Back in the 1990s Jennifer Love HewittOne of the most recognizable young actresses in Hollywood. She was highly sought-after for TV and movies. She starred in major box office hits and appeared in one of the most popular teen dramas. Now in her 40s, the former teen queen keeps a much lower profile than she did in her youth, though she’s continued to work steadily ever since. So where is Jennifer Love Hewitt today? Here’s a look at what this veteran actress is up to today.
The Famous 90’s Sweetheart
Jennifer Love Hewitt was birthed in Waco (Texas) on February 21, 1979. When she was ten years old, she began working and moved to Los Angeles with her mother to pursue a career as an actor. While the eager performer immediately started booking commercials and landing roles in various TV pilots and short-lived shows, success did not come overnight—which is something Hewitt says she is grateful for today.
“I learned at a really young age you don’t get anything necessarily easy,” she said in a 2013 interview. “For some people, you do just wake up one day and you get one part and you’re a big star. For me, it wasn’t that way. I really worked … I’m happy that I didn’t just come out and do one movie and then I was a massive superstar and people were throwing money and deals at me. I think at a young age it would’ve made me a complete disaster. And I wouldn’t be who I am today.”
Hewitt was eventually cast as Sarah Reeves Merrin, the sweet and sensitive Sarah Merrin on Fox’s hit family drama in 1995. Party of Five. Originally hired to appear in only a handful of episodes during the show’s second season, the actress became so popular she was brought on as a full-time cast member and remained on the show until it left the airwaves in 1999.
Hewitt’s movie career also took off thanks to her starring role in the 1997 horror film, I Know What You Did Last Spring. The film, which also starred teen stars Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe and Freddie Prinze Jr. was a huge box office hit and quickly became a cult favorite. It was also the inspiration for the 1998 sequel. I Still Remember What You Did Last Summer.
Hewitt appeared in a number of major-time projects, including Can’t Hardly Wait, Heartbreakers (Sigourney, a veteran actress, was also in the picture.The Tuxedo(opposite Jackie Chan, the action star), and the made for TV movie The Audrey Hepburn StoryShe was the legendary Hollywood actress in the film,
She took a break for her family
Hewitt worked steadily into the 2000s. In 2005, she was cast as Melinda, the lead role in the CBS supernatural series. The Ghost Whisperer. The show garnered a loyal fan base and earned Hewitt a number of accolades, including two Saturn Awards for Best Actress in a Television Program and multiple Teen Choice and Kids’ Choice award nominations.
The series lasted five seasons and was canceled in 2010. No one had the opportunity to film a proper series end. Hewitt says she’d love the opportunity to return to the role and wrap up the storyline—so long as her character remains the focus of the show. “If they’re going to redo it, then I have to go back and be the ghost whisperer because I am not giving up my ‘Ghost Whisperer’ throne,” she admitted in a 2018 interview with the Los Angeles Times. “This was a very important part of me. I worked hard to make Melinda the person she is. So if they wanted to do a 10-episode revival on Netflix, like finishing the series or something, I’m happy to do that. But giving it over to somebody would crush me.”
After The Ghost Whisper’s Hewitt was cancelled, but he appeared on several TV shows, including the short-lived Lifetime series. The Client List. While the series only ran for a season, it made a major impact on Hewitt’s life because it’s where she met her husbandBrian Hallisay, a fellow actor. The couple married in 2013 and now have three children together—Autumn James, born in November of 2013; Atticus James, born in June of 2015; and Aidan James, born in September of 2021.
Hewitt needed to take time away from acting in order to be able to focus on her family. Hewitt also needed to grieve the loss of her mother. who passed away in 2012After a fight with cancer. “I had needed to take some time for myself and needed to grieve my mother,” the Can’t Hardly Wait star, tell the Los Angeles Times. “I needed to learn how I could be a good wife and mother. There was so much going on in my life that I just needed to have some space and time to be. I’ve really enjoyed the break.”
What is Jennifer Love Hewitt up to now?
Hewitt is now back in front full-time for her fans. Since 2018, she’s been playing 911 operator Maddie Buckley on the Fox procedural drama, 9-1-1. The show, which also stars Angela Bassett & Peter Krause has become a mainstay on the network and has even spawned its own successful spin-off. 9-1-1: Lone Star.
But that’s not all the former teen star has been busy with. According to Working Mother magazine, she’s writing a children’s book inspired by the death of her mother and how it has affected her own kids. “There are not a lot of books out there that in a childlike way teach children about deceased grandparents,” she told Working Magazine. “I think that’s an important book because people are having children later in life.”
Hewitt also collaborated with Hilliard Bruce Vineyards, her husband and wine connoisseur, to produce JLH wines. ChardonnayAnd Roussanne 2018 bottled
