ᴛʜᴇ ɢɪʀʟ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ʜᴏᴜʀ.

Jade Anna Epworth. Born the first of April, 1988 in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Twenty-six years old. An actress primarily known for playing Johanna Mason in The Hunger Games. Raised in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Lives in Los Angeles, California. Daughter to Emily (née Walton) and Sam (deceased) Epworth, a failed model/actress and a college history professor respectively. Older sister to Robert, Miranda, and Amy. Cousin to Kameron and Addi Walton. Mother to Agatha, a spoiled Maltese. Aries. High school drop-out. Social media queen. Incorrigible flirt. Allergic to relationships. Too loud, too brash, too ambitious. Self-proclaimed woman on the rise.

If you asked Jade Epworth how her parents met, she wouldn't be able to tell you. Sure, she'd give you the basics: they met, they fell in love, they were married, and they had their first daughter six months later. But any of the romantic details - how on that afternoon in June Samuel Epworth was at the bookstore searching for the exact book that Emily Walton was shelving or how much Emily's father objected to her dating, let alone marrying, a starving doctoral student - were lost on Jade. For Sam and Emily Epworth's daughter, the facts were what mattered. And the fact was that however they met, the young couple welcomed their April Fools surprise, Jade Anna Epworth, and that was where, in Jade's eyes, the story really started.

For a number of years, the small family survived on what means they had. Sam taught part-time to support the family as he completed his Ph.D. When Sam finished and miraculously published his dissertation, he was hired at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill as a professor of history. Unable to turn down the offer, Sam relocated his young family to the south. A year later, Emily discovered that she was expecting another child: a boy they named Robert. Although three year old Jade resisted sharing her parents' attention at first, she soon came to adore and dote on her baby brother. The same mixture of resentment and protectiveness marked Jade's relationship with the twins that followed two years later: Miranda and Amy.

As a child, Jade was a typical star-in-the-making, often putting on performances for her stuffed animals or younger siblings, who dutifully applauded their older sister, showering her with praise in the form of sloppy kisses. For a young girl who longed to break down the white picket fences of her suburban upbringing, Jade longed for a profession that promised the living multiple lives at once and at a fast pace. This made her impatient with school and determined to be an actress.

During her junior year in high school, Jade begged her mother to let her pursue her dreams by relocating to Los Angeles and finish high school at a distance. Although her mother resisted, her doting father insisted that the experience would be good for their daughter (especially if, as he seemed to imply, it serve as a wake-up call for her about how impossible her dream would be). The family agreed that Jade could spend the summer with a relative in California and "see how it went." Jade spent the summer furiously auditioning and, to everyone's surprise, won a bit part in the 2006 horror thriller When a Stranger Calls and a reoccuring short-term role as a new love interest for Ryan Atwood on the popular television show "The O.C."

Although more rational people may have been satisfied with this foray into the silver screen, the small taste that Jade got of life on the set made her more determined than ever to become an actress. At the end of the summer, Jade announced to her parents that she would be staying in California. In the next year her perseverance paid off: she began to win roles in raunchy comedies like Superbad, The House Bunny, and Pineapple Express. After playing the "hot girl" in several films, Jade's management became concerned that Jade was becoming typecast. But she was not worried. She insisted that if these comedies would bring her to the places she wanted to go, then she would be laughing raunchily all the way to the bank. After the bomb that was Year One, however, Jade was more willing to listen. She continued playing supporting roles until a series of coincidences and called-in favors led to an unexpected project - Martha Marcy May Marlene - falling at her feet. The film offered her a more meaty and complex role than any she had previously encountered. Knowing that the few people who knew who she was probably expected her to fail, Jade threw herself into the role and was rewarded with critical acclaim, including multiple award nominations (and a win from the Film Critics Association of her home state of Indiana). Although the film did not get her widespread recognition, from a critical point of view it marked the beginning of Jade breaking her history of typecasting.

As critics and film-makers began to see that there was actual talent behind her funny roles, Jade's own ambitions took on a slightly different trajectory than expected: suddenly bored with the same old, same old, she became hungry for acting challenges. She graduated to darker comedies like The Oranges and dark, sexy dramas like Spring Breakers. At the time of the release of these films, two major developments were occuring in Jade's life: her beloved father, Sam, rapidly faded and eventually passed away in May 2012 after being diagnosed with cancer. Two weeks later, it was announced that Jade had been cast in the biggest role of her career: rebellious tribute Johanna Mason in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. In the midst of mourning for her father, Jade threw herself into training and filming, finding an outlet for her own frustration in Johanna's sarcasm and rage and a new challenge in the physical demands of the role.

That same year, she also starred in Magic Magic, another film that received critical attention but was not widely seen and played a supporting role in The Wolf of Wall Street.

With the release of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Jade seemed to become a star overnight. Fans of the franchise latched onto Jade for her witty and irreverent use of social media and earned her attention that helped her to get cast in roles in films like Terence Malick's Knight of Cups and the remake of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. With her Tumblr adorers and a few critically recognized roles behind her, Jade considers herself ready for a new challenge: to take on Hollywood on her terms.

Me Before You (2015) Lou (announced) The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 (2015) Johanna Mason (post-production) Knight of Cups (2015) Teresa Palmer's role The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (2014) Johanna Mason She's Funny That Way (2014) Isabella "Izzy" Beatty Still Alice (2014) Lydia Howland The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013) Johanna Mason The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) Teresa Petrillo Belfort Magic Magic (2013) Alicia Greetings from Tim Buckley (2012) Allie Spring Breakers (2012) Cotty "The League" (2012, 2 episodes) Gina Gibiatti The Oranges (2011) Nina Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011) Martha Friends with Benefits (2011) Kayla The Runaways (2010) Robin Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (2010) Envy Adams Year One (2009) Eema Pineapple Express (2008) Angie Anderson New York, I Love You (2008) Gabrielle (segment: "Brett Ratner") The House Bunny (2008) Mona Superbad (2007) Becca "The O.C." (2006, 6 episodes) Sadie Campbell When a Stranger Calls (2006) Tiffany Madison

the oldest of four children. Jade spent the first three years of her life as an only child, but came to dote on her younger siblings robert, miranda, and amy.
tends to be typecast. Early in her career, Jade recognized that she was being typecast in raunchy, ditzy, or sexualized roles. Jade enjoyed these roles until she realized that she experienced more of a challenge and got more recognition for more complex parts. With the attention she got from The Hunger Games, she has worked to be taken more seriously.
more a fling girl than a relationship girl. With the exception of one relationship (2012-2013), Jade has very little interest in romance or monogamy. She has never hidden her bisexuality.
a social media queen. Jade is an active user of Tumblr, Twitter, Instagram, and Vine. She has built a sizeable fan following because of her irreverent postings.
former daddy's girl. Growing up, Jade was very close to her father, who taught English literature at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. Her father passed away in June 2012 after contracting skin cancer.