Born July 8, 1982 in Los Angeles to parents Charles and Maureen, the true-blue California girl attended Westridge School for Girls in her hometown of Pasadena. As a freshman, she developed a penchant for acting and became involved in school theater productions. In 2000, the beautiful senior was crowned Queen of the Tournament of Roses Parade. After graduation, Bush attend the University of Southern California (USC) for three years with a journalism major and theatre minor before leaving college to pursue her acting career. While matriculating USC, the outgoing young actress also served as social chair of her sorority, Kappa Kappa Gamma.
Bush's first screen role arrived in the form of college student, Sally, in "National Lampoon's Van Wilder" (2002) opposite Ryan Reynolds. Next came a small role in the HBO arsonist thriller "Point of Origin" (2002), starring Ray Liotta and John Leguizamo. Soon, Bush was cast in her first major role opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger and Nick Stahl in "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines" (2003). Though Bush began principle photography on the film, director Jonathan Mostow changed his mind and deemed her too young for the role of Stahl's love interest, Kate Brewster. The 19-year old simply did not look the part of her mid-twenties character. Bush was soon replaced by actress Claire Danes.
Despite losing such a high-profile gig, the undeterred Bush continued auditioning and honing her craft. She landed small roles on the notable television shows "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" (ABC, 1996-2003) and "Nip/Tuck" (FX, 2003 - ), as well as a role in the forgettable film "Learning Curves" (2003).
Bush finally got her big break when she won the role that would make her famous -- flirtatious cheerleader Brooke Davis on the WB's "One Tree Hill." Now a regular on a seemingly promising new show, Bush left USC and her Southern California roots behind to shoot the series in Wilmington, NC. The teen drama premiered in the fall of 2003 and quickly developed a loyal following, much like its flashier competition, "The O.C." (Fox, 2003 - ).
It was while working on location, that Bush began dating her co-star and on-screen love interest, Chad Michael Murray. The attractive pair's storybook courtship was closely followed by fans and press alike. The couple tied the knot to much fanfare on April 16, 2005, only to announce their separation five shockingly short months later. The same tabloids and teen mags that followed the courtship with near-religious fervor, utilized the same approach in pin-pointing the cause of the split and its unavoidable fallout on the set.
While continuing her popular "One Tree" role, Bush returned to the big screen in 2005, playing love interest to Steve Howey in the motorcycle action film "Supercross." In 2006, Bush continued to land big screen roles, taking a stab at the horror genre with "Stay Alive" and "John Tucker Must Die."