Jessica Claire Biel is an American actress and model. Biel is known for her television role as Mary Camden in the long-running family-drama series 7th Heaven. She has also appeared in several Hollywood films, including Summer Catch, the remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Illusionist, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry and The A-Team. Jessica Claire Biel was born in Ely, Minnesota, to Kimberly Biel, a homemaker and spiritual healer, and Jonathan Biel, an entrepreneur and former business consultant. She has a younger brother, Justin, born in 1985. Biel has German, French, English, and Choctaw ancestry. Biel's family moved frequently during her childhood, living in Texas, Connecticut and Woodstock, Illinois, before finally settling in Boulder, Colorado. Biel initially trained to be a vocalist, and appeared in several musical productions in her hometown, playing lead roles in productions such as Annie, The Sound of Music and Beauty and the Beast. At 12 years old, Biel attended The International Modeling and Talent Association conference in Los Angeles, where she was discovered and signed on by a talent agency. She began doing modeling work in print advertisements, as well as appearing in commercials for products such as Dulux Paint and Pringles. Biel also played the character Regrettal, a lead role in a low-budget musical short titled It's a Digital World, but the film was never released. At age 14, after auditioning for several television pilots, Biel was cast as the oldest daughter in the family drama, 7th Heaven. The show was originally scheduled to air on Fox, but was picked up by The WB Television Network instead. 7th Heaven would go on to last for 11 seasons, making it the longest-running family drama in U.S. television history, and also became the highest-rated show on The WB.