Jordana Brewster (born April 26, 1980) is a Panamanian-American actress. Best known for her role as

Mia Toretto ''Fast & Furious (also known as The Fast and the Furious)'' is an American action film series centered on a series of action films that are largely concerned with street racing, heists, spies, and family. The following is a list of character ...

in the ''

Fast & Furious ''Fast & Furious'' (also known as ''The Fast and the Furious'') is a media franchise centered on a series of action films that are largely concerned with street racing, heists, spies, and family. The franchise also includes short films, ...

'' franchise, she made her acting debut in an episode of ''

All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 2013, via Hulu, Hulu Plus, and ...

'' in 1995 and next took on the recurring role as Nikki Munson in '' As the World Turns'', garnering a nomination for Outstanding Teen Performer at the 1997

Soap Opera Digest Award ''The Soap Opera Digest Awards'', originally known as ''The Soapy Awards'' when introduced in 1977, is an awards show held by the daytime television magazine ''Soap Opera Digest''. History 1977 until 1983 The Soapy Awards were an award presen ...

. Her first role in a feature film was in

Robert Rodriguez Robert Anthony Rodriguez (; born June 20, 1968) is an American filmmaker, composer, and visual effects supervisor. He shoots, edits, produces, and scores many of his films in Mexico and in his home state of Texas. Rodriguez directed the 1992 ac ...

's horror science fiction ''

The Faculty ''The Faculty'' is a 1998 American science fiction horror film directed by Robert Rodriguez and written by Kevin Williamson. It stars Jordana Brewster, Clea DuVall, Laura Harris, Josh Hartnett, Shawn Hatosy, Famke Janssen, Piper Laurie, B ...

'' (1998). Her breakthrough came with her role of

in the action film ''

The Fast and the Furious ''Fast & Furious'' (also known as ''The Fast and the Furious'') is a media franchise centered on a series of action films that are largely concerned with street racing, heists, spies, and family. The franchise also includes short films, ...

'' (2001). She reprised the role in its sequels ''

'' (2009), '' Fast Five'' (2011), '' Fast & Furious 6'' (2013), '' Furious 7'' (2015), and '' F9'' (2021). Other film credits include the drama '' The Invisible Circus'' (2001), the action comedy '' D.E.B.S.'' (2004) and the horror film '' The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning'' (2006). Brewster starred on the re-booted TNT series ''

Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

'' from 2012 to 2014. She also had a five-episode arc as Denise Brown in the first season of the FX true crime anthology series ''

American Crime Story ''American Crime Story'' is an American anthology true crime television series developed by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, who are also executive producers, alongside Brad Falchuk, Nina Jacobson, Ryan Murphy, and Brad Simpson. The seri ...

'' (2016). She recently starred as Dr. Maureen Cahill on the Fox buddy cop action dramedy ''

Lethal Weapon ''Lethal Weapon'' is a 1987 American buddy cop action comedy film directed and co-produced by Richard Donner, written by Shane Black, and co-produced by Joel Silver. It stars Mel Gibson and Danny Glover alongside Gary Busey, Tom Atkins, D ...

'' (2016–2018).

Early life

Jordana Brewster was born in Panama City, Panama, on April 26, 1980, the older of two daughters. Her mother, Maria João (' Leal de Sousa), is a former swimsuit model from Brazil who appeared on the 1978 cover of ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence tw ...

'', and her father, Alden Brewster, is an American investment banker. Her paternal grandfather, Kingman Brewster Jr., was president of

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the w ...

(1963–77) and the United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom (1977–81). Brewster is a direct descendant of ''

Mayflower ''Mayflower'' was an English ship that transported a group of English families, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620. After a grueling 10 weeks at sea, ''Mayflower'', with 102 passengers and a crew of about 30, ...

'' passengers William Brewster and Edward Doty. Jordana lived in London, England and moved to Brazil when she was six years old. She left Brazil at 10, settling in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, New York City, where she studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and graduated from the

Professional Children's School Professional Children's School (PCS) is a not-for-profit, college preparatory school geared toward working and aspiring child actors and dancers in grades six through twelve. The school was founded in New York City in 1914 to provide an academic ed ...

. Brewster graduated from

with a B. A. in English Literature in 2003.

Career

1990s

Brewster made her debut in daytime

soap operas A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

, with a one-time appearance on ''

'' as Anita Santos. She next played the recurring role of rebellious daughter Nikki Munson on '' As the World Turns''. From 1995 to 2001, she appeared in a total of 104 episodes of the soap opera. For her performance, she was nominated for Outstanding Teen Performer at the 1997 Soap Opera Digest Awards. Her first film role was in

's horror science fiction film ''

'' (1998), written by Kevin Williamson and co-starring Elijah Wood, Josh Hartnett, and Clea DuVall. In the film about strange occurrences involving the teachers of an

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

high school, Brewster played a popular vindictive cheerleading captain and an editor in chief of the student paper. The film received mixed reviews, but grossed US$40 million in North America. In 1999, she appeared opposite Julia Stiles and

Jerry O'Connell Jerry O'Connell (born February 17, 1974) is an American actor and television host. He is known for his roles as Quinn Mallory in the television series ''Sliders'', Andrew Clements in ''My Secret Identity'', Vern Tessio in the film '' Stand by M ...

in an NBC television miniseries entitled ''The '60s'', playing a student activist.

2000s

Brewster starred with

Cameron Diaz Cameron Michelle Diaz (born August 30, 1972) is an American actress. With a variety of works in film, she is widely recognised for her work in romantic comedies and animation. Diaz has received various accolades, including nominations for fo ...

and

Christopher Eccleston Christopher Eccleston (; born 16 February 1964) is an English actor. A two-time BAFTA Award nominee, he is best known for his television and film work, which includes his role as the ninth incarnation of the Doctor in the BBC sci-fi series '' ...

in the independent drama '' The Invisible Circus'' (2001), portraying a grieving teenage girl who travels to Europe in 1976 in search of answers to the suicide of her older sister. The film premiered at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,6 ...

and received a limited theatrical release. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' felt that Brewster "can't summon a credible range of emotion" in her portrayal. Her breakthrough came afterward in 2001, when she took on the role of Mia Toretto opposite Vin Diesel and

Paul Walker Paul William Walker IV (September 12, 1973 – November 30, 2013) was an American actor. He was known for his role as Brian O'Conner in the ''Fast & Furious'' franchise. Walker began his career as a child actor in the 1980s, gaining recogniti ...

in the

street racing Street racing is typically an unsanctioned and illegal form of auto racing that occurs on a public road. Racing in the streets is considered an ancient hazard, as horse racing occurred on streets for centuries, and street racing in automobiles ...

action film ''

''. As she did not have a driver's license, she took driving lessons during production. Todd McCarthy of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'', in his review for the film, noted that Brewster did a "better job here than she did as a searching teen in the recent ''The Invisible Circus''." The film was a commercial success, grossing over US$207 million worldwide. Following the release of ''The Fast and the Furious'', Brewster took a break from acting to complete her B. A. in English at Yale from which she graduated in 2003. She returned to the screen when she played as a lesbian criminal mastermind in the action comedy '' D.E.B.S.'' (2004). ''A.V. Club'' dismissed the development of Brewster on-screen relationship with co-star

Sara Foster Sara Foster (born February 5, 1981) is an American actress. She is known for her role as Jen Clark on '' 90210''. She was a fashion model before moving to the film industry. Career Foster guest-starred as herself on the HBO series ''Entourage ...

, writing that "''D.E.B.S.'' oscillates between the glib camp smirkiness of its half-hearted action send-up and the thudding earnestness of its romance". It was distributed in limited release. She starred as the love interest of a high school student in the 1970s in the independent teen drama ''

Nearing Grace ''Nearing Grace'' is a 2005 film directed by Rick Rosenthal, based on the novel by Scott Sommer. Plot High school senior Henry Nearing ( Gregory Smith) has to cope with the death of his mother and is also forced to come to terms with evolving f ...

'' (2005), which was screened at the Los Angeles Film Festival. Brewster appeared in the drama ''

Annapolis Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...

'' (2006), directed by

Justin Lin Justin Lin (, born October 11, 1971) is a Taiwanese-American film director. His films have grossed US$2.3 billion worldwide as of March 2017. He is best known for his directorial work on '' Better Luck Tomorrow'' (2002), the '' Fast & Furious'' ...

and starring James Franco and Tyrese Gibson. In the film, she played a Midshipman 2nd Class named Ali, and the love interest of a man attending the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

. ''Annapolis'' was panned by critics and grossed US$7.7 million in its opening weekend, described as "uninspired" by

Box Office Mojo Box Office Mojo is an American website that tracks box-office revenue in a systematic, algorithmic way. The site was founded in 1998 by Brandon Gray, and was bought in 2008 by IMDb, which itself is owned by Amazon. History Brandon Gray be ...

. Brewster next starred in the slasher horror '' The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning'' (2006), opposite

Diora Baird Diora Lynn Baird (born April 6, 1983)Baird at Maxim.com
Retrieved on 2011-07-26. ...

, Taylor Handley, and

Matt Bomer Matthew Staton Bomer (born October 11, 1977) is an American actor. He is the recipient of accolades such as a Golden Globe Award, a Critics' Choice Television Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award nomination. In 2000, he made his television debut o ...

. The film saw the four actors portray friends driving across

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

who are taken captive by the Hewitt family. Despite largely negative reviews, the film made US$51 million worldwide. For her performance, Brewster was nominated for both Choice Movie Actress: Horror–Thriller and Choice Movie: Scream at the 2007

Teen Choice Awards The Teen Choice Awards is an annual awards show that airs on the Fox television network. The awards honor the year's biggest achievements in music, film, sports, television, fashion, social media, and more, voted by viewers living in the United ...

. Brewster had a four-episode arc between 2008 and 2009 on the NBC television series '' Chuck'', as

Jill Roberts ''Chuck'' is an American television series developed by writer/producers Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak and is broadcast by NBC. The title character of the series is Chuck Bartowski (Zachary Levi), an affable and anxious Nerd Herd associate at Buy ...

, the title character's ex-girlfriend from Stanford. She returned to the role of Mia Toretto in ''

'' (2009), the fourth film of the ''

'' franchise. On the growth of her character over the course of the series, Brewster explained in an interview with AskMen.com, "In the first one I'm more of a wallflower and it's much more of a girlfriend-type role, but in he new movieI'm more of a woman. She's far more tough. I deal with the repercussions of living in my brother's world." The film earned negative reviews upon its premiere, but was a box office success, grossing US$363 million globally.

2010s

Brewster (third from left) with the cast of '' Fast Five'' in 2011 In 2010, Brewster made a three-episode appearance in '' Dark Blue'', playing an art gallery dealer named Maria, and guest-starred in two episodes of '' Gigantic''. She reprised the role of Mia in the fifth film in the series, '' Fast Five'' (2011), which making a departure from the

theme, revolves around Diesel, Walker and Brewster's characters as they plan a heist to steal a fortune from a corrupt businessman in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. Critical response toward ''Fast Five'' was positive while it earned US$86 million in its North American opening weekend and US$626.1 million worldwide. In 2012, Brewster starred as

Elena Ramos Elena Ramos is a fictional character and one of the primary female leads in the primetime soap opera ''Dallas'' on the TNT network, an updated version of the original series of the same name that aired on CBS from 1978 to 1991. Elena is portrayed ...

, on ''

'', an updated version of CBS's original series of the same name (1978–1991) about the trials and tribulations of a wealthy

family. The series was met with an overall positive response and aired until 2014. She played Mia Toretto for the fourth time in '' Fast & Furious 6'' (2013), which follows the remaining wanted fugitives on the heist from ''Fast Five''. The film earned a worldwide total of US$789 million. She returned for the next instalment, '' Furious 7'' (2015), which was the final film appearance of Walker, who died in a single-vehicle accident while filming was only half-completed. After Walker's death, filming was delayed for script rewrites to the story arcs for both Walker and Brewster's characters, causing them to be retired. The highest-grossing film in the franchise, it grossed US$397.6 million worldwide during its opening weekend and US$1.5 billion worldwide. She next appeared in the independent action drama ''

American Heist ''American Heist'' is a 2014 action drama film directed by Russian director Sarik Andreasyan, based on the 1959 film ''The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery'' directed by Charles Guggenheim and John Stix. The film stars Hayden Christensen, Jordana ...

'' (2014), as the girlfriend of a man involved in a crime. It screened at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a perman ...

and premiered in a ten-theater run in North America. Brewster also played a young and flirtatious salesperson named Dusty in the dark comedy ''

Home Sweet Hell ''Home Sweet Hell'' (originally known as ''North of Hell'') is a 2015 American black comedy horror film directed by Anthony Burns and written by Carlo Allen, Ted Elrick and Tom Lavagnino. The film stars Katherine Heigl, Patrick Wilson, Jordana B ...

'' (2015), released for VOD and selected theaters. In 2016, she took on the recurring role of Denise Brown, the sister of

Nicole Brown Simpson Nicole Brown Simpson (née Brown; May 19, 1959 – June 12, 1994) was the ex-wife of the former professional American football player, O. J. Simpson, to whom she was married from 1985 to 1992. She was the mother of their two children, Sydney an ...

, in '' The People v. O. J. Simpson'', the first season of the true crime

anthology series An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a dif ...

'', revolving around the infamous O. J. Simpson murder case. A "giant fan" of executive producer Ryan Murphy, she remarked about obtaining the role: "I heard they were making it and I always felt like my aunt actually really looked a lot like Denise Brown, so my manager and I took a side-by-side photo edit of me and Denise and we fought really hard for it. We just fought to get that show". Also in 2016, she signed on to play the regular role of Dr. Maureen Cahill, a

Los Angeles Police Department The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-lar ...

psychologist, on the FOX buddy cop action dramedy ''

'' and starred in the second season of the ABC anthology crime drama '' Secrets and Lies'' as Kate Warner. After not appearing in 2017's '' The Fate of the Furious'', Brewster returned as Mia Toretto in the ninth instalment of the franchise, 2021's '' F9''. Her older son Julian also performed in ''F9'' with a small role.

Media and public image

In 2002, ''

Stuff Stuff, stuffed, and stuffing may refer to: *Physical matter *General, unspecific things, or entities Arts, media, and entertainment Books *''Stuff'' (1997), a novel by Joseph Connolly *''Stuff'' (2005), a book by Jeremy Strong Fictional cha ...

'' magazine named her the 96th hottest woman in their "102 Sexiest Women in the World". In 2005, ''

Maxim Maxim or Maksim may refer to: Entertainment * ''Maxim'' (magazine), an international men's magazine ** ''Maxim'' (Australia), the Australian edition ** ''Maxim'' (India), the Indian edition *Maxim Radio, ''Maxim'' magazine's radio channel on Sir ...

'' magazine named her the 54th sexiest woman in the world in their annual Hot 100, while in 2006, ''Maxim'' placed her at No.59. In 2009, she was ranked No.9 on ''Maxims Hot 100 and, to coincide with the release of ''Fast and Furious'', a photographic spread of Brewster in a range of black lingerie in their May 2009 edition ("Life in the Fast Lane"). In 2011, ''Maxim ''placed Brewster at No.11 in their Hot 100. In 2015, Brewster posed nude for the May issue of Allure magazine – alongside Laverne Cox, Nicole Beharie,

Katheryn Winnick Katheryn Winnick (born December 17, 1977) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her starring roles in the television series ''Vikings'' (2013–2020), ''Wu Assassins'' (2019), and '' Big Sky'' (2020–present), and her recurring role on the tele ...

, and

Sandrine Holt Sandrine Claire Holt (born Sandrine Vanessa Ho; 19 November 1972) is a British-born Canadian model and actress. Early life Holt was born Sandrine Vanessa Ho in Croydon. Her middle name was later changed to Claire. Her father, Man Shun ("Horace" ...

. In June 2016, the

Human Rights Campaign The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is an American LGBTQ advocacy group. It is the largest LGBTQ political lobbying organization within the United States. Based in Washington, D.C., the organization focuses on protecting and expanding rights for ...

released a video in tribute to the victims of the

Orlando nightclub shooting On , 2016, Omar Mateen, a 29-year-old man, killed 49 people and wounded 53 more in a mass shooting at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, United States. Orlando Police officers shot and killed him after a three-hour standoff. In a ...

; in the video, Brewster and others told the stories of the people killed there.

Personal life

Brewster and film and television producer Andrew Form met on the set of '' The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning'', which Form produced. They announced their engagement on November 4, 2006, and married in the

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the a ...

on May 6, 2007. They have two sons born via

surrogacy Surrogacy is an arrangement, often supported by a legal agreement, whereby a woman agrees to delivery/labour for another person or people, who will become the child's parent(s) after birth. People may seek a surrogacy arrangement when pregna ...

: Julian, born in September 2013 and Rowan, born in June 2016. Brewster filed for divorce in mid-2020. The divorce was finalized in June 2021. She married ValueAct Capital CEO Mason Morfit on September 3, 2022 in California.

Filmography

Film

Television

Music videos

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* *
Official website
(archived) {{DEFAULTSORT:Brewster, Jordana 1980 births Living people 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Actresses from New York City Actresses from Rio de Janeiro (city) Actresses of Brazilian descent American child actresses American film actresses American people of Brazilian descent American people of English descent American people of Portuguese descent American soap opera actresses American television actresses Convent of the Sacred Heart (NYC) alumni People from Manhattan People from Panama City Panamanian people of Brazilian descent Panamanian people of American descent Schools of the Sacred Heart alumni Yale College alumni