No sooner than high school graduation in Florida was Arielle Kebbel in and out of auditions in Hollywood. A 4.3 GPA and graduating a semester early would indicate Harvard was a more likely destination, but then again, she was a contestant for Miss Florida in the Teen USA pageant at 17. So, she went west, and within a week of her arrival in southern California, snagged the role of Lindsey Lister on “Gilmore Girls” at a time when the show’s fortunes had never been lower. For Arielle, her nine episodes were almost a crash course in on-camera acting before quickly popping up elsewhere on TV – including the pilot episode of “Entourage.”
Her debut film appearance was nothing less than “Soul Plane” opposite Tom Arnold and Snoop Dogg in 2004, an introduction to a movie career that initially seemed more perfunctory than inspired. While she is part of the ensemble of “Be Cool,” Arielle can also claim third billing in the 2005 comedy “American Pie Presents Band Camp” and more teen comedies like “The Kid & I,” “The Bros.,” and “Aquamarine,” culminating in “John Tucker Must Die” in 2006, the same year she was the December pin-up in Stuff magazine.
Arielle tried her hand at horror in “The Grudge 2,” a noteworthy experience for the burgeoning actress as it was filmed in Japan and her directions communicated to her in translation. She returned to more familiar ground with an appearance on James Woods’ “Shark” and the low budget drama “Daydreamer.” Arielle now seems to have graduated from the ubiquitous teen comedies that dominated at the outset of her career and looks to foray into thriller pictures. It seems that as she matures her output may become more selective. While Arielle can look at others as models on which to blaze her own career (Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jessica Alba, et al), Arielle Kebbel has the capacity to make a unique name for herself.
Arielle Kebbel on the Screen
Along with “Gilmore Girls,” Arielle got her start elsewhere on TV: “CSI” and its spin-off “CSI: Miami,” “Judging Amy,” and five episodes of “Grounded for Life.” She’s Robin in “Be Cool,” Cookie in “Reeker,” Alison in “Dirty Deeds,” Carrie in “John Tucker Must Die,” Allison in “The Grudge 2,” and a member of the failed pilot for the American version of “Footballers’ Wives.”
Arielle Says
On “John Tucker Must Die”:
“I got to live out all of my fantasies through this movie.”
On Japan:
“I had moments where I was crying with happiness and I had moments where I was crying with homesickness.”