Jordana Brewster
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Biography
Having emerged from the daytime soap world of "As the World Turns" (CBS, 1956-2010), actress Jordana Brewster rose quickly to mainstream stardom as Mia Toretto in the summertime blockbuster "The Fast and the Furious" (2001). Though she found herself skyrocketing to the top of men's magazines polls, Brewster took time off to complete her studies at Yale University before returning to acting with turns as often feisty supporting characters in films like "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning" (2006) and "Annapolis" (2006). Well-cast as the brainy ex-girlfriend of series star Zachary Levi on the action comedy "Chuck" (NBC, 2007-2012), Brewster reprised Toretto for the fourth through seventh installments of the popular franchise, "Fast & Furious" (2009), "Fast Five" (2011), "Fast & Furious 6" (2013) and "Furious 7" (2015) while landing a regular series role as Elana Ramos, daughter of the cook to the notorious Ewing family on the high-profile reboot of "Dallas" (TNT, 2012-14), and on the small screen adaptation "Lethal Weapon" (Fox 2016- ). Thanks to her success in film and on television, Brewster had established herself as a diverse performer of immense intelligence and wit.
The granddaughter of former Yale president Kingman Brewster, and the daughter of an investment banker and a swimsuit model, Brewster was born in Panama City, Panama on April 26, 1980. She was raised in London, Rio de Janeiro, and New York, earning her first screen credit in the 1988 Brazilian children's film "Super Xuxa." After settling in Manhattan a few years later, she ventured into the world of daytime serials by appearing as the youngest member of a Hispanic family on "All My Children" (ABC, 1970-2011). Later that year, she was cast as teen heroine Nikki Munson on "As the World Turns" (CBS, 1956-2010), and spent three years (1995-98) on the soap while attending the Professional Children's School. Brewster left the soap with the intention of attending Yale, but deferred her enrollment when her acting career took off; first with her casting as bitchy cheerleader Delilah in Robert Rodriguez' teen horror flick, "The Faculty" (1998). She followed with a strong turn as a teenager who becomes involved in the antiwar movement in the NBC miniseries "The 60s" (1999) before undertaking another feature, "The Invisible Circus" (2000), in which she played Cameron Diaz's sister.
Brewster really hit the big time in the surprise summer blockbuster "The Fast and the Furious" (2001), set in the high-octane world of illegal street racing. With her sexy and powerful performance, Brewster earned legions of male fans, as evidenced by her string of off-screen relationships with the likes of actor Mark Wahlberg and New York Yankee, Derek Jeter. Though the acting offers came pouring in after "Furious," Brewster elected to return to her interrupted studies at Yale; sticking with schooling until she earned her undergraduate degree in 2003. Brewster returned to theaters in "D.E.B.S." (2004), a silly spy comedy about four high school girls who work as top secret agents for the U.S. government, with Brewster playing the sultry villain, Lucy Diamond. She went on to play the title role in "Nearing Grace" (2005), an indie coming-of-age story set in the 1970s that found the actress again cast as a distracting temptress. Donning a uniform and adopting a more serious persona, Brewster appeared with James Franco in the derivative military drama "Annapolis" (2006), however she drew in more audiences with her starring role in the gory prequel, "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning" (2006), though the film was similarly dismissed by film critics.
After meeting on the set of "Texas Chainsaw," Brewster wed producer Andrew Form in 2007 before returning to series television the following year with a recurring role on "Chuck" (NBC, 2007-2012), where the show's combination of action and offbeat humor proved a fine outlet for her appeal in as the ex-girlfriend of the electronics store employee-turned-CIA agent Chuck Bartowski (Zachary Levi). After not being included in the two sequels to "The Fast and the Furious," Brewster reprised Mia Toretto for part four, "Fast & Furious" (2009), a massive box office hit that chronologically connected to the original film without reference to the other two films. Naturally, the success led to another film, "Fast Five" (2011), a more heist-oriented thriller that again proved to be a giant financial success that resulted in a sixth and seventh installment, "Fast and Furious 6" (2013) and "Furious 7" (2015). In between those films, Brewster landed one of the lead roles on the newly revamped "Dallas" (TNT, 2012-14), playing the educated daughter of the cook to the infamous Ewing family who attracts the amorous attention of cousins Christopher Ewing (Jesse Metcalfe) and John Ross Ewing III (Josh Henderson). After that show's cancelation, Brewster appeared in Ryan Murphy's "The People Vs. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story" (FX 2016) and co-starred in the TV adaptation of popular film series "Lethal Weapon" (Fox 2016- ).
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Life Events
1988
First film appearance, the Brazilian-made "Super Xuxa: Contra Baixo Astral"
1995
Briefly played the role of Anita Santos on the ABC daytime drama "All My Children"
1995
Appeared as teen heroine Nikki Graves on the CBS daytime drama "As the World Turns"
1998
Made U.S. feature film debut in Robert Rodriguez's "The Faculty"
1999
Cast in featured role in the NBC miniseries "The 60s"
2001
Co-starred with Cameron Diaz and Christopher Eccleston in "The Invisible Circus"
2001
Landed breakout role as Paul Walker's love interest Mia Toretto in "The Fast and the Furious"
2005
Played the title role in "Nearing Grace"
2006
Co-starred with James Franco in Justin Lin's "Annapolis"
2006
Starred in the horror prequel "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning"
2008
Made recurring role as the title character's former girlfriend on NBC's "Chuck"
2009
Reprised role of Mia Toretto in "Fast & Furious"
2010
Landed recurring role on the TNT series Dark Blue" as art gallery dealer Maria
2011
Once again reprised role of Mia Toretto in the fifth film "Fast Five"
2012
Joined cast of the TNT reboot of "Dallas" alongside original stars Larry Hagman and Linda Gray
2015
Reprised the role of Mia Toretto once again for "Furious 7"
2016
Joined the cast of the series "Secrets and Lies"
2016
Began playing Maureen Cahill on series adaptation of "Lethal Weapon"
2016
Played Denise Brown, sister of Nicole Brown, in the O.J. Simpson-themed series of anthology drama "American Crime Story"
Family
Companions
