Jessica Lee Rose

Last updated

Jessica Lee Rose
Jessica Lee Rose - Streamy Awards 2009 (5).jpg
Rose at the 1st Streamy Awards in March 2009
Born (1987-04-26) April 26, 1987 (age 36)
OccupationActress
Years active2006–present
Spouse
(m. 2017)
Children1

Jessica Lee Rose (born April 26, 1987) is an American-New Zealand actress who first gained popularity after playing the role of lonelygirl15 , a fictional teenage homeschooled character named Bree who appeared in YouTube video blogs, beginning in June 2006. [1] In September 2006, the Los Angeles Times outed the character, destroying any mystery surrounding the possible fictionality of lonelygirl15, which thrust Rose into the mainstream spotlight while also increasing the viewership of the series. In 2007, Rose won a Webby for this role.

Contents

After leaving lonelygirl15 in August 2007, Rose played "Jen K." on ABC Family's Greek . She went on to appear in various movies, such as Perfect Sport and SyFy's Ghost Town, and other web series, such as Hooking Up and Sorority Forever . She signed on to do the independent movie Look at Me with her Lonelygirl15 co-star Yousef Abu Taleb in March 2010.

Early life

Rose was born in Salisbury, Maryland, and moved to Mount Maunganui, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand when she was eight. [1] She attended Mount Maunganui College in 2000–2003 for part of her secondary school education. Afterward, she attended an acting class at Studio 111 in Auckland. [2] In January 2004, she moved to Auckland to study at the Academy of Film and Television Make Up. [3]

During the course of her studies, Rose's film career included doing make-up and costume work on a New Zealand short film titled Us, [4] as well as doing extras' make-up on the set of Peter Jackson's King Kong . [5] She played a leading role in a short film titled Dearly Beloved [6] and played a supporting role in the short film Unleash the Fury. [7]

After Rose's parents separated, she returned to Salisbury in May 2005 [1] , right after her 18th birthday, to live with her father. She then enrolled in the New York Film Academy (NYFA) at Universal Studios in Universal City, California. [6] In her search for acting jobs, she found a listing for an independent film project, titled The Children of Anchor Cove, on Craigslist. [1] She auditioned for the lead part and was offered the role of Bree. Rose signed a non-disclosure agreement and was told that the project would consist of a series of videos released to the World Wide Web over the Internet. [1] The idea concerned her at first, as she was afraid the project was pornography, [8] but she was convinced otherwise and agreed to partake. Although initially unpaid, as lonelygirl15 grew popular, she and co-star Yousef Abu-Taleb received salaries. [8]

YouTube fame

Screen capture of Rose playing Bree from lonelygirl15 Lonelygirl15 lazy eye.jpg
Screen capture of Rose playing Bree from lonelygirl15

The lonelygirl15 video blogs, which first appeared in mid-2006, featured Rose as a 16-year-old girl named Bree posting under the alias lonelygirl15. The videos, which seemed genuine and presented lonelygirl15 as an actual person, initially dealt with typical teenage angst issues but soon after introduced a bizarre narrative surrounding secret occult practices within her family. The series was an immediate hit and became the most subscribed channel on YouTube [9] but suspicions arose as to whether the videos were genuine or some sort of a promotional gimmick. [10]

An investigation by the Los Angeles Times would reveal, in September 2006, that the lonelygirl15 videos were a work of fiction. [11] A firestorm ensued in the news media through September 2006, during which Rose and the creators of lonelygirl15 gained international attention and were interviewed by various magazines and television shows. [2] In October 2006, the United Nations chose Rose, via her character Bree, to participate in an ad campaign to promote the UN's antipoverty cause. [12]

In August 2007, Rose landed a role on Greek as "Jen K.", Rusty Cartwright's girlfriend. [13] On the show, her character referenced the actress's breakout role stating "It's like I'm living with lonelygirl15!" [14] "Weeping Willow", a November 2006 episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent , was inspired by the lonelygirl15 videos. [15]

On June 16, 2016, on the tenth anniversary of the series debut, Lonelygirl15 reappeared. The video has Bree reassuring an unnamed 15-year-old subject about being selected, as Bree had been. [16] [17] [18]

Post-YouTube career

After her departure from lonelygirl15, Rose was signed by United Talent Agency [1] and was cast in the ABC Family series Greek in the role of "Jen K", and in the 2007 Chris Sivertson film I Know Who Killed Me , which starred Lindsay Lohan. [19] She then played "Tina", an aspiring wrestler, [20] in the award-winning sports drama Perfect Sport. [21] In January 2009, Rose appeared in the music video for The White Tie Affair's song "Candle (Sick and Tired)", [22] and that October she appeared in the Syfy television movie, Ghost Town. [23]

On April 4, 2008, it was announced that she would star in a web television series called Blood Cell, [24] about "a young woman [who] must race against the clock to stop a sadistic madman after receiving a disturbing late-night phone call from a friend in danger." [25] The series was released in October 2009 through theWB.com to little media fanfare. [26] She also starred in another web series called Sorority Forever from Big Fantastic. The series followed three incoming freshman in "the hottest sorority on campus" with some Gossip Girl and Veronica Mars elements to it. [27] Additionally, she appeared in Hooking Up, a 10 episode web series from HBO featuring other recognized faces from the web including video bloggers sxePhil and KevJumba. [28]

In November 2008, Rose teamed up with friend and fellow Sorority Forever star Taryn Southern to form a web production company called Webutantes, to potentially produce female-driven comedy web series. [29] The two presented together at the 2009 Streamy Awards. [30]

In 2009, Rose appeared in the web series Poor Paul , which is produced by former lonelygirl15 co-star Yousef Abu-Taleb, [31] and the second season of the web series The Crew. [32]

Aside from acting, she is an Anaheim Ducks fan and periodically blogs for NHL.com. [33]

Rose reappeared as Bree on Lonelygirl15 in June 2016. [16] [17] [18]

Personal life

In March 2016, Rose became engaged to her partner and fellow actor Tim Phillipps. [34] They married at the Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron in early 2017. [35] She gave birth to their first child, a son, in September 2019. [36]

Filmography

Film
YearTitleRoleNotes
2007 I Know Who Killed Me Marcia
2008Perfect SportTina
2009Ghost TownChloeTV film
2011 ElfQuest: A Fan Imagining AroreeShort film
2013Look at MeElizabeth
2013Casting CouchAlex
Television
YearTitleRoleNotes
2007–2008, 2011 Greek Jen K.11 episodes
2008CasanovasJess"The Strip Tease" (season 1: episode 13)
2008Blood CellJulia9 episodes
2008Hooking UpMeg Henley10 episodes
2009, 2011 Poor Paul Beatrice8 episodes
2009The CrewMap"A Pirate's Life" (season 2: episode 3)
"Mis-Guided" (season 2: episode 4)
2010BlackBoxTVJulia Anderson"Cats Got Your Tongue?" (season 1: episode 7)
2010–2011The Temp LifeTammy Roeder"The Other Roeder" (season 5: episode 3)
"The Counselor's Counselor" (season 5: episode 4)
"The Hungover" (season 5: episode 5)
2012Chronicles of a Man ChildDana"For the Bible Told Me So" (season 1: episode 1)

Web

YearTitleRoleNotes
2006–2007, 2016 Lonelygirl15 Bree Avery150 episodes
2006OpaphidBree Avery (voice)"Everyone Hates Cassie: What a Poor, Lonely Girl." (season 1: episode 8)
2008 Sorority Forever Julie Gold40 episodes
2010The Webventures of Justin & AldenVampiraEpisode: "Back to the Present"

Awards and recognitions

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michelle Trachtenberg</span> American actress (born 1985)

Michelle Christine Trachtenberg is an American actress. Trachtenberg began her career at age three, appearing in a number of commercials, films, and television series as a child. Her starring role on the Nickelodeon television series The Adventures of Pete & Pete (1994–1996) as Nona Mecklenberg was her first credited role. She starred in the Nickelodeon Movies comedy film Harriet the Spy (1996) as the film's eponymous character and in the CBS sitcom Meego (1997) as Maggie, for both of which she won Young Artist Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Felicia Day</span> American actress

Kathryn Felicia Day is an American actress, writer, and web series creator. She is the creator and star of the web series The Guild (2007–2013), a show loosely based on her life as a gamer. She also wrote and starred in the Dragon Age web series Dragon Age: Redemption (2011). She is a founder of the online media company Geek & Sundry, best known for hosting the show Critical Role between 2015 and 2019. Day was a member of the board of directors of the International Academy of Web Television from December 2009 until August 2012.

<i>Diggnation</i> American comedy podcast

Diggnation was a weekly humor video podcast hosted by Kevin Rose and Alex Albrecht. Broadcast on Revision3, the first episode aired on July 1, 2005 and the last episode on December 30, 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taryn Southern</span> American actress

Taryn Southern is an American storyteller, artist, speaker and brand strategist who works with emerging technologies. She was formerly known for her work as a TV host, actress and YouTuber.

<i>Ask a Ninja</i> Comedy podcast about ninjas

Ask A Ninja is a series of comedy videos about the image of ninja in popular culture available in podcast and vodcast form, as well as in mov and WMV file formats. The episodes were released between 2005 and 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jessica Simpson</span> American singer (born 1980)

Jessica Ann Simpson is an American singer, actress, and businesswoman. After performing in church choirs as a child, Simpson signed with Columbia Records in 1997, aged seventeen. Her debut studio album, Sweet Kisses (1999), sold two million copies in the United States and saw the commercial success of the single "I Wanna Love You Forever". Simpson adopted a more mature image for her second studio album, Irresistible (2001), and its title track became her second top 20 entry on the Billboard Hot 100. The album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In This Skin (2003), Simpson's third studio album, sold three million copies in the United States.

<i>lonelygirl15</i> American TV series or program

lonelygirl15 is an American science fiction thriller web series created by Miles Beckett, Mesh Flinders, Greg Goodfried, and Amanda Goodfried. It was independently released on YouTube from June 16, 2006, to August 1, 2008, and was also briefly released on Revver and Myspace. The series revolves around the initially mundane life of homeschooled 16-year-old Bree Avery, who uses the username Lonelygirl15 online. She goes on the run with her friend Daniel after her parents' mysterious religion is revealed to be The Order, a blood-harvesting operation that wants her "trait positive" blood. The series is presented through video blogs, or vlogs, originally recorded solely from Bree's bedroom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yousef Abu-Taleb</span> American actor and producer

Yousef Abu-Taleb is an American actor. He was born in Arlington and raised in Virginia before moving to Los Angeles, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jackson Davis (actor)</span> American actor

Jackson Davis is an American actor. He is best known for portraying the character "Jonas" from the lonelygirl15 videos series, its spinoff KateModern, and its sequel series, LG15: The Resistance. He was born in Gloversville, New York, but was raised in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he attended Ephrata High School. He starred in the 2009 film You, Only Better..., a movie about life coaches.

"Weeping Willow" is the tenth episode of the sixth season of Law & Order: Criminal Intent. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on November 28, 2006. In the episode, a teenage blogger nicknamed WeepingWillow17, played by guest star Michelle Trachtenberg, is apparently kidnapped during the filming of one of her Internet videos. Detectives Mike Logan and Megan Wheeler investigate the so-called "cyber-kidnapping", which they and the public speculate may be an elaborate Internet hoax.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caitlin Hill</span> Australian blogger (born 1988)

Caitlin Alexandra Hill is an Australian YouTube personality under the name TheHill88. She produces, edits and uploads her videos from her home in Brisbane, and since 2008 from New York City.

A web series is a series of scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet, which first emerged in the late 1990s and became more prominent in the early 2000s. A single instance of a web series program can be called an episode or a "webisode"; however, the term is not always used. In general, web series can be watched on a range of platforms and devices, including desktop, laptop, tablets and smartphones. They are different from streaming television, which is purposed to be watched on various streaming platforms,

iJustine American YouTube personality (born 1984)

Justine Ezarik is an American YouTuber. She is best known as iJustine, with over one billion views on her YouTube channel. She gained attention as a lifecaster who communicated directly with her millions of viewers on her Justin.tv channel, ijustine.tv. She acquired notability in roles variously described as a "lifecasting star", a "new media star", or one of the Internet's most popular lifecasters. She posts videos on her main channel iJustine.

Julianna Guill is an American actress. She is known for her roles in films such as Friday the 13th (2009), Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011), The Apparition (2012), and Alex of Venice (2014). Guill has also appeared as Scarlet Hauksson on the web series My Alibi (2008–2009), Christie DeWitt on the TBS comedy drama series Glory Daze (2010–2011), Becca Riley on the Bravo comedy drama series Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce (2014–2017), and Jessie Nevin on the FOX medical drama series The Resident (2018–present). She currently stars as Marybeth Pickett on the Paramount+ neo-western crime series Joe Pickett (2021–present).

<i>Sorority Forever</i> American TV series or program

Sorority Forever is a streaming television series created and produced by web production company Big Fantastic, the creators of SamHas7Friends and Prom Queen. Film director McG is an executive producer of the show. The first season of the series, which debuted September 8, 2008 on TheWB.com, followed four incoming freshmen in "the hottest sorority on campus". While it had some Gossip Girl elements to it, it "also contain(ed) a lot of mystery similar to Prom Queen."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bree Olson</span> American former pornographic actress (born 1986)

Bree Olson, is an American actress, model, and former pornographic actress. She performed in over 460 pornographic films from 2006 to 2011. Since leaving the adult film industry, she has become critical of the industry for its business practices, and the stigma attached to being a former porn actress.

<i>Epic Fu</i> American TV series or program

Epic Fu was a web series created by producers Steve Woolf and Zadi Diaz. The show premiered on June 1, 2006 with Zadi Diaz as the host and ended in 2011.

<i>The Legend of Neil</i> American TV series or program

The Legend of Neil is a comedy web series distributed by Comedy Central's partner Atom.com and is a parody of the Nintendo game The Legend of Zelda. Sandeep Parikh of The Guild fame directs the series. Tony Janning writes for the series, and acts as the title character Neil. Felicia Day and Mike Rose, who have worked with Parikh on the set of The Guild, appear as recurring characters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">EQAL</span>

EQAL was a media and technology company founded in 2008 by Miles Beckett and Greg Goodfried, two of the creators of lonelygirl15. EQAL built influencer networks around celebrities, consumer brands, and intellectual properties. Prior to building influencer networks, EQAL produced lonelygirl15 (LG15) as well as for producing other series in the LG15 Universe including KateModern in association with Bebo and LG15: The Resistance, as well as Harper’s Globe, the original web series, commissioned by CBS as a tie-in for the series, Harper’s Island. In 2012, Everyday Health acquired EQAL.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zadi Diaz</span>

Zadi Diaz is an American producer and director, known for founding the web series Epic Fu, co-hosting the podcast New Mediacracy, and executive producer of YouTube Nation. She has won a number of Webby and Streamy Awards.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Gentile, Gary (September 14, 2006). "Sudden Fame Amazes 'Lonelygirl15' Star". The Washington Post . Associated Press. Retrieved March 27, 2008.
  2. 1 2 Atkinson, Kent (September 13, 2006). "Lonelygirl15 revealed as 19-year-old NZ actress". The New Zealand Herald . Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved March 27, 2008.
  3. "TVNZ LAUNCHES ?SORORITY FOREVER,? A NEW ORIGINAL DIGITAL SERIES AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY ONLINE, FROM". TVNZ. Retrieved September 12, 2009.
  4. Borama, Jennifer (December 12, 2019). "10 Things You Didn't Know About Jessica Lee Rose". TVOvermind. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  5. 1 2 Rowan, Juliet (February 24, 2007). "Fame game takes some getting used to for Lonelygirl" . Retrieved September 12, 2009.
  6. 1 2 Hutcheon, Stephen (September 13, 2006). "Lonelygirl: a Rose by any other name". The Sydney Morning Herald . p. 2. Retrieved September 13, 2006.
  7. Rose, Jessica Lee (Actor). Unleash The Fury (YouTube video) (Short film). New Zealand: Obstruction Productions. Retrieved September 12, 2009.
  8. 1 2 Davis, Joshua (December 2006). "The Secret World of Lonelygirl". Wired Magazine . Retrieved September 12, 2009.
  9. Gannes, Liz (January 24, 2007). "Carmen Electra in Lonelygirl15's Bedroom". NewTeeVee. Archived from the original on August 17, 2009. Retrieved November 3, 2009.
  10. Sternbergh, Adam (August 20, 2006). "Hey There, Lonelygirl". New York Magazine . Retrieved November 3, 2009.
  11. Rushfield, Richard and Claire Hoffman (September 13, 2006). "Lonelygirl15 Video Blog Is Brainchild of 3 Filmmakers". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved November 3, 2009.
  12. Vranica, Suzanne (October 9, 2006). "U.N. Enlists Internet Star for Antipoverty Pitch". The Wall Street Journal . Retrieved March 27, 2008.
  13. Frankel, Daniel (October 4, 2007). "LonelyGirl15". Variety . Retrieved March 27, 2008.
  14. Rose, Jessica Lee (Actor) (September 3, 2007). Greek (Television production). ABC Family. Retrieved September 3, 2007. It's like living with lonelygirl15!
  15. Starr, Michael (November 24, 2006). "L&Onely Girl: Abducted web mystery gal". New York Post . Archived from the original on March 15, 2008. Retrieved September 8, 2008.
  16. 1 2 "lonelygirl15". YouTube. Retrieved June 20, 2016.
  17. 1 2 lonelygirl15 (June 16, 2016), Whatever Happened To lonelygirl15?, archived from the original on December 18, 2021, retrieved June 20, 2016{{citation}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  18. 1 2 "Today in History". June 16, 2016. Archived from the original on September 10, 2016. Today in History ... Thursday, June 16, the 168th day of 2016 ... Ten years ago: ... "Lonelygirl15," a fictitious video blogger played by actress Jessica Lee Rose, made her online debut.
  19. "Lonelygirl15 Co-Stars With Lohan in I Know Who Killed Me". February 16, 2007. Archived from the original on September 21, 2009. Retrieved September 12, 2009.
  20. "Jessica Rose, aka lonelygirl15, wants to wrestle boys". LA Times Blog. April 10, 2008. Retrieved September 12, 2009.
  21. "Award Winning Independent Film, Perfect Sport, is Released on DVD". PR.com. May 20, 2009. Retrieved September 12, 2009.
  22. "The White Tie Affair – Candle (Sick And Tired)". The Worm. Archived from the original on February 18, 2009. Retrieved September 12, 2009.
  23. "Saturday's TV Highlights: 'Always and Forever' on Hallmark". Los Angeles Times . October 23, 2009. Retrieved October 29, 2009.
  24. "NZ's Lonelygirl15 takes another crack at web stardom". Stuff.co.nz. Archived from the original on April 8, 2008. Retrieved April 12, 2008.
  25. Moore,Debi (March 12, 2009). "Blood Cell Web Series Will Star LonelyGirl15". DreadCentral.com. Retrieved September 12, 2009.
  26. Hustvedt, Marc (October 29, 2009). "'Blood Cell' Quietly Rings TheWB.com". Tubefilter. Archived from the original on October 31, 2009. Retrieved October 29, 2009.
  27. Perera, Iman (September 15, 2008). "Sorority Forever: Lonelygirl15's New Web Series" . Retrieved September 12, 2009.
  28. Shea, Danny (September 8, 2008). "HBO Launches Web Series "Hooking Up" Starring Lonelygirl15". The Huffington Post . Retrieved November 2, 2009.
  29. Hustvedt, Marc (November 18, 2008). "Jessica Rose and Taryn Southern Team Up As 'Webutantes'". Tubefilter.tv. Archived from the original on December 11, 2008. Retrieved September 12, 2009.
  30. "1st Annual Streamy Awards". Getty Images. March 28, 2009. Retrieved September 12, 2009.
  31. Hustvedt, Marc (September 1, 2009). "Jessica Rose Joins 'Poor Paul' Cast". Archived from the original on September 6, 2009. Retrieved September 20, 2009.
  32. Hustvedt, Marc (October 7, 2009). "'The Crew' Gets Babelgum On Board For Season 2". Tubefilter. Archived from the original on October 11, 2009. Retrieved October 29, 2009.
  33. Rose, Jessica. "Celeb Blogger Profile: Jessica Rose". NHL.com. Retrieved September 12, 2009.
  34. "Neighbours star Tim Phillipps engaged". TV Week . March 7, 2016. Retrieved June 10, 2016.
  35. Simich, Ricardo (April 8, 2017). "The McCaws in Melbourne for celeb wedding". The New Zealand Herald . Retrieved June 28, 2017.
  36. West, Amy (September 30, 2019). "Former Neighbours star Tim Phillipps welcomes first child with wife Jessica". Digital Spy . Retrieved June 13, 2020.
  37. "The Official Streamy Awards Nominees". The Streamy Awards. Archived from the original on August 5, 2009. Retrieved September 12, 2009.
  38. "40 GREATEST INTERNET SUPERSTARS #1 – #40". VH1. Archived from the original on April 6, 2007. Retrieved September 12, 2009.
  39. Ewalt, David M. (January 23, 2007). "The Web Celeb 25". Forbes . Retrieved September 12, 2009.
  40. "30 Inspirational Women Under 30". Jane Magazine . May 2007.
  41. "Jessica Rose is Today's Girl on Maxim". MaximOnline.com. Archived from the original on April 27, 2009. Retrieved March 29, 2008.
  42. Koenig, Jeff (November 20, 2009). "The Five Hottest Stars of Web Series". VideoSurf Blog. Archived from the original on November 27, 2009. Retrieved November 24, 2009.