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).
Profession(s):
Actor, model, songwriter, singer
Sometimes Credited As:
Family
brother:Tamerlane Phillips (born c. 1971)
father:John Phillips (founding member of seminal pop group The Mamas and the Papas; died March 19, 2001)
half-brother:Jeffrey Phillips
half-sister:Mackenzie Phillips (daughter of John Phillips and Suzy Adams)
half-sister:Chynna Phillips (daughter of John and Michelle Phillips; married to actor William Baldwin)
mother:Genevieve Waite (South African)
Companion(s)
Danny Masterson
, Companion
Elijah Blue Allman
, Companion
, ```..son of Gregg Allman and Cher; no longer together
Eric Eisner
, Companion
, ```..son of executive Michael Eisner; dated in 2000
Evan Dando
, Companion
, ```..frontman for the Boston rock band The Lemonheads; born c. 1967; reportedly deflowered Phillips when she was 16 and he 29; no longer together
Nick Adler
, Companion
, ```..son of record producer Lou Adler; separated c. February 2000
Sean Lennon
, Companion
, ```..dated briefly; no longer together
Online Film Critics Society Award Best Ensemble "Almost Famous" 2000
2007 Cast in Eli Roth's "Hostel: Part II," the sequel to the 2006 film about a torture ring in Europe
2004 Cast opposite Jeff Bridges and Kim Basinger in "The Door in the Floor" based on the John Irving novel
2003 Featured in the thriller "Octane" with Madeleine Stowe
2001 Delivered a convincing turn as a teenage party girl in the chilling drama "Bully"
2000 Starred as 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"
2000 Posed in a pictorial spread in Playboy; was featured on the cover (April)
2000 Had supporting role in "Almost Famous"
1999 Lensed the independent feature "Tart", a tale of wealthy New York teenagers in 1980s New York City
1999 Released her debut album "I'd Rather Eat Glass" and toured as part of the women in music festival Lilith Fair
1999 Had a cameo in the Kurt Voss/Allison Anders ensemble comedy "Sugar Town"
1995 Appeared as part of a controversial Calvin Klein ad campaign featuring underage models in suggestive poses at age 15 (date approximate)
1995 Taught by father to play the guitar
1993 At age 13, began work as a model, appearing on the cover of Interview magazine (date approximate)
Will star in a remake of the 1974 Larry Cohen movie "It's Alive"
