Biography
Actress Jessica Rothes enjoyed starring roles in indie drama "Lily & Kat" (2015), post-apocalyptic thriller "The Tribe" (2016) and stoner sitcom "Mary + Jane" (MTV, 2016) before playing Emma Stone's roommate in the Oscar-winning "La La Land" (2016). Born in Denver, CO, Rothe developed a passion for acting after attending a summer theater camp in Kansas, and went onto study Drama at Boston University before making her screen debut playing jewel thief Bojana Mitic in true crime dramatization "America's Most Wanted: America Fights Back" (Fox, 1998-2012). Following minor one-off appearances in "Happy Endings" (ABC, 2011-13) "Gossip Girl" (The CW, 2007-2012) and "Blue Bloods" (CBS, 2010-), Rothe moved onto the big screen with supporting roles in middle-aged basketball comedy "The Hot Flushes" (2013), thirtysomething drama "Bastards of Young" (2013) and family fantasy "The Lost Keepers" (2013). Rothe then shared top billing in coming-of-age movies "Jack, Jules, Esther and Me" (2013) and "Lily & Kat" (2014), and sci-fi adventure "Parallels" (2015) before adding real-life drug tale "The Preppie Connection" (2015), cross-cultural road movie "Summertime" (2016) and action thriller "Juveniles" (2016) to her credits. She continued her prolific streak with further co-starring roles in teen drama "Trust Fund" (2016), NYC dating comedy "Better Off Single" (2016) and post-apocalyptic thriller "The Tribe" (2016). Rothe's career reached new heights when she appeared Emma Stone's all-singing all-dancing roommate Alexis in the Oscar-winning musical "La La Land" (2016) and landed her first recurring TV role as one of two young entrepreneurs attempting to get their LA weed delivery service off the ground in comedy "Mary + Jane" (MTV, 2016). Rothe went on to play the central murder victim in thriller "Half to Death" (2016), Alex Roe's love interest Julia in country music romance "Forever My Girl" (2016) and a millennial who disrupts her alcoholic uncle's life in indie drama "Tater Tot & Patton" (2016). After appearing alongside Toni Collette and Dakota Fanning in autism-based dramedy "Please Stand By" (2017), Rothes was given the chance to further showcase her vocal talents when she landed the role originated by Deborah Foreman in "Valley Girl" (2017), the musical adaptation of the 1983 same-named romantic comedy. In the meantime, Rothe starred in breakout comedy-horror hit "Happy Death Day" (2018) and its sequel "Happy Death Day 2U" (2019).
