Jessica Lucas

1. Early life

Jessica Lucas was born on September 24, 1985, and grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She comes from a diverse background, with her father being Black Canadian and her mother being European Canadian. Lucas developed an interest in acting at a young age, beginning her training when she was seven years old. She honed her skills at the Children's Arts Theatre School located in Toronto. Her early career involved performing in various stage productions, including local renditions of well-known plays and musicals such as Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs, Grease, Cinderella, Mousetrap, and Music Medley.

2. Career

Lucas's professional acting career began in Canadian television before she transitioned to American productions, securing significant roles in both TV series and films.

Her career started in 2001 when she joined the cast of the Canadian teen drama television series Edgemont. She initially appeared as a recurring character, Bekka Lawrence, before being promoted to a series regular, a role she maintained until the show concluded its run in 2005. In 2002, Lucas also became a series regular on another Canadian television series, YTV's short-lived 2030 CE.

In 2004, Lucas made a guest appearance as Roxanne in an episode of The L Word. She then landed a series regular role as Sue in the short-lived ABC teen drama series Life as We Know It, which aired for only one season. The year 2006 saw her appear in the film She's the Man and co-star in The Covenant. She was also cast in another ABC television pilot titled Secrets of a Small Town, though it was not picked up to series.

Lucas joined the cast of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation in 2007, portraying the recurring character Ronnie Lake in four episodes. Despite her appearances, rumors that she would permanently replace Sara Sidle were denied, and her character was later written out of the series without explanation. She also appeared in the made-for-television film Split Decision.

In 2008, Lucas guest-starred as Kimberly MacIntyre in four episodes of The CW's 90210. That same year, she starred in a leading role as Lily in J. J. Abrams's critically acclaimed film Cloverfield, which was a box office success. She was cast as Lisa in the film Amusement in 2006, but after a negative reception, the film was released straight-to-DVD in 2009 instead of its initially planned theatrical release by New Line Cinema. Also in 2009, Lucas was announced to have signed on as Riley Richmond, one of the lead roles in Melrose Place, a follow-up to the popular 1990s series.

Lucas was part of the main cast of the NBC sitcom Friends with Benefits, which aired during the summer of 2011 before its cancellation. In 2011, she played Haley in Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son, a role where she demonstrated her singing talents alongside her acting skills. She also guest starred in the Psych episode "Last Night Gus" as Lilly Jenkins.

In 2012, Lucas was cast as the lead character, Skye Yarrow, in The CW series Cult, which commenced filming in the spring of 2012. The same year, she secured a main role in the 2013 remake of the classic horror film The Evil Dead. In 2014, Lucas appeared in Pompeii, which was directed by Paul W. S. Anderson. She also played Vera Walker in That Awkward Moment.

From 2015 to 2019, she held a regular role in Fox's Gotham as Tabitha Galavan. In 2019, Lucas took on the starring role of Kate Jameson in the Canadian crime drama television series The Murders, which aired on Citytv. In late 2020, she was cast in the regular role of Billie Sutton in the fourth season of the Fox medical drama television series The Resident, continuing through seasons four to six.

3. Personal life

In April 2017, Jessica Lucas announced her engagement to Alex Jermasek, a butcher.

4. Filmography