A Small Biography:

  Jewel's career found her early in life when a Sears photographer offered her any doll in the toy department if she'd appear in the store video. She turned him down; he was condescending. Soon after that she saw her first fashion show and, coming from a long line of clothes addicts, she just had to wear all those beautiful things. She soon discovered she could have them if she worked for them, so Jewel took her first modelling course at age six. After a couple of years modelling and doing commercials, she met an inspiring and dedicated director and teacher named Mikal Dughi who convinced her to get serious. Jewel began her study of the craft in earnest, pouring most of her modelling income back into acting & film classes. She's still doing that.

  Like many young Vancouver actors, Jewel attributes a lot of her passion for the craft to the time spent with Vancouver Youth Theatre (both on stage and on the road with touring companies). There's nothing like a three month tour de force ( hitting three different schools a day) to fine tune the work ethic. A couple of seasons at Vancouver Film School helped sharpen the on camera skills and provide that ellusive professional edge. In fact, at age ten she was chosen Best Actor (out of 500 films)at the Houston and Yorkton Festivals, for her touching performance in the short "Meeting Dad".

  Jewel has been very lucky to work with some big names and respected people over the years and has an amazing album of memories. Early on, she guest starred in the Canadian children's series The Odyssey. She's worked with Patty Duke, and co starred in TV movies with Henry Winkler, and John Ritter, and Linda Carter, and later guest starred in two episodes of Are You Afraid Of The Dark. She worked with Christina Ricci and Anna Clumsky in the feature Goldiggers and has a cameo in the feature Carpool. Last fall, Jewel guest starred on The X Files as the kidnap victim of a obsessed psychotic. Hey, she'll tell you, " it was a tough job getting mouth to mouth from David Duchovny but somebody had to do it."

  Since last year, she's been appearing as Catalina in "Space Cases", originating on Nickelodeon and recently picked up by the Family Channel and the Sci Fi Channel. SC fans are a special breed and are totally addicted to the sometimes bizarre live action comedy about five misfit space cadets who accidently launch an abandoned alien vessel. The kids get stuck "cruising outer space" for seven years with an extremely reluctant principal and a neurotic teacher. In second season, her character is invisible. This is because a previous commitment with Disney forced her to leave her buds and move to Toronto to start Flash Forward. This was very very difficult for Jewel. Space Case fans were furious and didn't know it wasn't her decision and some very nasty speculative comments were made on the Nick Show Posts. Not only that but she had to leave her best friends and start all over again in a strange city with a new show and all new people.

  The result of this earth shattering, tearful, life changing move is Flash Forward, a wonderful Disney/Family channel series which chronicles the lives of two best friends (Becca & Tucker) next door neighbors, born on the same day to best-friend parents. The inseparable pair are entering their teen years and testing their best friendship on an almost daily basis. It's touching, poignant, hilarious and Jewel found it a joy to work on. She made friends amongst the cast and crew which will last a lifetime and was, once again, heartbroken and devastated when the final episode was wrapped.

  Since that time she's been in constant contact with cast and crew members from both shows and often visits back and forth. Her phone bills are outrageous. After a wild and crazy three months in Hollywood (auditioning sometimes twice a day during pilot season) and trying out every new experience and LA party scene she could talk her mom into, Jewel walked away from the fast life and decided there was no place like home. She's back in Vancouver now, renewing old friendships, and playing hostess to a constantly changing visitor list. She's decided to take advantage of this break to train her voice and has a new passion and a new mentor in the music industry (Mr. Platter himself, Ray Caroll). She's rehearsing daily in the studio and attending acting workshops to keep her edge and hopes to join a touring company in the fall. In the last few months, she's been doing voice overs for a variety of animated series and is rehearsing a guest appearance on the new Super Dave Osbourne show, starting soon on Nickelodeon.

  Jewel is fifteen and the youngest of four sisters and two brothers. Her home base is Vancouver, B.C. but she hasn't seen it much in the last two years. She goes to school by correspondence and maintains a frantic social life by the Internet and phone. Jewel's goal is to have one of her novels published. Writing is not just a hobby, it's an obsession. She has a cat and a 3 lb Yorkie named Malibu who goes to the studio with her every day. She's still a bit of a clothes horse but the novelty wore off after she overdosed on Melrose, Beverly Hills, and Rodeo Drive in LA, and Bloomies in New York and Canadian fashion capitals like Montreal and Queen Street in Toronto. She realized that Vancouver's Robson Street and Gastown fashion districts are right up there with the best. Besides, when you're at home, boxers and TShirts are perfectly acceptable, if not downright attractive not to mention appropriate - sometimes.

Vital Stats:

Birhdate: June 2, 1982

Birthplace: White Rock, B.C. Canada

Height: 5'6

Weight: 115 pounds

Eye color: green

Hair color: dark blonde streaked platinum and dark brown

Filmography:

Title

Character Played

Year Released

Where

Flash Forward

Becca Fisher

1996

Television Series on Disney

Carpool

Soap Opera acrtress

1996

Theatrical and Home Video

Space Cases

Catalina

1996

Television Series on Nickelodeon

Prisoner of Zenda, Inc. (Double Play on home video)

Theresa

1996

Television Movie and Home Video

Golddiggers: The Secret of Bear Mountain

Samantha

1995

Television Movie and Home Video

The X-Files - Oubliette

Amy Jacobs

1995

Television Series on FOX

Are You Afraid of the Dark? - Tale of the Unfinished Painting

Cody

1994

Television Series on Nickelodeon

Liar, Liar

Dorianna

1993

Television Movie

The Only Way Out

Alexendria

1993

Television Movie

Are You Afraid of the Dark? - Tale of the Watcher's Woods

Kelly

1992

Television Series on Nickelodeon

The Odyssey - Prophesy and Believers

Lobelia

1992

Television Series currently running on SciFi Channel

Meetting Dads

Megan

1992

Vancouver Film School Students Film

Posing: Enspired by Real Stories (I Posed For Playboy on home video)

Jennifer

1991

Television Movie and Home Video

My Reviews:

Jewel Staite, in my personal opinion, is one of the best young actresses I have ever seen. Born in White Rock, BC Canada, she tried modeling as a starting career option but soon found that she didn't like it too well and got herself and acting agent and thus began a swift career switch from modeling to acting. She has brought life to many great roles in the past on the big screen and on television. Becca Fisher would be nothing without her, Catalina would be just "Rainbow-Head."

Her character in Flash Forward is named Becca Fisher. Flash Forward is a show about young teenagers trying to get by in everyday situations at home and at school. Becca Fisher is the best friend of the other main character Tucker James (Ben Foster.) Most people would not expect an actress so young to be so good at what she does, it's amazing to see her pull off so many emotions and make them look and seem so natural.

In Carpool, sadly, her part was not too big and she only has one line: "..and now I find you sleeping with my mother. What kind of father are you?" She's a Soap Opera actress on the televisions screen (the show gets cut off by the news) and the scene is just so silly. You have to see it..:)

In Space Cases she played Catalina, aka 'Rainbow-head', aka 'Ring-Head'. Space Cases is about a group of young space cadets that stumble upon a stange ship that takes off and leaves them standed in space for 7 years. I'm sure it's been said many, many times before, but The Impossible Dram was a must-see of the year. The feeling she put into her character was just, in a word, amazing! She stole the show, by far. Hey, doesn't she always? At the moment I have only seen about 9 episodes of the show and in every one Catalina draws me in more and more as making she show one of my favorites.

In Golddiggers her role was a snotty local girl. I can't help it, but I thought it looked so cute..:) As Alternity said (not in the same words) about a seemingly similar characer in Tale of the Watcher's Woods, she plays the role like she was born to.

Unfortunately I have not yet seen the Are You Afraid of the Dark? episodes she was in, and regretfully I just started watching the X-Files during it's fourth season, so I missed Oubliette. I look forward to the day when I get to see them, hopefully soon.

Jewel herself, as I have said many times, is a wonderful actress and very talented. She is a very nice person (wish I could think of better words to use because that is a huge understatement) and she takes lots of time out of her life to recognize her fans. I wish most actors and actresses could be like her.