Ten Things You Never Knew About Jessica Biel

Launching a movie career on the back of a successful sitcom stint is never easy, yet Jessica Biel has managed to brush aside the reservations Hollywood has about TV stars. Joining the cast of 7th Heaven as a precocious 14-year-old, Jessica has gone on to star in movies as diverse as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Blade: Trinity, I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry and this week's Easy Virtue. In addition to that, her boyfriend is a little-known popstar called Justin Timberlake! Read on to find out ten fast facts about the curvaceous Hollywood actress.

1. Jessica was born on March 3, 1982 in Ely, Minnesota to Kimberly and John Biel. The Biels travelled across America throughout her childhood, living in Texas, Connecticut and Woodstock before settling in Colorado.

2. Jessica has a multicultural ancestry. She has German, French, English, Irish and Choctaw Native American descendants.

3. Jessica signed for a modelling agency at 12 and made her first screen appearance in a commercial for Pringles.

4. One of Jessica's favourite films is Dirty Dancing ("I watched it every day after school in eighth grade"). She even had the opportunity to watch the sugary romance with Patrick Swayze. "He sat down and watched the last half hour with me. It was a really cool moment," she recalled.

5. Jessica's best friend is her 7th Heaven co-star Beverley Mitchell. Despite being younger, Jessica portrayed the older sister to Beverley's character Lucy Camden.

6. American Beauty producers felt Jessica was too clean cut to star in the film. In a late bid to win the role, she posed in a saucy cover shoot for Gear magazine, which caused uproar with 7th Heaven viewers.

7. Jessica turned down the chance to play Wonder Woman in the postponed superhero blockbuster Justice League Of America.

8. Before she met JT, Biel dated Chris Evans. No, not the ginger Radio 2 presenter, the beefcake Chris Evans from Fantastic Four and Sunshine!

9. Jessica put herself up for auction to help raise money for a teenager who lost her leg on in a limousine accident. The winning bidder, a lucky chap by the name of John, paid $30,000 for a date with the actress.

10. 2008 has been a good year for Jessica in terms of the pin-up stakes. She was number two in FHM Online's '100 Sexiest Women' list, third in Maxim's and in number thirteen in FHM UK's.