Jewel Staite Biography

Date of Birth: June 2, 1982

The youngest of seven children, Jewel Staite was born in White Rock, B.C., but spent the first years of her life on Maui where at two, she was entered in a "Most Beautiful Baby" contest.

When she was four, her family moved to Vancouver and Jewel began modeling and training at the Vancouver Youth Theatre. After landing several commercials, her first role came at the age of nine in the TV movie Posing: Inspired by Three Real Stories (1991), starring Lynda Carter. After another small role in the CBC TV movie Liar, Liar (1992), Jewel landed a recurring role in the CBC TV series The Odyssey (1992). Guest appearances on Are You Afraid of the Dark? and The X Files followed.

At 13, she made her motion picture debut in Gold Diggers: The Secret of Bear Mountain (1995) starring Christina Ricci. But it was her starring role in the Walt Disney series Flash Forward (1996) that made Jewel well known among kids her own age. Playing Becca, a junior high girl with a boy for a best friend, Jewel began receiving fan mail from all across North America. She received a Gemini award nomination for her performance in the episode "Presents."

Also in 1996, she landed another regular role in Cinar Productions' sci-fi series Space Cases. Just two years later, she was cast as Gabriella Da Vinci on the new CBC crime series Da Vinci's Inquest, playing the role for two years before being cast as Goth girl Daisy on the Fox Family series Higher Ground, starring Joe Lando as a counselor at a school for trouble kids and Hayden Christensen as one of her fellow students. The show ran for just one season, but after appearing in several TV movies, Jewel was chosen to play Kaylee on Fox's new sci-fi series Firefly (2002), created, written and directed by Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer).

In 2005, the series spawned a motion picture called Serenity and the actors were invited to reprise their roles. In her spare time, Jewel enjoys writing, and singing jazz. After her uncle died of AIDS, she became Teen Spokesperson for The Children with AIDS Project.

Jewel, who married in 2003, continues to make her home in Vancouver.

Filmography:

Serenity (2005)
Cheats (2002)
Carpool (1996)
Gold Diggers: The Secret of Bear Mountain (1995)