Jessica Lee Rose facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jessica Lee Rose
Rose at the 1st Streamy Awards in March 2009
Born	(1987-04-26) April 26, 1987 (age 38) Salisbury, Maryland, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2006–present
Spouse(s)	Tim Phillipps ​ (m. 2017)​
Children	1

Jessica Lee Rose is an American-New Zealand actress born on April 26, 1987. She became well-known for playing a character named Bree in a series of online videos called lonelygirl15. These videos started appearing on YouTube in June 2006. Bree was a fictional teenage character who was homeschooled. In September 2006, it was revealed that the videos were not real, which made Jessica even more famous and brought more viewers to the series. In 2007, Jessica won a Webby Award for her role as Bree.

After leaving lonelygirl15 in August 2007, Jessica continued her acting career. She appeared in TV shows like ABC Family's Greek and various movies and web series.

Early Life and Acting Dreams

Jessica Lee Rose was born in Salisbury, Maryland, in the United States. When she was eight years old, her family moved to Mount Maunganui, Bay of Plenty, in New Zealand. She attended Mount Maunganui College for part of her high school education. Later, she took acting classes at Studio 111 in Auckland. In January 2004, she moved to Auckland to study at the Academy of Film and Television Make Up.

While studying, Jessica also worked on films. She did make-up and costume work for a New Zealand short film called Us. She also helped with extras' make-up on the set of Peter Jackson's movie King Kong. She played a main role in a short film titled Dearly Beloved and a supporting role in Unleash the Fury.

After her parents separated, Jessica returned to Salisbury, Maryland, in May 2005, just after her 18th birthday. She then enrolled in the New York Film Academy (NYFA) at Universal Studios in Universal City, California. While looking for acting jobs, she found an advertisement for an independent film project called The Children of Anchor Cove on Craigslist. She auditioned and was offered the role of Bree. Jessica signed an agreement and learned that the project would be a series of videos released online. She was initially unsure about the project, but after learning more, she agreed to take part. At first, she wasn't paid, but as lonelygirl15 became very popular, she and her co-star Yousef Abu-Taleb started receiving salaries.

Becoming a YouTube Star

Screen capture of Rose playing Bree from lonelygirl15

The lonelygirl15 video blogs first appeared in mid-2006. Jessica Rose played a 16-year-old girl named Bree, using the online name lonelygirl15. The videos looked very real and made viewers believe lonelygirl15 was a true person. They started by showing typical teenage problems but soon introduced a strange story about secret family practices. The series quickly became very popular and was the most subscribed channel on YouTube. However, some people began to wonder if the videos were real or just a clever advertisement.

In September 2006, an investigation by the Los Angeles Times revealed that the lonelygirl15 videos were actually a work of fiction. This news caused a lot of excitement in the media. Jessica Rose and the creators of lonelygirl15 gained international attention and were interviewed by many magazines and TV shows. In October 2006, the United Nations even chose Jessica, through her character Bree, to be part of an ad campaign to help promote their efforts to fight poverty.

In August 2007, Jessica got a role on the TV show Greek as "Jen K.", who was Rusty Cartwright's girlfriend. On the show, her character even mentioned her famous role, saying, "It's like I'm living with lonelygirl15!" An episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent in November 2006, called "Weeping Willow", was inspired by the lonelygirl15 videos.

On June 16, 2016, exactly ten years after the series first appeared, lonelygirl15 made a comeback. A new video showed Bree reassuring another 15-year-old, who had been chosen for something, just like Bree had been.

Life After YouTube Fame

After leaving lonelygirl15, Jessica Rose signed with a talent agency. She was cast in the ABC Family series Greek in the role of "Jen K." and appeared in the 2007 film I Know Who Killed Me. She then played "Tina," a character who wanted to be a wrestler, in the sports drama Perfect Sport. In January 2009, Jessica appeared in a music video for The White Tie Affair's song "Candle (Sick and Tired)." That October, she was in the Syfy television movie, Ghost Town.

In April 2008, it was announced that she would star in a web television series called Blood Cell. This series was about a young woman who had to stop a dangerous person after getting a scary phone call from a friend. The series was released in October 2009. She also starred in another web series called Sorority Forever. This series followed three new students joining a popular sorority on campus.

In November 2008, Jessica Rose and her friend Taryn Southern, who also starred in Sorority Forever, started a web production company called Webutantes. Their goal was to create comedy web series focused on female characters. They presented together at the 2009 Streamy Awards. In 2009, Jessica appeared in the web series Poor Paul, which was produced by her former lonelygirl15 co-star Yousef Abu-Taleb. She also appeared in the second season of the web series The Crew.

Besides acting, Jessica is a fan of the Anaheim Ducks hockey team and sometimes wrote blogs for NHL.com. She returned as Bree on Lonelygirl15 in June 2016 for a special appearance.

Personal Life

In March 2016, Jessica Rose became engaged to her partner, actor Tim Phillipps. They got married at the Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron in early 2017. They welcomed their first child, a son, in September 2019.

Film and TV Roles

Web Series

Awards and Achievements

Jessica Rose has received several awards and recognitions for her work:

• Streamy Awards
  • Nominated: Best Female Actor in a Dramatic Web Series (2009), Sorority Forever
• VH1
  • Won: "Big Web Hit of 2006" (December 2006)
  • Won: Fourth biggest web star in their list of "40 Biggest Internet Celebrities." (March 2007)
• Webby Awards
  • Won: Best Actress (2007), lonelygirl15
• Additional recognitions
  • Won: Forbes magazine, Number One Web Celeb (January 2007)

See also

In Spanish: Jessica Lee Rose para niños