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Jennifer Love Hewitt is an American actress, producer, author, television director, and singer-songwriter.

Biography[]

Hewitt was born in Waco, Texas, on February 21, 1979. Her parents were Patricia Mae, a speech-language pathologist, and Herbert Daniel Hewitt, a medical technician. She grew up in Nolanville, located in central Texas. 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; while 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 both raised by their mother.

As a young girl, Hewitt developed an attraction to music, which led to her first encounters with the entertainment industry. When she was three years old, 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 the time she was five, she had mastered tap-dancing and ballet. Four years later, she became a member of the Texas Show Team. The year afterward, after winning the title of "Texas Our Little Miss Talent Winner", Hewitt moved to Los Angeles, California, with her mother at the suggestion of talent scouts, 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 would later recommend Hewitt for her role in Party of Five.

Hewitt began her acting career as a child by appearing in TV commercials and the Disney Channel series Kids Incorporated. After attaining several credits, she eventually rose to fame in teenage popular culture through her roles in the FOX series Party of Five (in which she starred as Sarah Reeves Merrin), the horror film I Know What You Did Last Summer, and its 1998 sequel (both in which she portrayed Julie James). Hewitt went on to star in the hit CBS TV series Ghost Whisperer, playing the role of Melinda Gordon, for which she won a Saturn Award in 2007 and 2008 for Best Actress on Television. She then starred in the Lifetime TV series The Client List as Riley Parks; she was previously nominated for a Golden Globe Award for the show's pilot movie. In addition to acting, she served as a producer on some of her film and TV projects.

As a singer, Hewitt's first notable association with music was as one of the backup singers in Martika's number-one single Toy Soldiers. When she was twelve years old, Meldac funded the recording of her debut studio album, which was titled Love Songs. The album was released exclusively in Japan, where Hewitt became a well-known pop star. Currently, Hewitt is signed by Atlantic Records and Jive Records, and is most well 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. Hewitt has also contributed music to the promotion or soundtracks of acting projects.

In November 2009, Hewitt made a foray into writing comic books. Writer Scott Lobdell scripted a five-issue anthology titled Jennifer Love Hewitt's Music Box, which was based on Hewitt's ideas. The series was published by IDW Publishing and collected in a trade paperback. She later wrote a book titled The Day I Shot Cupid, in which she speaks of her experiences with love and dating. During a January 2010 interview on Lopez Tonight, Hewitt announced there was a chapter in the book about "vajazzling" her "vajayjay" (her term for decorating her vulva with Swarovski crystals); she is said to have contributed to the popularization of this trend. The book became a New York Times Bestseller on the week of its release. In June 2011, Hewitt announced via her Twitter page that she was penning a follow-up. There is an audiobook version that Hewitt reads herself.

In her personal life, in late 2005, Hewitt began dating Scottish actor Ross McCall, who made an appearance on Ghost Whisperer. They became engaged in November 2007 while they were vacationing in Hawaii. However, she called off their engagement in late 2008 and subsequently dated her Ghost Whisperer costar Jamie Kennedy from March 2009 to March 2010. In March 2012, Hewitt began dating her The Client List costar Brian Hallisay. In June 2013, Hewitt announced that she and Hallisay were engaged and expecting their first child. They married later in 2013, prior to the birth of their daughter, Autumn James Hallisay, on November 26. In January 2015, the couple announced they were expecting their second child, which prompted Hewitt's departure from her series regular role on Criminal Minds. On June 24, 2015, their second child, a boy named Atticus James, was born.

On Criminal Minds[]

Hewitt appears as main character SSA Kate Callahan, a former undercover FBI agent, for the entire duration of Season Ten.

Filmography[]

  • 1989–1991 - Kids Incorporated - Robin (credited as Love Hewitt)
  • 1992 - Dance! Workout with Barbie - Herself (as Love Hewitt)
  • 1992–1993 - Shaky Ground - Bernadette Moody (17 episodes)
  • 1993 - Running Wilde - Unknown (pilot for series not picked up)
  • 1994 - The Byrds of Paradise - Franny Byrd (7 episodes)
  • 1994–1995 - McKenna - Cassidy McKenna (3 episodes)
  • 1995–2000 - Party of Five - Sarah Reeves Merrin (99 episodes)
  • 1998 - Boy Meets World - Jennifer Love Fefferman (episode: "And Then There Was Shawn")
  • 1998 - Saturday Night Live - Herself/host (episode: "Jennifer Love Hewitt/Beastie Boys")
  • 1999 - Hercules: The Animated Series - Medusa (episode: "Hercules and the Gorgon"; voice)
  • 1999–2000 - Time of Your Life - Sarah Reeves Merrin (19 episodes)
  • 2000 - The Audrey Hepburn Story - Audrey Hepburn
  • 2001 - The Weekenders - Herself (episode: "My Punky Valentine"; voice)
  • 2002 - The Hunchback of Notre Dame II - Madellaine (voice)
  • 2002 - All That - Herself / musical guest (episode: "Jeffrey Licon/Jennifer Love Hewitt")
  • 2002 - Family Guy - Herself (episode: "Stuck Together, Torn Apart"; voice)
  • 2004 - American Dreams - Nancy Sinatra (2 episodes)
  • 2004 - Garfield - Dr. Liz Wilson (movie)
  • 2004 - In the Game - Riley Reed (2 pilot episodes; un-aired series)
  • 2004 - A Christmas Carol - Emily
  • 2005 - Confessions of a Sociopathic Social Climber - Katya Livingston
  • 2005–2010 - Ghost Whisperer - Melinda Gordon - (107 episodes)
  • 2006 - Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties - Dr. Liz Wilson (movie)
  • 2009 - Yes, Virginia - Mrs. Laura O'Hanlon (voice)
  • 2009 - The Magic 7 - Erica (voice)
  • 2010 - The Client List - Samantha "Sam" Horton/Brandy
  • 2010 - Law & Order: Special Victims Unit - Vicki Sayers (episode: "Behave")
  • 2011 - The Lost Valentine - Susan Allison
  • 2011 - Love Bites - Herself (episode: "Firsts")
  • 2011–2014 - Hot in Cleveland - Emmy Chase (3 episodes)
  • 2012 - RuPaul's Drag Race - Guest judge (episode: "DILFs: Dads I'd Like to Frock")
  • 2012–2013 - The Client List - Riley Parks
  • 2014–2015 - Criminal Minds - Kate Callahan (Season Ten)
  • 2018–present - 9-1-1 - Maddie Buckley - (71 episodes)

Producer[]

  • 1999–2000 - Time of Your Life
  • 2000 - The Audrey Hepburn Story - Co-executive producer
  • 2000 - Bunny
  • 2002 -One Night
  • 2004 - If Only
  • 2005–2010 - Ghost Whisperer - Producer (83 episodes) and executive producer (11 episodes)
  • 2010 - The Client List - Executive producer
  • 2011 - The Lost Valentine - Executive producer
  • 2012–2013 - The Client List - Executive producer

Soundtrack[]

  • Jar of Hearts/Before He Cheats (2012) - The Client List - 2 episodes (uncredited)
  • It Hurts (2009) - Alpha Males Experiment
  • BareNaked (2006-2007) - Ghost Whisperer - 2 episodes
  • A Place Called Home (Reprise) (2004) - A Christmas Carol: The Musical (uncredited)
  • Love Will Show You Everything/Take My Heart Back (2004) - If Only
  • I Am So All Alone/1-2-Cha-Cha-Cha/I Was All Alone (2002) - The Adventures of Tom Thumb & Thumbelina (video)
  • I'm Gonna Love You (Madellaine's Love Song) (2002) - The Hunchback of Notre Dame II (video)
  • "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?" Theme (2000) - Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders (video)
  • How Do I Deal/I Will Survie (1998) - I Still Know What You Did Last Summer
  • How Do I Make You (1998) - Can't Hardly Wait
  • I Hope I Don't Fall In Love With You/I Believe In (1997) - Trojan War
  • It's Good To Know That I'm Alive (1996) - House Arrest

Director[]

  • The Client List (2012-2013) - 3 episodes
  • Ghost Whisperer (2009-2010) - 3 episodes

Writer[]

  • The Client List (2012) - 1 episode (story)
  • In the Game (2004) - Creator

External Links[]

For an up-to-date filmography, see here.

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