Jared Padalecki

Jared Padalecki was born and brought up in San Antonio, Texas by his mother Sharon, an English teacher, and his father Gerald, an accountant. At the age of 12 Jared, who showed an early enthusiasm for the performing arts, attended acting classes and performed in several school plays. During his final year of high school Jared was named a Presidential Scholar for ‘demonstrating an exceptional talent in the performing arts’.

In 1999 Jared won a ‘Claim to Fame’ heat at his local Planet Hollywood, securing a place in the finals in LA. Jared went on to be one of the two winners at the final. Whilst in LA Jared was approached by a acting agent who suggested Jared contact him should he make the decision to pursue a career in acting.

On graduating from high school, Jared took the big decision to take up the agent’s offer, and moved to LA to look for work. Within months he’d landed a lead part in the made-for-TV movie Silent Witness (2000). Next came a role in the TV series Gilmore Girls, playing Rory’s on-off boyfriend, Dean. The show became an almost instant success, pushing Jared into the spotlight and the attendant adoration of hordes of teenage girls.

Small parts in several TV-movies followed, but it was not till 2003 that Jared picked up his first big part in a major-league movie, New York Minute (2004). Jared did a great job of holding his own against the photogenic Olsen twins. The next year came a star part in the excellent House of Wax, where his great performance was just about upstaged by the fantastic special effects at the end of the movie!

Jared’s TV career continued, with more guest appearances in Gilmore Girls. In 2005 he returned to star in the sci-fi series Supernatural. Jared plays Sam Winchester, a laid-back and unlikely hero, who as a youngster, was trained by his father to hunt and kill supernatural evils. Years later he teams up with his older brother (played by Jensen Ackles) in a quest to slay the demon responsible for the death of both their parents.

Jared’s movie career also continues its stellar rise. 2009 saw the release of Friday the 13th, a chilling tale about a group of youngsters who discover a boarded-up Camp Crystal Lake.