Rachel Bilson | Rotten Tomatoes (2024)

A photogenic beauty whose natural onscreen presence made her a perfect fit with young audiences, actress Rachel Bilson played characters both naughty and nice with impressive ease. Bilson rose to fame as a fiery mainstay on the popular primetime teen drama "The O.C" (Fox, 2003-07). Her role as the wealthy and pretentious Southern California princess Summer Roberts had widespread appeal, as teen girls loved to hate her and guys of all ages loved to watch her in action. Indeed, her visibility among teenybopper and men's magazine readers spelled instant notoriety; the kind of recognition that Bilson hoped would translate into a feature film career once "The O.C." finished its run. She put her plan into motion with the romantic comedy "The Last Kiss" (2006), and although the film met with mixed reviews, Bilson's notices were largely favorable. Unfettered by the commitments of a weekly series, she soon followed with the features "Jumper" (2008), "New York, I Love You" (2009) and "Waiting for Forever" (2011). None of these efforts, however, translated into a big screen triumph, prompting Bilson to return to the familiarity of television with the series "Hart of Dixie" (The CW, 2011-15). Still at the beginning of her young career, Bilson's future appeared to be as bright as ever.