Rachel Bilson Biography

Rachel Bilson was born on August 25, 1981, in Los Angeles, California, the United States. Her mother, Janice Stango, is a sex therapist and her father, Danny Bilson, is a writer, director, and producer. She has an older brother. Her mother is a Catholic Italian-American and her father is Jewish.

In her own words, she was treated like a “princess” when she was a little girl. She was pampered by her parents and had a lovely childhood.

Her parents later divorced. Her father remarried and had two more daughters.

Her father’s side of the family has a rich history in show business. Her grandfather Bruce Bilson was a producer and director. Her great-grandfather George Bilson worked for RKO Pictures, heading the movie trailer department. Her great-grandmother Hattie Bilson was a screenwriter, a great achievement for a woman of that era.

Rachel Bilson went to Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, California. Future actress Kirsten Dunst, actor Rami Malek, and singer Katharine McPhee were among her classmates. She later attended Grossmont College, a community college, on her father’s advice. Her father encouraged her to pursue a professional acting career.

Rachel Bilson began her career with numerous appearances in commercials. She appeared in advertisements for many popular brands, including Pepto-Bismol, Subway restaurants, and Raisin Bran.

Soon she began to get acting offers and made her screen debut appearing in an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer in early 2003. She also had a small role in the sitcom 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter.

She bagged a major role as the character Summer Roberts in the teen drama TV series The O.C. The series began airing in 2003. Even though she was initially roped in for just a few episodes, she was made a series regular after her character became a fan favourite.

After becoming a popular TV actress, she turned her attention to films and made her movie debut in the romantic-comedy-drama film The Last Kiss in 2006. Her co-star in the movie was Zach Braff.

In 2008, she appeared in director Doug Liman's thriller film Jumper. The same year, she appeared in the film New York, I Love You and a two-episode arc in Josh Schwartz's NBC comedy Chuck. She also appeared in the 100th episode of How I Met Your Mother.

The year 2011 was a busy one for Rachel Bilson. She appeared in the indie film L!fe Happens and also began starring in The CW series Hart of Dixie. The show ran for four seasons.

She started appearing in CMT's Nashville in 2017 and starred in the ABC drama series Take Two the next year.

She collaborated with her former The O.C. co-star Melinda Clarke to launch a podcast titled Welcome to the OC, Bitches! The podcast featured the hosts and selected guests re-watching and discussing episodes of The O.C. Adam Brody, Peter Gallagher, and Josh Schwartz were some of the guests invited.

Rachel Bilson has always been considered a fashion icon. She teamed up with DKNY Jeans in late 2007 to create a clothing line called Edie Rose. The collection was launched the following year. She appeared in an advertisement, modeling her Edie Rose collection.

In 2011, she collaborated with her personal stylist Nicole Chavez and fashion designer Steve Madden to launch ShoeMint, a footwear collection that provides an "online customized shoe shopping experience.”

Rachel Bilson is best known for starring in the teen drama TV series The O.C. She played the role of Summer Roberts, a pretty and popular socialite who is also an animal activist. The series has been broadcast in over 50 countries worldwide.

She played Zoe Hart in the comedy-drama TV series Hart of Dixie. She portrayed a doctor who aspires to be a heart surgeon but is unable to achieve her dream. The series ran for four successful seasons.

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

She later began a relationship with actor Hayden Christensen. They had a daughter in October 2014. The couple separated three years later.