Leslie Bibb

Leslie Louise Bibb (born November 17, 1974) is an American actress and model. Bibb transitioned into film and television during the late 1990s, first appearing on television in 1996 with minor roles in a few television series, while first appearing on film in 1997 with a small role in Private Parts. She scored her first recurring role in the TV show The Big Easy (1997), before her role as Brooke McQueen on the WB Network dramedy series Popular brought her to the attention of a wider audience; she received a Teen Choice Award for Television Choice Actress for the role. She has also appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Christine Everhartin the films Iron Man and Iron Man 2, with the character reappearing in several viral marketing campaigns as the host of the fictional WHIH Newsfront.

Early life

Bibb was born in Bismarck, North Dakota, and raised in Lovingston in Nelson County, Virginia. Her father died three years after she was born. Bibb subsequently moved to Richmond, Virginia, with her widowed mother and three older sisters, where she attended the all-girls Catholic private school Saint Gertrude High School.

Career

Modeling

In 1990, The Oprah Winfrey Show and the Elite Agency held a nationwide modeling search. The celebrity judges, John Casablancas, Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, and Imanchose Bibb, then 16 years old, as the winner. After finishing her junior year, Bibb flew to New York City to sign a contract with Elite Agency and modeled over that summer and went on a trip to Japan. Bibb returned to the United States for her senior year and graduated in 1991. She has appeared on the cover of several magazines, including CosmoGirl, 944, Seventeen, Gear, Paper, L’Officiel, Teen, FHM, Stuff, YM and Fit. She was featured on the 2001 FHM calendar and on the Maxim Uncut 2001 15-Month calendar. In 2008, Bibb appeared in a television commercial for Almay Pure Blends.

Acting

Bibb first appeared on television in 1996, playing in episodes of Pacific Blue and Home Improvement. Her first film role came in the comedy Private Parts. This was followed by her first television series, where she replaced the departed Susan Walters as the female lead in the second season of The Big Easy. Most critics panned the show, and it was canceled months later after low ratings. She appeared in the romantic drama Touch Me(1997) and had a supporting role in the film This Space Between Us (1999). In 1999, Bibb had her big break appearing as a lead character on the WB Network television series Popular. Her role was Brooke McQueen, the most popular girl at Kennedy High School who is beautiful, a straight-A student, and a cheerleader. The show was a major success among teenagers and led Bibb to more recognizable film roles. The show garnered her a Teen Choice Award for Television Choice Actress and a Young Hollywood Award nomination for Exciting New Face – Female. During the series, she filmed the psychological thriller The Skulls (1999), as the classmate, friend and love interest of Joshua Jackson’s character. The Skulls received a negative reception from critics but was a box-office success. She received a role in the 2001 comedy See Spot Run, playing a single mother who spends most of the film on her own “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” adventure.

Bibb was cast in a recurring role on the series ER and played the lead character on the television series Line of Fire. Bibb joined the cast of Crossing Jordan as Detective Lu Simmons until Season 6. She appeared as Desiree in the independent film Wristcutters: A Love Story (2006). Wristcuttersrevolved around two characters who fall in love in purgatory after committing suicide. The film was nominated for the Sundance Film Festival’s Grand Jury Prize, two Independent Spirit Awards and the Humanitas Prize. That year, she played Will Ferrell’s wife Carley in the comedy feature film Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. Recalling acting with Ferrell during an interview with TV Guide, she said he was “just funny. And he has no qualms about making something funnier for you, even at his expense.”

Bibb also starred in the sitcom Atlanta as Jessica, a potential love interest for Freddie Prinze Jr.’s character, meeting him at a funeral. She was cast as Dr. Miranda Storm in Sex and Death 101, a black comedy, which was released direct-to-video in 2007. She appeared as a Vanity Fair reporter named Christine Everhart in the action film Iron Man (2008). In an interview, Bibb said about her character in the film: “she has a very strong sense of right and wrong, of good and evil, and I loved her passion.” In 2008, Bibb starred as Maya Jones in the Ryuhei Kitamura-directed horror film The Midnight Meat Train (2008), based on Clive Barker’s 1984 short story of the same name.

In the comedy Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009), she portrayed the rival of the main character, played by Isla Fisher. Confessions of a Shopaholic was panned by film critics but was a success at the box office. She had a pivotal recurring role on the NBC series Kings as Katrina Ghent and played Sarah Lowell in the thriller film Law Abiding Citizen (2009), which was released on October 16, 2009. The film was poorly received by critics.

In 2010, she reprised her role as Everhart in the sequel to Iron Man, Iron Man 2. The film is Bibb’s biggest box-office success, with a worldwide gross of $621.8 million. Later in 2010, she starred in the independent comedy Miss Nobody, for which she also served as co-producer. For her performance, she won the Best Actress Award at the 26th Boston Film Festival. She was praised by critic Alissa Simon of Variety, who wrote “as she proved in Goran Dukic’s Wristcutters: A Love Story, statuesque star Bibb is a smart actress willing to give herself totally to a role. As the sweetly goofy murderess, she takes pratfalls, suffers endless groping and sports unbecoming attire.” Bibb also appeared in Kevin James’ The Zookeeper, released in 2011. In 2012, Bibb starred as Amanda Vaughn on the ABC series GCB, which debuted on March 4, 2012, but the show was cancelled after 10 episodes. Bibb starred in the Neil LaBute play Reasons to be Happy, which premiered in June 2013 at MCC Theatre in New York.

In 2016, Bibb starred in the first season of YouTube Red original show Rhett & Link’s Buddy System. She also appeared in an episode of the show’s second season, which was released in 2017. She began recurring on ABC’s American Housewife in 2016, playing the divorced next-door neighbor Viv. In 2017, Bibb starred in the Netflix comedy-horror film The Babysitter. She reprised her role in the sequel The Babysitter: Killer Queen. In the same year, she was cast as Susan Rollins in the comedy film Tag. In February 2019, it was announced that Bibb had been cast as Grace Sampson in the upcoming Netflix superhero series Jupiter’s Legacy.

Other projects

Bibb is a supporter of Friends of El Faro, a grassroots non-profit organization that helps raise money for Casa Hogar Sion, an orphanage in Tijuana, Mexico. In 2008, Revlonannounced that its Almay brand has signed Bibb as its ambassador. She acts as a spokeswoman for Revlon’s new and existing cosmetics collections. She has appeared in global multi-media campaigns. In the fourth quarter of 2010, Bibb partnered with the non-profit LIFE Foundation by serving as the national spokesperson for Life Insurance Awareness Month. She posed nude for the May 2012 issue of Allure magazine.

Personal life

Bibb married investment banker Rob Born on November 22, 2003, in Zihuatanejo, Mexico. The couple divorced on December 7, 2004.

She has been in a relationship with actor Sam Rockwell since 2007, when they reportedly met in Los Angeles as he was filming Frost/Nixon. They both appeared in Iron Man 2 and Don Verdean.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1997	Private Parts	WNBC Tour Guide
1997	Touch Me	Fawn
1999	This Space Between Us	Summer
2000	The Young Unknowns	Cassandra
2000	The Skulls	Chloe Whitfield
2001	See Spot Run	Stephanie
2006	Wristcutters: A Love Story	Desiree Randolph
2006	Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby	Carley Bobby
2007	My Wife Is Retarded	Julie	Short film
2007	Sex and Death 101	Dr. Miranda Storm	Direct-to-video
2008	Iron Man	Christine Everhart
2008	The Midnight Meat Train	Maya Jones
2008	Trick ‘r Treat	Emma	Direct-to-video
2009	Confessions of a Shopaholic	Alicia Billington
2009	Law Abiding Citizen	Sarah Lowell
2010	Iron Man 2	Christine Everhart
2010	Miss Nobody	Sarah Jane McKinney	Boston Film Festival — Best Actress Award
2011	Zookeeper	Stephanie
2011	A Good Old Fashioned Orgy	Kelly
2012	Meeting Evil	Joanie
2013	Movie 43	Wonder Woman	Segment “Superhero Speed Dating”
2013	Hell Baby	Vanessa
2014	No Good Deed	Meg
2014	Flight 7500	Laura Baxter
2014	Take Care	Frannie
2015	Don Verdean	Joylinda Lazarus
2017	To the Bone	Megan
2017	Awakening the Zodiac	Zoe Branson
2017	The Babysitter	Mom
2018	Tag	Susan Rollins
2019	Running with the Devil	Agent in charge
2020	The Lost Husband	Libby Moran	Main role; producer
2020	The Babysitter: Killer Queen	Mom

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1996	Pacific Blue	Nikki	Episode: “Wheels of Fire”
1996	Home Improvement	Lisa Burton	Episode: “No Place Like Home”
1997	Just Shoot Me!	Nikki	Episode: “Secretary’s Day”
1997	Fired Up	Lana	Episode: “The Rules”
1997	The Big Easy	Janine Rebbenack	Main role (season 2)
1998	Astoria		TV pilot
1998	Something So Right	Tina	Episode: “Something About a Double Standard”
1998	Early Edition	Emily Harrigan	Episode: “Lt. Hobson, U.S.N.”
1999	Sons of Thunder	Nancy Jones	Episode: “Daddy’s Girl”
2000	Grosse Pointe	Herself	Episode: “Mommy Dearest”
1999–2001	Popular	Brooke McQueen	Main cast Teen Choice Award for Television Choice Actress Nominated—Young Hollywood Award for Exciting New Face – Female
2002–2003	ER	Erin Harkins	8 episodes
2003–2004	Line of Fire	Paige Van Doren	Main cast
2004	Capital City	Paige Armstrong	TV pilot
2004	Nip/Tuck	Naomi Gaines	Episode: “Naomi Gaines”
2005	Hitched	Emily	TV pilot
2005–2007	Crossing Jordan	Det. Tallulah “Lu” Simmons	Main cast (seasons 5–6)
2007	CSI: Miami	Beth Selby/Cayla Selby/Ashley Whitford	Episode: “Triple Threat”
2007	Entourage	Laurie	Episode: “Gotcha!”
2007	Atlanta	Jessica	TV pilot
2009	Kings	Katrina Ghent	5 episodes
2009–2010, 2015	The League	Meegan Eckhart	7 episodes
2012	GCB	Amanda Vaughn	Main cast
2014	The Following	Jana Murphy	Episodes: “Family Affair” and “Unmasked”
2014	About a Boy	Dakota	Recurring, 6 episodes
2015	The Odd Couple	Casey	Recurring
2015	Salem Rogers: Model of the Year 1998	Salem Rogers	Main cast
2016–present	American Housewife	Viv	Recurring
2020	Home Movie: The Princess Bride	Princess Buttercup	Upcoming series
2021	Jupiter’s Legacy	Grace Sampson	Main cast

Web

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2015–2016	WHIH Newsfront	Christine Everhart	Lead role
2016–2017	Rhett & Link’s Buddy System	Aimee Brells	Recurring, 8 episodes (first season)Guest, 1 episode (second season)