Jessica Lucas – Biography

Born in Vancouver to a black father and a white mother, Jessica Lucas has enjoyed a career arc that begins with small, largely obscure Canadian productions and has evolved to where she is today. In 2014, Lucas costarred in the oddball buddy-rom-com movie That Awkward Moment and then costarred with Kit Harington, Emily Browning and fellow Canadians Kiefer Sutherland and Carrie-Anne Moss in the big budget costume drama Pompeii. Next she showed up in the hit mini-series Gracepoint.

Probably best known for playing the role of Riley Richmond in the 2009-2010 version of Melrose Place, Jessica Lucas has been pursuing her dream of being an actress since she was just a little girl. She first appeared on stage when she was just 7 years old. When she was 12, she enrolled at the Toronto-based Children’s Arts Theatre School, and began landing small roles in such well-known productions as Grease, Cinderella and Mousetrap. Back home in Vancouver she continued her stage work but began the often soul-destroying yet necessary task of auditioning for work in film or television shows being shot in and around Vancouver, once of Canada`s busiest production centres. Her first on-screen role came in 2000 with a bit part in an episode of the sci-fi series Seven Days.

Lucas had her big break when she landed a starring role on a popular Canadian teen drama Edgemont. Appearing with Kristen Kreuk, Grace Park and Sarah Lind, she played the role of Bekka Lawrence from 2001 to 2005 in 47 episodes of the series. Following Edgemont, she landed roles in series like The Sausage Factory and 2030 CE, but by 2004 when she was 24, Lucas landed a decidedly grown-up role with a guest appearance on The L Word.

The year 2004 also brought a starring role along side Jon Foster and Missy Peregrym on the ABC series Life As We Know It. Canceled after only 11 episodes, Jessica Lucas was able to parlay her experience into appearances in more high-profile projects. In 2006, for example, she turned up in the Amanda Bynes/Channing Tatum comedy She’s the Man and the horror thriller The Covenant, in which she worked alongside Laura Ramsey, Taylor Kitsch and Chace Crawford. Her career moved up a notch when she was cast to play forensic scientist Ronnie Lakein for four episodes of the hit CBS procedural CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

In 2007, Lucas signed on for a top-secret project from renowned producer JJ Abrams. The film was so tightly wrapped in secrecy that no official title was announced until well after shooting had been completed. The finished product, 2008’s Cloverfield, turned out to be the most successful project to date in the young actor’s career.

Back on the small screen she soon found herself working alongside Shenae Grimes, AnnaLynne McCord and Jessica Stroup on four episodes of the revamped 90210. In 2009 she joined the cast of what became a highly successful reboot of the popular 1990s series, Melrose Place playing a wholesome elementary-school teacher Riley Richmond. She also landed a role in the direct-to-video horror film Amusement, sharing the screen with Laura Breckenridge and Katheryn Winnick.

The year 2013 began as a bit of a downer for Jessica Lucas. Costarring in the highly anticipated series Cult, which debuted on February 19, it was dropped from the schedule a few weeks later on April 10. Later in the year the network, CW, aired the remaining episodes in the 13-week series, but it’s never great to be in a series that’s been killed early in its run. On the upside, her career on the big screen seemed to be improving in leaps and bounds. In That Awkward Moment, released in early 2014, Jessica Lucas played the lawyer and wife to American actor Michael B. Jordan. Problem is, she’s been having an affair and clearly has the upper hand in the relationship. Being a buddy movie most of the story revolves around the three leading me, but Lucas holds her own in every scene she is in. And as mentioned above, she also owns the screen in the few scenes she had in the Paul W.S. Anderson period action-adventure film Pompeii.

Almost immediately after that, in 2015, she landed the role of Tabitha Galavan in the dark series, Gotham
Now in her mid-30s, Jessica Lucas is a veteran of the biz and has had the experience a roller coaster career can bring. Looking ahead, as her roles keep getting bigger and she keeps getting more screen time, look for her to take the lead in more and more movies.

Also see: Jessica Lucas’ filmography

This biography was written for Northernstars.ca by Ralph Lucas and is © 2017. It may not be reproduced with out written permission from Northernstars.ca The Canadian Movie Database. Click here for more information about copyright.