Jennifer Love Hewitt, one of Hollywood’s brightest young stars of the 1990s, was poised to become a respected adult actor for decades.
In 2015, Ghost Whisperer’s “it girl” star, who tabloids loved, disappeared from Hollywood, leaving fans wondering why.
Jennifer Love Hewitt was a major nineties teen star. Who didn’t love Jennifer Love’s Hewitt?
She had the most beautiful grin and was comforting and genuine.
After appearing in various TV commercials, Hewitt, 44, got her big break at 10 with Disney Channel’s Kids Incorporated (1989–1991).
The sitcom about young rock band members launched numerous celebrities, including Fergie of Black Eyed Peas, Mario Lopez of Saved by the Bell and Access Hollywood, and Eric Balfour of 24 and Haven.
Hewitt, who later starred with Scott Wolf, Matthew Fox, Neve Campbell, and Lacy Chabert on the hit TV show Party of Five, was also cast.
After Party of Five finished after six seasons in 1999, Hewitt starred in 1990s classics including I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997 and 1998) and Can’t Hardly Wait (1998).
Hewitt played Sigourney Weaver’s daughter in Heartbreakers in 2001, which Roger Ebert called “the entire film with her treasures on display, maybe as product placement for the Wonderbra.”
In a 2018 LA Times interview, Hewitt said, “It wasn’t actually until later, in the time when I took the step back, that I went “ugh.” She’s had a rocky relationship with the media since she started filling out as a woman The worst—I don’t want to be remembered for that.” She added, “I don’t want my kid to Google me and see ‘She looks terrible’ or ‘She has big boobs and she’s hot.’” I don’t want that to define me.”
She was mostly covered up in the 2002 spy satire Tuxedo with Jackie Chan, typically wearing the superpower-holding tuxedo.
She played ghost-talker Melinda Gordon on Ghost Whisperer in 2005.
Though unpopular with reviewers, the show had a loyal fanbase. Hewitt was devastated when Ghost Whisperer was unexpectedly canceled in 2010.
“For me, it was a complete shock… I felt our next season would be the last because the program had been on so long, she added. I never thought in a million years that would be our last season. It’s hard to come up with new things to keep people interested.
Hewitt received her first Golden Globe nomination in 2012 for her part as a single mother who supports her children as an exotic masseuse in the Client List.
Hewitt, a singer, met her first and only husband, Brian Hallisay, who plays her children’s deadbeat dad, on Client List.
Actually, Hallisay is a fantastic husband and father of three. Autumn, their first daughter, was born days after their 2013 wedding. They have Atticus in 2015 and Aiden in 2021.
Hewitt took a break from the spotlight in 2015 to be a wife and mother after working hard since childhood.
What was going on in my life made me need some distance and time to be. I enjoyed the break, and in the last few months, going back into acting has done a beautiful thing for me in that it’s made everything I do in my acting/entertainment life not less important but less like, ‘It’s everything all the time,’ like it used to be.”
Hewitt was also grieving her mother, who died of cancer aged 67 in 2012, which she says “feels very raw.”
Jennifer quit Twitter at this difficult time. It seems she was hated on the platform.
Pregnant, she left Twitter to avoid the vitriol and hostility, causing a stir.
“Unfortunately with all the negativity people choose to send on twitter as well as threats to their own well being I’m sad to say Twitter is no longer for me,” Jennifer tweeted in 2013.
After starting her career in 1989, Jennifer Love Hewitt has transformed physically and mentally.
Hollywood, notoriety, and tabloid objectification have also hurt her. After Jennifer’s bikini images were leaked, various online media sources made disparaging and harsh comments about her weight gain. These outlets remarked on her swimsuit photos, claiming “I know what you ate last summer.”
Jennifer could handle the criticism, but she concerned about how the photos and headlines affected other body-image-challenged females.
Her passionate answer was to tell all the “girls with butts, boobs, hips and a waist” to “put on a bikini, put it on, and stay strong”.
The Ghost Whisperer actress advised them to happily wear a bikini, stay strong, and accept themselves. Jennifer has tried many diets, worked with personal trainers, and lives a healthy lifestyle.
She “never looks at the scale” or counts calories anymore. The 90s celebrity looks better than ever and posts updates on Instagram and Facebook.
After three years, Hewitt returned to work with “renewed energy and vigor” in the first responder TV series 9-1-1 in 2020.
The show, now in its ninth season, gives Hewitt a chance to mature as an actor by playing Maddie Buckley, a former nurse turned 911 operator.
I also feel like I have new material as an actress. I think it’s funny that performers, especially kid actors like myself, are expected to draw from all these life experiences that many of us haven’t lived, Hewitt told the LA Times.
“I feel like I acted for a lot of years from my heart, but not really understanding some of the things I understand now.”
It’s hard to imagine we fell in love with Jennifer Love Hewitt’s infectious smile on Party of Five almost 25 years ago!
As a mother of three, it’s excellent she’s balanced career and family, and we look forward to seeing her in more mature roles!