Beginnings (1991–2002) Biel initially trained to be a vocalist. At age nine, she appeared in several musical productions in her hometown, playing lead roles in productions such as
The Sound of Music and
Beauty and the Beast. At 11 she participated in a competition sponsored by the
International Modeling and Talent Association in Los Angeles where she acquired an agent and professional talent manager. She began modeling for print advertisements and appeared in commercials for products such as
Dulux Paint and
Pringles. In spring 1998, during a break from filming
7th Heaven, she co-starred in ''
I'll Be Home for Christmas'' with
Jonathan Taylor Thomas as his character's love interest. In 2001, Biel played the love interest of
Freddie Prinze Jr. in the baseball-themed film
Summer Catch. In 2002, she starred as
promiscuous college student Lara in the ensemble film
The Rules of Attraction, an adaptation of the
Bret Easton Ellis novel. The movie received mixed reviews, became a box-office hit, and has since gained a cult following.
Rise to prominence (2003–2012) in June 2004 Biel was cast in her first top-billing role in
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake. Although the film met with negative reviews, it was a commercial success, scoring the number-one spot in its opening week and going on to earn more than $80 million in the U.S. In 2003, Biel began work on the third installment of the
Blade film series,
Blade: Trinity. Despite negative reviews,
Trinity was a box office hit, grossing $150 million worldwide. After finishing it in 2004, she headed to Australia to shoot the action-thriller
Stealth. Biel also appeared in the 2004 film
Cellular; played a supporting role, Ellen, in the
romantic comedy Elizabethtown (2005); and starred in the
indie film
London. In 2005,
Esquire named her the "
Sexiest Woman Alive" in a six-part series with each month revealing a different body part and clue to the woman's identity. while
Todd McCarthy of
Variety wrote, "Handily employing a refined English accent where the others lay on a light Austrian veneer, Biel is entirely stunning enough to fight to the death over." Biel played an
Iraq War veteran in the 2006 film
Home of the Brave, a drama about soldiers struggling to readjust to society after facing the hardships of war. In
Next Biel starred alongside
Nicolas Cage and
Julianne Moore. She appeared in the summer comedy
I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, co-starring
Adam Sandler and
Kevin James. In late 2007, Biel signed on to play a
stripper in
Powder Blue, alongside
Forest Whitaker (who also produced the film),
Ray Liotta and
Patrick Swayze. In 2007,
Stuff magazine's named her No. 1 on their "100 Sexiest Women". At the start of 2008, Biel shot
Easy Virtue, an adaptation of the play by
Noël Coward. Like the play, the film is set in the 1920s and Biel plays young widow Larita, who impulsively marries John Whittaker in France and must face her disapproving in-laws on returning to England. The film premiered in September 2008 at the
Toronto International Film Festival. Critics praised Biel for her performance, with
Todd McCarthy of
Variety saying Biel "more than kept up" with veterans
Kristin Scott Thomas and
Colin Firth and praising her "sparkling" performance.
The Hollywood Reporter described her performance as "an irresistible force of nature — a kind, witty, supremely intelligent and beautiful woman who ... is capable of rejoinders that thoroughly undercut her opponent's withering criticism." Biel also performed two songs on the film's soundtrack, "
Mad About the Boy" and "
When the Going Gets Tough". In 2009, Biel lent her voice to the animated science fiction film
Planet 51. Biel performed the role of Sarah Brown with the
Los Angeles Philharmonic in a fully staged concert production of
Guys and Dolls during the 2009 season at the
Hollywood Bowl. On the last night, she received a rousing standing ovation from 17,000 people. She subsequently landed a part in
Lincoln Center Theater's two-week-long workshop of
the musical version of the
Pedro Almodóvar film
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, along with
Salma Hayek. In 2012, Biel starred in the remake of the 1990 science fiction movie
Total Recall alongside
Colin Farrell and
Kate Beckinsale. She portrayed actress
Vera Miles in the biographical film
Hitchcock, based on
Stephen Rebello's book
Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho. She also appeared in
Playing for Keeps with
Gerard Butler.
Independent film route and move into producing (2013–present) in 2009 Biel starred in the thriller film
Emanuel and the Truth About Fishes, which premiered at the
Sundance Film Festival on January 18, 2013. In April 2008, Biel began working on the political satire
Accidental Love, with
Jake Gyllenhaal. The film centers around a woman who accidentally gets a nail lodged in her head and travels to Washington, D.C. to fight for better health care. In May 2009, Biel spoke about the film's production turmoil, saying: "That was definitely an experience, something I could not say no to. I am a huge David O. Russell fan. It's just heartbreaking that so many people put so much work into this particular project only to have it sit there, unfinished." The film was released on
video on demand on February 10, 2015, and received largely negative reviews from critics. In 2015, Biel starred in the independent drama
Bleeding Heart, in which she plays a yoga instructor named May who meets her biological sister Shiva (
Zosia Mamet), a sex worker, for the first time. The film premiered on April 17, 2015, at the
Tribeca Film Festival, receiving mixed reviews, though Biel earned praise for her performance. Richard Lawson of
Vanity Fair commented: "Though she's not given too much to work with in terms of character, Biel plays May with appealing nuance, creating a low-key, bliss-based Angeleno, all light and airy and gentle and poised, who discovers within herself an untapped hardness and anger and strength... when Biel has to conjure up more profound emotions, she proves adept, and surprisingly subtle." Clayton Davis of
AwardsCircuit.com also praised her performance, writing, "With an internalized and very subtle performance, Biel excels in her ability to find the very motivation of May." In 2016, Biel co-starred with
Patrick Wilson (with whom she had worked on
The A-Team) in the thriller
A Kind of Murder, based on the novel
The Blunderer by
Patricia Highsmith. She voiced the character Vix in the animated film
Spark, with
Susan Sarandon and
Hilary Swank, which was released in 2016. Biel also appeared in the drama
The Book of Love, based on the book
The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, about an introverted architect (
Jason Sudeikis) who loses his wife (Biel) and sets out to help a teenager named Millie (
Maisie Williams). Biel also produced the project from its conception some years prior, and was directed by Bill Purple, who directed her in the short film
Hole in the Paper Sky. The film was released in January 2017. On August 2, 2017, Biel's eight-episode limited series murder mystery,
The Sinner, debuted on
USA Network. Biel is both executive producer and played the series' lead character Cora Tannetti. She stated that she moved into production so that she could develop projects with challenging and interesting roles rather than waiting for them to happen. Biel starred in and executive produced the 2022 true-crime drama miniseries
Candy on
Hulu. Biel is set to lead the upcoming sci-fi thriller
Ursa Major directed by brothers Jonathan and Josh Baker. In May 2025, Biel was announced as one of the executive producers on the
7th Heaven reboot in development at
CBS Studios. == Personal life ==