We have watched her experience it all: drug addiction, teenage pregnancy, broken hearts and, most recently, a same-sex romance. Jessica Lowndes, as Adrianna Tate-Duncan on 90210, has adapted to every situation that has been thrown at her.
Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Lowndes was discovered in 2005 by the producers of Masters of Horror, where she later appeared as a guest for one episode. She continued to make small appearances on shows such as Kyle XY, Alice, I Think, and Greek. Finally, in 2008, she made her silver screen debut as Laurel Miller in The Haunting of Molly Hartley, alongside 90210 cast mate AnnaLynne McCord and Gossip Girl hottie Chace Crawford. And, also in 2008, Lowndes caught our eye as Adrianna on 90210. She was originally yet another guest character, but the audience seemed to be captivated by her beauty and Adrianna’s character, so the show made her a regular.
As the series continues to receive high ratings and viewers, Lowndes finds her character thrust into situations more difficult than most. But, she handles it with the grace and humility of a true actress: "I feel so fortunate as an actress to get to tell these stories," she explained to The CW in an interview. “I love acting, I’ve been wanting to do it since I was 3, but I’m a very creative person. I always say if acting was to go away tomorrow, god forbid, I’d have to be doing something creative to fill in. I got into acting when I was 15, and the day I got my driver’s license I drove to L.A., I was just so excited. It’s hard starting out, but I’m someone who kind of thrives under pressure. Yes, L.A. is full of rejection, but I don’t let it get to me, I try to stay positive. It’s something I’m excited and passionate about and I love it. It never feels like work.”
As a child growing up in Vancouver, Lowndes studied at the Pacific Academy, a Christian Private school in Surrey, a suburb of Vancouver. Her start to acting was very spontaneous. While shopping in Vancouver with her mom, she decided to attend an open audition for a movie. Despite not landing the role, she did get a silver lining of sorts, signing with an agent and beginning acting professionally soon after. In 2006, she moved to Los Angeles, California to continue pursuing her acting dreams.
Though she is known for her acting, Lowndes is considered a triple threat. Not only does she act, but she is also in the process of recording a CD, where she sings, plays guitar and piano and wrote most of the songs. She showcased her singing capabilities on 90210, becoming the lead singer of the band the Glorious Steinems, and later went out on her own. In fact, they actually used two songs that she wrote herself, entitled Stamp of Love and Haven`t Been Drinking. When asked who her musical influences were, her reply was “my mom -- she used to play piano and I remember growing up and listening to her. I also like Kelly Clarkson, Pink, Rihanna, but I like incorporating the piano into it. Since I grew up with it, I just love the sound of piano.” Her extensive background in music prompted her to record a demo CD in 2006 and send it out, hoping to sign a recording contract with Icon Records or Red Girl Records, neither of which panned out. “I did a demo CD when I was 16 up in Vancouver just with my best friend. It was just to get over a boy. Then the next thing I know, I was sitting next to this producer on a plane and happened to give him my demo CD just because he liked music and I had no idea what he did professionally. Then a few months later I get a call saying the show Moonlight for CBS wants to purchase one of my songs. So it’s kind of like this surreal like oh, okay, this is something I’ve always wanted to do. I wasn’t really prepared to put all my focus into it because I didn’t want to spread myself too thin, but now it’s kind of just happening organically. Like, I was hired originally as the singer of the school musical. I was only supposed to be in the first two or three episodes. Now that they’re incorporating more, it’s like I’ve really started pursuing it just this year. I’ve been back to recording and during hiatus I’m recording an album. I hope to have something out by the end of this year. Then in May, two of the songs that I have recorded will be on the show which is really, really exciting.”
Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Lowndes was discovered in 2005 by the producers of Masters of Horror, where she later appeared as a guest for one episode. She continued to make small appearances on shows such as Kyle XY, Alice, I Think, and Greek. Finally, in 2008, she made her silver screen debut as Laurel Miller in The Haunting of Molly Hartley, alongside 90210 cast mate AnnaLynne McCord and Gossip Girl hottie Chace Crawford. And, also in 2008, Lowndes caught our eye as Adrianna on 90210. She was originally yet another guest character, but the audience seemed to be captivated by her beauty and Adrianna’s character, so the show made her a regular.
As the series continues to receive high ratings and viewers, Lowndes finds her character thrust into situations more difficult than most. But, she handles it with the grace and humility of a true actress: "I feel so fortunate as an actress to get to tell these stories," she explained to The CW in an interview. “I love acting, I’ve been wanting to do it since I was 3, but I’m a very creative person. I always say if acting was to go away tomorrow, god forbid, I’d have to be doing something creative to fill in. I got into acting when I was 15, and the day I got my driver’s license I drove to L.A., I was just so excited. It’s hard starting out, but I’m someone who kind of thrives under pressure. Yes, L.A. is full of rejection, but I don’t let it get to me, I try to stay positive. It’s something I’m excited and passionate about and I love it. It never feels like work.”
As a child growing up in Vancouver, Lowndes studied at the Pacific Academy, a Christian Private school in Surrey, a suburb of Vancouver. Her start to acting was very spontaneous. While shopping in Vancouver with her mom, she decided to attend an open audition for a movie. Despite not landing the role, she did get a silver lining of sorts, signing with an agent and beginning acting professionally soon after. In 2006, she moved to Los Angeles, California to continue pursuing her acting dreams.
Though she is known for her acting, Lowndes is considered a triple threat. Not only does she act, but she is also in the process of recording a CD, where she sings, plays guitar and piano and wrote most of the songs. She showcased her singing capabilities on 90210, becoming the lead singer of the band the Glorious Steinems, and later went out on her own. In fact, they actually used two songs that she wrote herself, entitled Stamp of Love and Haven`t Been Drinking. When asked who her musical influences were, her reply was “my mom -- she used to play piano and I remember growing up and listening to her. I also like Kelly Clarkson, Pink, Rihanna, but I like incorporating the piano into it. Since I grew up with it, I just love the sound of piano.” Her extensive background in music prompted her to record a demo CD in 2006 and send it out, hoping to sign a recording contract with Icon Records or Red Girl Records, neither of which panned out. “I did a demo CD when I was 16 up in Vancouver just with my best friend. It was just to get over a boy. Then the next thing I know, I was sitting next to this producer on a plane and happened to give him my demo CD just because he liked music and I had no idea what he did professionally. Then a few months later I get a call saying the show Moonlight for CBS wants to purchase one of my songs. So it’s kind of like this surreal like oh, okay, this is something I’ve always wanted to do. I wasn’t really prepared to put all my focus into it because I didn’t want to spread myself too thin, but now it’s kind of just happening organically. Like, I was hired originally as the singer of the school musical. I was only supposed to be in the first two or three episodes. Now that they’re incorporating more, it’s like I’ve really started pursuing it just this year. I’ve been back to recording and during hiatus I’m recording an album. I hope to have something out by the end of this year. Then in May, two of the songs that I have recorded will be on the show which is really, really exciting.”
As her fame and popularity amongst teenagers worldwide continues to grow, Lowndes prides herself on keeping fairly low-key, or under the radar. She was included on People magazine's list of World's Most Beautiful People of 2009 and has been romantically linked to hottie Adam Gregory, who played Ty Collins on 90210 and, more recently, actor Aaron Paul, from 2009’s The Last House on the Left. Other than that, she says, she leads a pretty boring life. “I don’t lead too exciting of a life. I have board game night at my house and people don’t really follow me so it’s awesome. I don’t know, I guess sometimes it can get a little dramatic, just like the paparazzi thing but I don’t know. I just feel blessed and fortunate. I’m still the same person so I go to work and that’s that,” she humbly states. “I usually do 90210 board game night where I’ll invite the cast over and friends and we’ll all get together, play board games and watch the show and eat some yummy food. I usually bake a cake. When I have people over, I love to cook.”
On the show itself, Adrianna Tate-Duncan never ceases to entertain her viewers. Most recently, she has engaged in a same-sex relationship with Gia, played by Rumer Willis, and a singer named Javier. Previously, she battled a drug addiction and teenage pregnancy. Despite making a promise to become “No Drama Adrianna”, a different twist around her storyline occurs seemingly every episode. “No Drama Adrianna lasted for maybe half an episode. She’s somebody that has a very addictive personality, as you guys have seen in season one and now season two. She’s addicted to the highs and the lows and essentially the drama of it all. She’s also somebody that truly needs to experience things for herself. Somebody can’t just say, “No, you shouldn’t do that.” She has to truly go through it and either hit rock bottom or learn by her mistakes by truly experiencing it. That’s another aspect to her personality. She’s also somebody that if things were just sailing smoothly and okay, she gets very bored. Yeah, there’s definitely a lot more drama to be had with her but that doesn’t mean she isn’t happy. I know a lot of people ask, “When is she going to just find her happiness.” I think she is truly happy. I think that’s just a characteristic of who she is.” Her need to experience everything has become increasingly prominent in her relationship with Gia. In an attempt to get over Navid, Adrianna befriended Gia, who, she later found out, is a lesbian. And, when she sees Navid with Lila, the bassist of the Glorious Steinems, she develops what she thinks are true feelings for Gia. “Her and Gia definitely strike up a close bond and Gia helps her essentially try to get over Navid by encouraging her to make music her outlet which I think is so fantastic because instead of turning to drugs, she’s turning to a passion of hers. She almost lost that passion last year because she was under so much pressure from her mom and singing became more of a chore. The school play was really stressful on her. This year I think it’s going to be really great. There’s a lot more music involved which is so much fun because I’m a musician in real life and I’ve been able to write music towards the end of season two. It’s just like a dream come true.”
Look out for Vancouver native Jessica Lowndes to make an even bigger name for herself with the release of her debut CD, and the continuing success of 90210.
On the show itself, Adrianna Tate-Duncan never ceases to entertain her viewers. Most recently, she has engaged in a same-sex relationship with Gia, played by Rumer Willis, and a singer named Javier. Previously, she battled a drug addiction and teenage pregnancy. Despite making a promise to become “No Drama Adrianna”, a different twist around her storyline occurs seemingly every episode. “No Drama Adrianna lasted for maybe half an episode. She’s somebody that has a very addictive personality, as you guys have seen in season one and now season two. She’s addicted to the highs and the lows and essentially the drama of it all. She’s also somebody that truly needs to experience things for herself. Somebody can’t just say, “No, you shouldn’t do that.” She has to truly go through it and either hit rock bottom or learn by her mistakes by truly experiencing it. That’s another aspect to her personality. She’s also somebody that if things were just sailing smoothly and okay, she gets very bored. Yeah, there’s definitely a lot more drama to be had with her but that doesn’t mean she isn’t happy. I know a lot of people ask, “When is she going to just find her happiness.” I think she is truly happy. I think that’s just a characteristic of who she is.” Her need to experience everything has become increasingly prominent in her relationship with Gia. In an attempt to get over Navid, Adrianna befriended Gia, who, she later found out, is a lesbian. And, when she sees Navid with Lila, the bassist of the Glorious Steinems, she develops what she thinks are true feelings for Gia. “Her and Gia definitely strike up a close bond and Gia helps her essentially try to get over Navid by encouraging her to make music her outlet which I think is so fantastic because instead of turning to drugs, she’s turning to a passion of hers. She almost lost that passion last year because she was under so much pressure from her mom and singing became more of a chore. The school play was really stressful on her. This year I think it’s going to be really great. There’s a lot more music involved which is so much fun because I’m a musician in real life and I’ve been able to write music towards the end of season two. It’s just like a dream come true.”
Look out for Vancouver native Jessica Lowndes to make an even bigger name for herself with the release of her debut CD, and the continuing success of 90210.