Jennifer Love Hewitt Biography

Jennifer Love Hewitt (born February 21, 1979) is an American actress, producer, author, television director and singer-songwriter. Hewitt began her acting career as a child by appearing in television commercials and the Disney Channel series Kids Incorporated. She rose to fame in teenage popular culture in her roles in the Fox series Party of Five as Sarah Reeves Merrin, and films I Know What You Did Last Summer and its sequel as Julie James.

Hewitt starred on the hit CBS television program Ghost Whisperer as Melinda Gordon, for which she won a Saturn Award in 2007 and 2008 for Best Actress on Television. She was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award for her television movie The Client List. In addition to acting, she has served as a producer on some of her film and television projects. As a singer, Hewitt has been signed by Atlantic Records and Jive Records, and is primarily known for her recordings in the pop genre. Her most successful single on the Billboard Hot 100 is the 1999 release "How Do I Deal", which peaked at No. 59. She has also contributed music to the promotion or soundtracks of acting projects. She was identified as the "#1 reader choice" on the November 1999 and May 2009 covers of Maxim. TV Guide named her the sexiest woman on television in 2008.

she is a recurring star on Hot in Cleveland and leads the Lifetime television series The Client List.

Early life

Hewitt was born in Waco, Texas, to Patricia Mae (née Shipp), a speech-language pathologist, and Herbert Daniel Hewitt, a medical technician. Hewitt grew up in Nolanville, in Central Texas, and has close kinship ties in parts of Arkansas. Hewitt received her middle name after her mother promised her college friend (named "Love") that if she had a daughter, she would name the girl after her. Hewitt's older brother, Todd Hewitt, chose the name "Jennifer" as an homage to a crush he had at the time she was born. After their parents divorced, Hewitt and Todd were raised by their mother. Patricia Mae Hewitt died on June 12, 2012, aged 67, following a battle with cancer.

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. The following year, at a restaurant-dance hall, she entertained an audience with her version of "Help Me Make it Through the Night". By age five, she 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 age ten, at the suggestion of talent scouts and after winning the title of "Texas Our Little Miss Talent Winner", she moved to Los Angeles with her mother to pursue a career in both acting and singing. In Los Angeles, she attended Lincoln High School where her classmates included Jonathan Neville, who became a talent scout and recommended Hewitt for her role in Party of Five.

Career

Acting

After moving to Los Angeles, Hewitt appeared in more than twenty television commercials, including some for Mattel toys. Her first break came as a child actor on the Disney Channel variety show Kids Incorporated (1989"1991), where she was credited as "Love Hewitt." She later appeared in the live action video short Dance! Workout with Barbie (1992), released by Buena Vista.

She played Pierce Brosnan's daughter in a pilot for NBC called Running Wilde (1993), which featured Brosnan as a reporter for Auto World magazine, whose stories cover his own wild auto adventures. However, the series was not picked up and the pilot never aired. Hewitt later had roles in several short-lived television series, such as Fox's Shaky Ground (1992"1993), ABC's The Byrds of Paradise (1994), and McKenna (1994"1995), and finally became a young star after landing the role of Sarah Reeves Merrin on the popular Fox show Party of Five (1995"1999). She assumed the role of Sarah after joining that show during its second season and continued it on the short-lived Party of Five spin-off, Time of Your Life (1999), which she also co-produced. The show was cancelled after half a season.

Hewitt's first feature film role was in the independent film Munchie (1992). A year later, she achieved her first starring film role in Little Miss Millions (1993). She appeared as a choir member in Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993). Hewitt became a film star after a lead role in the horror film I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997), which enjoyed great box office success ($125,000,000 USD). Hewitt and her co-stars gained popular exposure from the film. She appeared in the sequel I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998), which, though not as successful as the first film, took in more money on its opening weekend. She starred in the high-school comedy Can't Hardly Wait (1998).

Hewitt starred in The Audrey Hepburn Story (2000). That same year, she was the "most popular actress on television" due to her Q-rating (a measurement of a celebrity's popularity) of 37. Noting her "Q-rating," Nokia chose her to become its spokesperson.

She starred alongside Sigourney Weaver in the romantic comedy Heartbreakers (2001) and did voiceover work in the animated film The Hunchback of Notre Dame II (2002) as Madellaine, the main protagonist's love interest. Hewitt wrote and performed "I'm Gonna Love You" for the film; the song won "Best Original Song" at the DVD Premiere Awards. She starred alongside Jackie Chan in The Tuxedo (2002), which received negative reviews from critics but was a box office success. Hewitt appeared in If Only (2004) and co-wrote and performed "Love Will Show You Everything" and "Take My Heart Back" for the film's soundtrack. She starred in Garfield (2004), which became her highest-grossing film to date ($200,804,534 USD). She reprised her role for the sequel, Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties (2006), which, though it did not perform as well as its predecessor, achieved a strong box office gross.

Hewitt starred in the television series Ghost Whisperer (2005"2010), which ran on CBS for five seasons before being canceled by the network in May, 2010. She reunited with her I Know What You Did Last Summer co-star, Freddie Prinze Jr., in Delgo; but when released in 2008, the film was a massive box office bomb, taking in only $694,782 USD domestically. The film's failure is believed to have led Hewitt to take a leave of absence from feature films, which lasted for two years.

Hewitt ended her two-year absence from feature films by taking a lead role in the independent drama Café (2010) with her then-boyfriend Jamie Kennedy. She starred in the Lifetime film The Client List (2010), for which she received a Golden Globe nomination. The next year, Hewitt starred in the Hallmark Hall of Fame film The Lost Valentine (2011).

In 2011, Hewitt was announced to direct the film Wait Till Helen Comes (based on the novel by Mary Downing Hahn). She had previously directed three episodes of Ghost Whisperer, and this would be her feature film directorial debut. Production on the film was slated to begin in the summer of 2011, but no further announcements about the film have been made as of late April 2013. She also starred alongside Ivan Sergei and Joel David Moore in the independent comedy Jewtopia (2012).

As of 2012, Hewitt was starring in the television series The Client List (2012).

Music

Hewitt was one of the back-up singers in Martika's number-one single, "Toy Soldiers" (1989).

At the age of 12, Meldac funded the recording of Hewitt's first album, Love Songs (1992). The album was released exclusively in Japan, where Hewitt became a pop star. Her explanation for her success in Japan is that the Japanese "love perky music. The poppier the music, the better."

After she joined the cast of Party of Five, she signed to Atlantic Records, who rushed her second album, Let's Go Bang (1995), out in October. The album and its three singles failed to chart. Juggling her music career with her acting career, she recorded and released her follow-up album, Jennifer Love Hewitt (1996). The album, along with its four singles, failed to chart and Atlantic dropped Hewitt, who did not return to the music scene for three years.

She recorded the single "How Do I Deal" (1999) for the I Still Know What You Did Last Summer soundtrack. The song became Hewitt's first charting single, climbing to No. 59 on the Hot 100 and No. 36 on the Top 40 Mainstream. It reached No. 8 in Australia. Hewitt also recorded a cover of the Gloria Gaynor song "I Will Survive", which features briefly in the film.

She appeared in the LFO video for "Girl on TV" (1999), a song which a member of the band wrote for her. She also appeared in the music video for the Enrique Iglesias song, "Hero" (2001), as the singer's love interest.

In 2002, Hewitt signed to Jive Records and recorded her fourth album with singer, songwriter, and producer Meredith Brooks. The first single, "BareNaked" (2002), became her biggest radio hit to date when it peaked at No. 24 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart, No. 31 on the Adult Top 40 and No. 25 on the Top 40 Mainstream. It climbed to No. 6 in Australia, remaining there for two weeks, and reached No. 33 in the Netherlands. The song later featured in two episodes of Ghost Whisperer: "The Vanishing" (Season 1, episode 20) and "The Collector" (Season 2, episode 20). The moderate success of the single propelled the album to peak at No. 37 on the Billboard 200 and No. 31 in Australia. However, it only remained on the chart for three weeks. The second single, "Can I Go Now" (2003), failed to chart in the US, while managing to peak at No. 8 in the Netherlands and No. 12 in Australia.

Since 2004, Hewitt has remained inactive in the music industry, but she released the compilation albums Cool with You: The Platinum Collection (2006) in Asia and Hey Everybody (2007) in Brazil. In 2009, reports surfaced that Hewitt was planning on making a country album and was in the process of writing material for it. Jamie Kennedy, Hewitt's boyfriend at the time, said: "I really want to make her a new demo for her music, because I think she should do singing again. She's so good." However, nothing has of yet come of the reports. Hewitt has remained mostly absent from the music scene, but in 2013, she recorded a cover of "I'm a Woman" to promote the second season of The Client List and shot a music video for the song, which reached the top ten in the iTunes Music Video chart.

Writing

In November 2009, Hewitt made a foray into comic books. Writer Scott Lobdell scripted the five-issue anthology, Jennifer Love Hewitt's Music Box (2009"2010), based on Hewitt's ideas. The series was published by IDW Publishing, and was collected in a trade paperback.

She wrote a book titled The Day I Shot Cupid (2010), in which she speaks of her experiences with love and dating. During a January 2010 interview on Lopez Tonight, Hewitt said that there was a chapter in the book about "vajazzling" her "vajayjay" (decorating her vulva with Swarovski crystals); Hewitt is said to have contributed to the popularization of this trend. The book became a New York Times Bestseller the week of its release. She announced via her Twitter page in June 2011 that she was penning a follow-up. There is an audiobook version Hewitt reads herself.

Personal life

In late 2005, Hewitt began dating Scottish actor Ross McCall after he made an appearance on her show Ghost Whisperer. They became engaged in November 2007, while vacationing in Hawaii. People magazine reported that Hewitt called off their engagement in late 2008. She subsequently dated her Ghost Whisperer co-star Jamie Kennedy from March 2009 to March 2010. Hewitt began dating her The Client List co-star Brian Hallisay in March 2012. In June 2013, Hewitt announced that she and Hallisay are engaged and expecting their first child together in December 2013.

In 2002, a conspiracy theorist and former social worker, Diana Napolis, was arrested for stalking and uttering death threats against Hewitt and Steven Spielberg after "verbally confronting" the actress at the 2002 Grammy Awards and attempting to pose as one of Hewitt's friends to enter the premiere of The Tuxedo. Napolis admitted to being involved in a shoving match with Hewitt's mother while confronting the actress. Napolis accused Hewitt, along with director Spielberg, of controlling her thoughts through "cybertronic" technology and being part of a Satanic conspiracy against her. Napolis was charged with six felonies related to the incidents. After a year of involuntary commitment, Napolis pleaded guilty and was released on bail with a condition that she was barred from contact with both Spielberg and Hewitt.

Filmography

Film credits as an actress

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1992	Munchie	Andrea Kurtz	Credited as Love Hewitt
1993	Little Miss Millions	Heather Lofton	Credited as Love Hewitt; also known Home for Christmas
1993	Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit	Margaret	Credited as Jennifer "Love" Hewitt
1996	House Arrest	Brooke Figler
1997	Trojan War	Leah Jones	Also known as Rescue Me
1997	I Know What You Did Last Summer	Julie James
1998	Can't Hardly Wait	Amanda Beckett
1998	Telling You	Deb Freidman	Also known as Love Sucks
1998	Zoomates	Helen	Voice; short film
1998	I Still Know What You Did Last Summer	Julie James
1999	'	Cate
2000	'	Audrey Hepburn	Television film
2001	Heartbreakers	Page Conners
2002	'	Madellaine	Voice; direct-to-video film
2002	'	Thumbelina	Voice; direct-to-video film
2002	'	Del Blaine
2002	Groove Squad	Chrissy	Voice; direct-to-video film
2004	If Only	Samantha Andrews
2004	Garfield: The Movie	Liz Wilson
2004	'	Emily	Television film
2005	Confessions of a Sociopathic Social Climber	Katya Livingston	Television film; also known as The Social Climber
2005	The Truth About Love	Alice Holbrook
2006	Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties	Liz Wilson
2007	Shortcut to Happiness	The Devil	Also known as The Devil and Daniel Webster
2008	Tropic Thunder	Herself	Cameo appearance
2008	Delgo	Princess Kyla	Voice role
2009	'	Erica	Voice; television film
2009	Yes, Virginia	Mrs. Laura O'Hanlon	Voice role
2010	Café	Claire
2010	'	Samantha "Sam" Horton/Brandy	Television film
2011	'	Susan Allison	Hallmark Hall of Fame original movie
2012	Jewtopia	Alison Marks

Television credits as an actress

Year(s)	Title	Role	Notes
1989"1991	Kids Incorporated	Robin	Seasons 6-7 (credited as Love Hewitt)
1992	Dance! Workout with Barbie	Herself	Video short; credited as Love Hewitt
1992"1993	Shaky Ground	Bernadette Moody	Main role
1993	Running Wilde	Unknown	"Pilot" (Season 1, episode 1); unaired series
1994	'	Franny Byrd	Main role
1994"1995	McKenna	Cassidy McKenna	"Splendor in the McKenna Grass" (Season 1, episode 2) "The Pony" (Season 1, episode 3) "Racing in the Streets" (Season 1, episode 4)
1995"2000	Party of Five	Sarah Reeves Merrin	Main role (Seasons 2"6); 99 episodes
1998	Boy Meets World	Jennifer Love Fefferman	"And Then There Was Shawn" (Season 5, episode 17)
1998	Saturday Night Live	Host
1999	Hercules: The Animated Series	Medusa	Voice; "Hercules and the Gorgon" (Season 2, episode 12)
1999"2001	Time of Your Life	Sarah Reeves Merrin	Lead role
2001	The Weekenders	Herself	Voice; "My Punky Valentine" (Season 2, episode 17)
2002	All That	Herself " Musical Guest	"Jeffrey Licon/Jennifer Love Hewitt" (Season 8, Episode 4)
2002	Family Guy	Herself	Voice; "Stuck Together, Torn Apart" (Season 3, episode 19)
2004	American Dreams	Nancy Sinatra	"The 7"10 Split" (Season 2, episode 10) "Old Enough to Fight" (Season 2, episode 14)
2004	In The Game	Riley Reed	Two pilot episodes; unaired series
2005"2010	Ghost Whisperer	Melinda Gordon	Lead role
2010	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Vicki Sayers	"Behave" (Season 12, episode 3)
2011	Love Bites	Herself	"Firsts" (Season 1, episode 1)
2011"2012	Hot in Cleveland	Emmy Chase	"The Emmy Show" (Season 2, episode 17) "Love is Blind" (Season 3, episode 9)
2012	RuPaul's Drag Race	Guest judge	"DILFs: Dad's I'd Like To Frock" (Season 4, episode 10)
2012"present	The Client List	Riley Parks	Lead role

Credits as a director

Year(s)	Title	Notes
2009"2010	Ghost Whisperer	"Body of Water" (Season 4, episode 13) "Birthday Presence" (Season 5, episode 1) "Implosion" (Season 5, episode 15)
2012"2013	The Client List	"Past Is Prologue" (Season 1, episode 10; also co-writer) "I Ain't Broke But I'm Badly Bent" (Season 2, episode 7) "What Kind of Fool Do You Think I Am" (Season 2, episode 14)

Credits as a producer

Year(s)	Title	Role	Notes
1999"2000	Time of Your Life	Producer
2000	The Audrey Hepburn Story	Co-executive producer	Television film
2000	Bunny	Producer
2002	One Night	Producer
2004	If Only	Producer
2005"2010	Ghost Whisperer	Producer seasons 1 to 4; executive producer season 5	Producer (83 episodes); executive producer (11 episodes)
2010	'	Executive producer	Television film
2011	'	Executive producer	Television film
2012"present	The Client List	Executive producer

Discography

Studio albums

List of albums, with selected chart positions, sales figures, and certifications

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions
		US	AUS	NLD
Love Songs	Released: March 21, 1992 Label: Meldac Formats: CD	"?	"?	"?
Let's Go Bang	Released: October 10, 1995 Label: Atlantic Formats: CD	"?	"?	"?
Jennifer Love Hewitt	Released: September 3, 1996 Label: Atlantic Formats: CD	"?	"?	"?
BareNaked	Released: October 8, 2002 Label: Jive Formats: CD	37	31	72
""?" denotes releases that did not chart.

Compilation albums

List of albums, with selected chart positions, sales figures, and certifications

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions
		US	AUS	NLD
Cool with You: The Platinum Collection	Released: June 6, 2006 Label: Wea Int'l Formats: CD	"?	"?	"?
Hey Everybody	Released: December 2007 Label: unknown Formats: CD	"?	"?	"?
""?" denotes releases that did not chart.

Singles

Year	Single	Chart peak positions						Album
		U.S.	U.S. Adult	AUS	NZ	NL	SWI
1992	"Please Save Us The World"	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	Love Songs
1995	"Let's Go Bang"	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	Let's Go Bang
	"Couldn't Find Another Man"	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?
1996	"You Make Me Smile"	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?
	"Cool With You"	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	Jennifer Love Hewitt
	"No Ordinary Love"	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?
1997	"(Our Love) Please Don't Throw It All Away"	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?
	"I Believe In..."	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?
1999	"How Do I Deal"	59	"?	8	5	"?	"?	I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (soundtrack)
2002	"BareNaked"	124	31	6	26	33	"?	BareNaked
2003	"Can I Go Now"	"?	"?	12	"?	8	69
2013	"I'm a Woman"							Non-album single
""?" denotes releases that did not chart.

Soundtracks

Year	Title	Track(s)
1996	House Arrest	"It's Good To Know I'm Alive"
1997	Trojan War	"I Hope I Don't Fall in Love With You" "I Believe In"
1998	Can't Hardly Wait	"How Do I Make You"
1998	I Still Know What You Did Last Summer	"How Do I Deal" "I Will Survive"
2002	The Hunchback of Notre Dame II	"I'm Gonna Love You"
2002	Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders	"Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?"
2004	If Only	"Love Will Show You Everything" "Take My Heart Back"
2004	A Christmas Carol	"A Place Called Home (Reprise)"
2013	Alpha Male Experiment	"When It Hurts" (with Sophie B. Hawkins)

Bibliography

Credits as an author:

• The Day I Shot Cupid (2010)

Other credits:

• Jennifer Love Hewitt's Music Box (2009"2010) (creator)

Awards and nominations

Year	Group	Award	Result	Film/Show
1990	Young Artist Award	Outstanding Young Ensemble Cast		Kids Incorporated
1993	Young Artist Award	Outstanding Young Ensemble Cast in a Youth Series or Variety Show		Kids Incorporated
1994	Young Artist Award	Outstanding Youth Ensemble in a Cable or Off Primetime Series		Kids Incorporated
1996	Young Artist Award	Best Professional Actress/Singer
1997	YoungStar Award	Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Drama TV Series		Party of Five
1998	Young Artist Award	Best Performance in a Feature Film "? Leading Young Actress		I Know What You Did Last Summer
1998	Blockbuster Entertainment Award	Favorite Female Newcomer		I Know What You Did Last Summer
1998	Blockbuster Entertainment Award	Favorite Actress "? Horror		I Know What You Did Last Summer
1999	MTV Movie Award	Best Female Performance		Can't Hardly Wait
1999	Blockbuster Entertainment Award	Favorite Actress "? Horror		I Still Know What You Did Last Summer
1999	Teen Choice Award	Film "? Choice Actress		I Still Know What You Did Last Summer
1999	Teen Choice Award	Film "? Most Disgusting Scene		I Still Know What You Did Last Summer
1999	Teen Choice Award	TV "? Choice Actress		Party of Five
1999	Young Artist Award	Best Performance in a Feature Film "? Leading Young Actress		Can't Hardly Wait
2000	Kid's Choice Award	Favorite Television Actress		Party of Five
2000	People's Choice Award	Favorite Female Performer in a New Television Series		Time of Your Life
2001	Teen Choice Award	Film " Choice Actress		Heartbreakers
2003	Kids' Choice Award	Favorite Female Butt Kicker		The Tuxedo
2003	Teen Choice Award	Choice Crossover Artist (Music/Acting)
2003	DVD Premiere Award	Best Original Song		The Hunchback of Notre Dame II
2006	Saturn Award	Best Actress on Television		Ghost Whisperer
2006	Kids' Choice Award	Favorite Television Actress		Ghost Whisperer
2006	People's Choice Award	Favorite Female Television Star		Ghost Whisperer
2007	Saturn Award	Best Actress on Television		Ghost Whisperer
2007	Teen Choice Award	Choice: TV Drama Actress		Ghost Whisperer
2007	People's Choice Award	Favorite Female Television Star		Ghost Whisperer
2008	People's Choice Award	Favorite Female Television Star		Ghost Whisperer
2008	Saturn Award	Best Actress on Television		Ghost Whisperer
2008	TV Land Award	Favorite Character from the "Other Side"		Ghost Whisperer
2009	Saturn Award	Best Actress on Television		Ghost Whisperer
2010	Saturn Award	Best Actress on Television		Ghost Whisperer
2010	People's Choice Award	Favorite TV Drama Actress		Ghost Whisperer
2011	Golden Globe Award	Best Performance By An Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made For Television		The Client List