Jessica Rothe

1.1. Childhood and education

Rothe began taking ballet classes at the age of eight. During her youth, she also attended summer theater camps in Kansas City, Missouri. She pursued higher education at Boston University, graduating in 2009 with a bachelor's degree in Fine Arts. While at university, she acquired a diverse set of skills, including playing the violin, tap dancing, and making pottery.

2.1. 2010-2016: Early work and stage

Rothe initially began her acting career under her birth name, Jessica Rothenberg. From 2010 to 2013, she made minor appearances in television shows such as The Onion News Network, Happy Endings, Gossip Girl, Blue Bloods, Futurestates, and High Maintenance. During this period, she also took on supporting roles in independent films, including Promised Land (a short film), The Last Keepers, The Hot Flashes, Bastards of Young, and Jack, Jules, Esther and Me.

In 2011, Rothe made her stage debut in the David West Read play The Dream of the Burning Boy, where she played the role of Chelsea. Her performance in this production was noted, with Charles Isherwood of The New York Times describing it as "impressive." She also earned a Streamy Award nomination in 2014 as part of the ensemble cast for the series Next Time on Lonny, in which she had a recurring role across six episodes.

In 2015, Rothe took on leading roles in several projects, including the comedy film Lily & Kat, the Netflix science fiction pilot Parallels, and the crime drama film The Preppie Connection. The following year, in 2016, she was cast as Alexis in Damien Chazelle's acclaimed musical film La La Land. Rothe was drawn to the role, stating that as a child, she "just thought that living in a world where any moment someone could burst into song and dance would be the dreamiest thing in the world." The film, released in 2016, achieved both critical and commercial success. Also in 2016, Rothe secured her first leading role in a television series, portraying Paige in the MTV comedy series Mary + Jane. This show, described as a "weed-comedy" and produced by Snoop Dogg, ran for one season. While the show received mixed reviews, critics often praised the natural and unforced rapport between Rothe and her co-star Scout Durwood.

2.2. 2017-present: Mainstream breakthrough

In 2017, Rothe starred as Theresa "Tree" Gelbman in the Christopher Landon horror film Happy Death Day, which was originally titled Half to Death. The character of Tree was intentionally written with more depth than typical slasher characters, a nuance reflected in her nickname "Tree" to symbolize growth and transformation. Happy Death Day proved to be a significant box office success and was widely considered a "starmaking" film for Rothe. Critics lauded her performance; Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com noted that Rothe was "quite good in a way that makes me eager to see what she does next," calling her performance "quite easily the best thing about the movie." Simran Hans of The Guardian described her as "endlessly watchable and witty," while Jeannette Catsoulis of The New York Times called her "unimprovable," "inexhaustible and funny." The character became recognized as an example of the "final girl" trope, solidifying Rothe's status as a scream queen. For her work, she received nominations for a Fright Meter Award and a New Mexico Film Critics Circle Award.

In 2018, Rothe's sole release was the romance film Forever My Girl, in which she played Josie. She accepted the role due to its themes of strength and female empowerment, although the film itself generally received negative reviews from critics.

Rothe reprised her role as Theresa "Tree" Gelbman in Happy Death Day 2U in 2019, a direct sequel to Happy Death Day. The film's concept was developed by Landon even before the first movie's release. Initially, Rothe expressed hesitation about a sequel, fearing it might simply retread the original. However, Landon's pitch convinced her, as she believed it "elevates the movie from being a horror movie into a Back to the Future type of genre film where the sequel joins us right from where we left off, it explains a lot of things in the first one that didn't get explained, and it elevates everything." The sequel also achieved similar financial success. Kimber Myers of the Los Angeles Times praised Rothe, calling her "one of the most magnetic new actresses on screen, equally capable of showing vulnerability and pain as well as a blithe, easy humor." She earned a second Fright Meter Award nomination for this performance.

In 2020, Rothe starred in two films: the jukebox musical Valley Girl, a remake of the 1983 film of the same name where she played Julie Richman, and the romantic drama All My Life, in which she portrayed Jennifer "Jenn" Carter. Both films received mixed reviews from critics, though Rothe's performances in them garnered some praise. Also in 2020, she appeared in four episodes of the Amazon Prime Video series Utopia, expressing that "working with Gillian Flynn and the incredible cast in Chicago was a dream job, and I'm so excited for audiences to go through that emotional rollercoaster. It's unique, fun and tragic all at the same time."

Rothe next starred in the crime drama film Body Brokers, filmed in 2019 and released in 2021 as her only project that year. Despite mixed reviews for the film, Peter Sobczynski of RogerEbert.com acknowledged Rothe and co-star Melissa Leo for their "strong work as those who represent the non-exploitative side of the rehabilitation world."

In 2022, Rothe took over the role from actress Samara Weaving in the action film Boy Kills World. The film premiered at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival and was theatrically released in April 2024. Critical reception for the film was mixed. Lauren Coates of The A.V. Club critiqued Rothe's character as "underwritten and enters the game too late to be effectively used," stating that her "helmet gimmick is mistakenly substituted for a personality-a truly grievous waste of a charming young talent." Conversely, Chase Hutchinson of The Seattle Times found her performance "provided redemption." In the same month, Rothe reprised her role as Mina Van Der Koy / June 27 in a video game spin-off titled Super Dragon Punch Force 3.

4.1. Film

4.2. Television

4.3. Stage

• The Dream of the Burning Boy (2011), as Chelsea

4.4. Video game

• Super Dragon Punch Force 3 (2024), as Mina Van Der Koy / June 27

4.5. Web series