Jessica Rothe

Jessica Rothe was born Jessica Rothenberg on May 28, 1987, in Denver, Colorado. She is the daughter of Susan and Steve Rothenberg, and grew up in a Jewish family. Her mother worked as a concert pianist, while her father was a singer-songwriter. She studied at Boston University, graduating in 2009.

Rothe began acting professionally in short films and television, appearing in the 2010s series The Onion News Network, Happy Endings, and Next Time on Loneliness. Her early feature credits included The Last Keepers (2013), a supernatural drama starring Zane Holtz and Olympia Dukakis, and Lily & Kat (2015), a comedy.

In 2016, Rothe played Alexis, one of Mia’s friends, in Damien Chazelle’s musical La La Land. The film, starring Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, won six Academy Awards, including Best Director and Best Actress. Although Alexis is a supporting character, the role placed Rothe in a major awards-season film early.

Her breakthrough came with Christopher Landon’s Happy Death Day (2017). Rothe stars as Theresa “Tree” Gelbman, a college student forced to relive the day of her murder repeatedly. Each reset gives Tree another opportunity to identify her killer and confront her own selfish behavior. The horror film became a success.

Rothe returned as Tree in Happy Death Day 2U (2019), which expands the time-loop premise into a science-fiction explanation involving parallel realities. The sequel reunites her with Israel Broussard, Suraj Sharma, Ruby Modine, and Rachel Matthews. Rothe also served as an executive producer on the film, giving her behind-the-scenes role.

In the same period, she played Samantha Kingston, the central character in Ry Russo-Young’s Before I Fall (2017). Adapted from Lauren Oliver’s novel, the film follows Samantha as she repeatedly experiences her final day and gradually recognizes how her choices affect classmates such as Juliet. Rothe anchors the film powerfully.

Rothe’s lead roles include Julie Richman in the musical comedy Valley Girl (2020), a reimagining of the 1983 film set in 1980s Los Angeles. Her Julie is caught between a wealthy Valley girl lifestyle and her relationship with Randy, a punk from Hollywood. The film features songs from the era.

On television, Rothe appeared as Paige in the Comedy Central series Mary + Jane, starring Jessica Williams and Phoebe Robinson. She later appeared as June 27 in Moritz Mohr’s Boy Kills World (2023). Her film work also includes Tater Tot & Pat (2017), a drama about a troubled teenager.