINI BIO : 

Rachel Bilson was born in Los Angeles, to Janice (Stango), a sex therapist, and Danny Bilson. Her father is Ashkenazi Jewish and her mother is of Italian descent. She began acting while still at Notre Dame High School. She graduated high school in 1999 and went to Grossmont College but dropped out after a year and was encouraged to pursue a career in acting by her father, himself a writer, director and producer.

She worked in commercials and landed a few one-off roles in high profile TV shows before landing the part of Summer Roberts in the hit TV series The O.C. (2003), establishing herself as a household name.

Bilson and Adam Brody, her co-star on The O.C., dated from 2003 to 2006. 

In 2007, Bilson began a relationship with actor Hayden Christensen, with whom she had co-starred in the film Jumper.  By January 2008, the pair had been seen and photographed together around Los Angeles for almost a year, without confirming a relationship .In February 2009, Bilson appeared publicly with what seemed to be an engagement ring, though no official announcement was made. In August 2010, Bilson's representative confirmed there had been an engagement that had since been called off, giving no other details.  The two reconciled three months later, and had a daughter in October 2014. Bilson and Christensen separated in September 2017. Bilson and Christensen are both supporters of the No Kids Policy, a celebrity coalition which seeks to prevent children of celebrities from being photographed without parental consent.

TRIVIA : 

• earned to play the piano after a serious car accident when she was younger to help with her hand-eye coordination.
• At age 14, she was involved in a head-on car accident, was unconscious for 4 days, and as a result has a scar above her right eyebrow.
• Gave birth to her 1st child at age 33, a daughter named Briar Rose Christensen on October 29, 2014. Child's father is her now ex-boyfriend, Hayden Christensen.
• Had been in a relationship with Hayden Christensen since 2008. They were engaged from February 2009 until June 2010.
• Split from her boyfriend of over two years, her The O.C. (2003) co-star Adam Brody.
• She's InStyle's columnist.
• Was a recurring character on The O.C. (2003) until she was offered a contract, and became a regular. She was added to the opening credits in the episode, The Countdown (2003).
• Auditioned for Rapunzel in Tangled (2010) but lost out to Mandy Moore.
• On September 20, 2008, Rachel acted as maid of honor during the wedding of her close friend, Jill Stonerick, to The O.C. (2003) creator Josh Schwartz. She also designed the dresses for the bridesmaids.
• Is of Italian ancestry on her mother's side, and her father is Jewish.
• Some of her favorite actors include Kate Winslet, Johnny Depp, Audrey Hepburn, and Woody Allen.
• Attended the same high school (Notre Dame High School in Los Angeles) as Kirsten Dunst and Katharine McPhee, but was a grade ahead of both.
• She has described herself as having a "vintage" sense of style and noted Kate Moss and Diane Keaton as inspirations.
• Was in on-off relationship with Hayden Christensen from 2007 to 2017. They have a daughter together, Briar Rose Christensen (b. October 29, 2014).
• Daughter of writer/director Danny Bilson and stepdaughter of Heather Medway.
• Graduated from Notre Dame High School in Los Angeles in 1999.
• She has partnered with DKNY to create and market a designer jeans line called Edie Rose.
• Has a passion for basketball and is a fan of the Los Angeles Lakers.
• Participated in stage productions of "Bye Bye Birdie," "Once Upon a Mattress" and "The Crucible".
• She likes to collect vintage shoes and purses.
• Her character on The O.C. (2003) dates Seth Cohen, who is a huge comic book fan and writer. In real life, her father Danny Bilson is also a comic book writer.
• She has two younger half-sisters: Hattie Elizabeth Bilson (born December 19, 2001) and Rosemary Bilson (born February 10, 2007). Their mother is Heather Medway.
• Shares a birthday of August 25 with her great-grandfather George Bilson.
• Ranked #28 on the Maxim magazine Hot 100 Women of 2008 list.
• Is the spokesperson for Bongo jeans.
• Ranked #34 in the 2010 FHM UK list of "100 Sexiest Women in the World".
• Named #6 on the Maxim magazine Hot 100 Women of 2005 list.
• Grandaughter of Bruce Bilson.
• Great-granddaughter of George Bilson and Hattie Bilson.
• Ranked as #77 in FHM's "100 Sexiest Women in the World 2005" special supplement. (2005)

SOURSE ; wikipedia ......... imdb