An oddly striking young woman with a somewhat squeaky voice from a tumultuous celebrity family with a host of infamous exploits checkering her own past, Bijou Phillips was name checked in many a gossip column long before making her acting debut. An actress and singer-songwriter with a frequently changing look most often topped with blonde close-cropped hair, Phillips got her start as a model, and counted among her credits a stint at age 13 in a controversial Calvin Klein advertising campaign. This daughter of The Mamas and the Papas founder John Phillips and South African model/actress/artist Genevieve Waite had an odd childhood, shifting from one drug-addled environment to another. By age 15, she was well-known among big city partygoers for her daring, attention-grabbing stunts and had a brief but much publicized affair with much-older rocker Evan Dando when only 16. Phillips had earned quite a reputation, and was known before long as the girl most likely to shock.
In 1999 Phillips released her debut album "I'd Rather Eat Glass" and had her first onscreen role with a cameo in the Alison Anders/Kurt Voss music industry comedy "Sugar Town". Now the performer had work of her own to address, and was clear in interviews that the wild life she had reveled in previously was behind her. She next took a starring role in James Toback's mostly ad-libbed 2000 feature "Black and White", starring as Charlie, an Upper East Side rich girl who appropriates African-American hip-hop lifestyle along with her similarly privileged friends. The film's daring opening scene featured her in an a menage-a-trois in Central Park with rapper Power and actress Kim Mutalova. Phillips was next seen as one of the "band aids", a group of girls who followed rock musicians around on tour in "Almost Famous" (2000) and then turned up as a teenage prostitute who runs afoul of the title character in "Bully" (2001).
- Also Credited As:
Bijou Lilly Phillips
- Born:
Bijou Lilly Phillips on April 1, 1980 in Greenwich, Connecticut, USA
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Job Titles:
Actress, Model, Singer, Songwriter
Family
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Brother: Tamerlane Phillips. Born c. 1971
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Father: John Phillips. Founding member of seminal pop group The Mamas and the Papas; died March 19, 2001
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Half-brother: Jeffrey Phillips. Son of John Phillips and Suzy Adams
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Half-sister: Chynna Phillips. Born in 1968; daughter of John and Michelle Phillips; married to actor William Baldwin; former member of Wilson Phillips
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Half-sister: Mackenzie Phillips. Born in 1959; daughter of John Phillips and Suzy Adams; played Julie Cooper on the CBS sitcom One Day at a Time
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Mother: Genevieve Waite. South African
Significant Others
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Companion: Danny Masterson. Dated for three years before getting engaged in March 2009
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Companion: Elijah Blue Allman. son of Gregg Allman and Cher; no longer together
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Companion: Eric Eisner. son of executive Michael Eisner; dated in 2000
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Companion: Evan Dando. frontman for the Boston rock band The Lemonheads; born c. 1967; reportedly deflowered Phillips when she was 16 and he 29; no longer together
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Companion: Nick Adler. son of record producer Lou Adler; separated c. February 2000
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Companion: Sean Lennon.
Milestones
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1993 At age 13, began work as a model, appearing on the cover of Interview magazine
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1995 Appeared as part of a controversial Calvin Klein ad campaign featuring underage models in suggestive poses at age 15
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1995 Taught by father to play the guitar
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1999 Had a brief cameo in the independent film Sugar Town
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1999 Released her debut album I d Rather Eat Glass and toured as part of the Lilith Fair music festival
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2000 Had a supporting role in Cameron Crowe s Almost Famous
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2000 Posed for and featured on the cover of Playboy magazine (April)
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2000 Received positive reviews for her portrayal of a young Upper East Side child of privilege who has appropriated African-American hip-hop lingo and lifestyle in James Toback s Black and White
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2001 Appeared in the independent drama, Tart
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2001 Portrayed a teenage party girl in Larry Clark s Bully
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2004 Cast opposite Jeff Bridges and Kim Basinger in The Door in the Floor
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2005 Portrayed Lorna Doom opposite Shane West in What We Do Is Secret, about late 70s seminal punk band The Germs
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2005 Starred opposite Anne Hathaway in Stephen Gaghan s Havoc
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2007 Cast in Eli Roth s Hostel: Part II, the sequel to the 2006 film about a torture ring in Europe
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2008 Starred opposite Sam Rockwell in the black comedy Choke
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Will co-star with Danny Masterson in The Bridge to Nowhere ; directed by Blair Underwood in his directorial debut (lensed 2008)