Rachel Bilson: Snapshot

Name
Rachel Bilson
Date of Birth
August 25, 1981
Birth Place
Los Angeles, Calif.
With her role as The O.C.'s Summer Roberts, Rachel Bilson made an indelible impression on viewers as both a charming actress and an emerging style maven.

The L.A. darling grew up in a showbiz family, where her screenwriter and director father encouraged her to act. After appearing in episodes of Buffy The Vampire Slayer and 8 Simple Rules, Bilson landed her breakout role on The O.C. Although the TV guilty pleasure ended after four seasons, it spawned a three-year romance with costar Adam Brody and made Bilson an oft-photographed fashionista.

Post-O.C., Bilson's starred with Zach Braff in The Last Kiss and in the thriller Jumper, where she met current flame Hayden Christensen.

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Rachel Bilson:From the PEOPLE TV Archive

Rachel Bilson: Five Fun Facts

  1. The first concert Rachel Bilson ever attended was Paula Abdul's. She tells In Style that she
    "sang along to every song like a dork."
  2. Rachel Bilson's two-bedroom Hollywood Hills condo has been passed on through her family for years: "My grandmother lived here, then my aunt and now me. It's such a comfy feeling," she tells Teen People in 2004.
  3. She has a wicked sweet tooth. "When I wake up in the morning," Rachel Bilson tells
    In Style, "I have to eat something sweet – Oreos!"
  4. Rachel Bilson still shops at drugstores for Lip Smackers, Maybelline mascara and inexpensive Wet 'n Wild white eyeliner.
  5. Her first kiss, Rachel Bilson tells PEOPLE, happened "in sixth grade. My boyfriend of two weeks kissed me behind the library at school. It was really slobbery and gross."

Rachel Bilson: Biography

1988

Rachel Bilson

The Right Girl

Bilson is born into a Hollywood family: father Danny is a writer-director-producer, grandfather Bruce is a director and her great-grandmother Hattie was a screenwriter. At 6, her father directs her in The Wrong Guys with comedians Louie Anderson and Richard Lewis.

1999

Rachel Bilson

A Lucky Break

After a one-year stint at San Diego's Grossmont College, Bilson begins auditioning for commercials and pilots. After a failed audition for an Everwood role, the aspiring actress is recommended to series creator Josh Schwartz who is casting for The O.C., a drama revolving around the lives of four teens living in California's well-heeled Newport Beach enclave.

2003

Rachel Bilson

August 05

Newport Beach, 92660

The O.C. premieres, drawing comparisons to Beverly Hills, 90210 for its portrayal of SoCal's elite. Bilson plays Summer, a spoiled teen who lives the high life with BFF Marissa (Mischa Barton) and schoolmates Seth (Adam Brody) and Ryan (Benjamin McKenzie). She tells Cosmo that Summer was originally a bit part intended for a tall blonde, but she parlays it into a starring role.

Read More on Rachel Bilson's Life

Photo Credits

Top Left: FOX

BIOGRAPHY (top to bottom): WB/Everett

Edited by Janet Mock and Julia Wang

Rachel Bilson

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