An appealing lead and supporting player on television and in features since the early 1990s, Leslie Bibb displayed a knack for comedy in features like "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" (2006), "Iron Man" (2008) and "Confessions of a Shopaholic" (2009) which allowed her to rise above the largely ornamental roles she had been given throughout her career. A former model, she first came to national attention with the farcical teen TV series "Popular" (The WB, 1999-2001), which led to a string of girlfriend or law official turns on both the small and silver screens. Bit parts in "Iron Man" and "Iron Man 2" (2010) as well as an impressive turn as a bumbling, homicidal office worker in "Miss Nobody" (2010) allowed her to segue into more comedic roles. In 2012, she returned to series work on "GCB" (ABC, 2012- ) while balancing a steady diet of supporting work in features. Bibb's tenacity and ability to shine in roles outside the limited realm of work offered to attractive actresses made her the kind of timeless talent desired across the industry.
The youngest of four sisters, Leslie Louise Bibb was born Nov. 17, 1974 in Bismarck, ND, where she was raised by her mother after her father's death in 1977. While attending the Saint Gertrude High School in Richmond, VA, Bibb's mother submitted a photo of her to a modeling contest sponsored by "The Oprah Winfrey Show" (syndicated, 1986-2011) and The Elite Agency. The 16-year-old was chosen as the winner by a panel of celebrity judges, including Naomi Campbell and Linda Evangelista, and later signed a contract with Elite. After a summer of modeling, which yielded layouts for Seventeen and YM, Bibb decided to complete her schooling before attending the University of Virginia. However, she dropped out after a semester to pursue modeling fulltime while studying acting.
Bibb soon landed bit parts on television before scoring her first feature film role as an NBC page in the Howard Stern biopic "Private Parts" (1997). She quickly graduated to series lead when she replaced Susan Walters on the USA Network series "The Big Easy" (1996-98), but the show was cancelled shortly after her arrival. Her big break came in 1999 with the teen comedy drama "Popular," which cast her as a superficial but well-liked cheerleader whose queen bee status was disrupted by her father's marriage to the mother of one of the more "unpopular" girls at her school. A broad but well-liked series among young viewers, it boosted Bibb's profile considerably, and led to major roles in "The Skullls" (2000), a successful horror-thriller aimed at high school audiences, and the less-well-received comedy "See Spot Run" (2001) with David Arquette.
After "Popular" ran its course, Bibb segued into a recurring role as an outspoken medical student on the ninth and tenth seasons of "ER" (NBC, 1994-2009). However, her return to series work with "Line of Fire" (ABC, 2003-04), which cast her as a rookie FBI agent, lasted less than a season. She soon joined the cast of the popular "Crossing Jordan" (NBC, 2001-07) as a police detective in the show's final season. Between television assignments, she scored one of her biggest film hits as hapless NASCAR driver Will Ferrell's social-climbing wife in "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" (2006).
Bibb worked steadily in features in 2007 and 2008, though most of the results, including "Trick 'r Treat" (2007) and "The Midnight Meat Train" (2008), were seen by very few moviegoers. The exception was the blockbuster "Iron Man" (2008), which cast her as one of Marvel Comics' most obscure characters, a dogged Vanity Fair reporter named Christine Everheart whose journalistic tenacity was undone by Tony Stark's (Robert Downey Jr.) charm. She would reprise the role for a single scene in the even more successful "Iron Man 2" (2010). Between "Iron Man" assignments, Bibb was Isla Fischer's rival in the critically panned but successful "Confessions of a Shopaholic" (2009) and a former centerfold-turned-government official on the short-lived "Kings" (NBC, 2009). That same year, she played prosecutor Jamie Foxx's assistant in director F. Gary Gray's violent thriller "Law Abiding Citizen."
The following year, Bibb enjoyed a rare showcase for her comedic talents in the independent feature "Miss Nobody" (2010), which also served as her debut as producer. The offbeat film featured Bibb as a passive young office worker who accidentally discovered that the direct route up the corporate ladder could be gained via murder. Though seen largely by festival audiences, Bibb's performance, which included some impressive physical sight gags, won critical praise, as well as the Best Actress Award from the 26th Boston Film Festival. She would subsequently direct her focus towards more comedic roles, most notably on the cult television favorite "The League" (FX, 2009- ), the Will Ferrell-produced "Funny or Die Presents " (HBO, 2009- ), and the Kevin James vehicle "Zookeeper" (2011), which added another venomous ex-girlfriend role to her résumé.
In 2012, Bibb returned to television in a role that seemed an updated version of her character from "Popular." On "GCB" (ABC, 2012- ), she played a former high school A-lister-turned-single mom and recovering alcoholic who was forced to move back to her hometown after losing everything due to her embezzler husband. The series received mixed reviews, but the increased profile afforded to Bibb earned her numerous film offers. To her credit, she hewed largely towards comedies, including "Movie 43" (2013), a sketch comedy feature produced by Peter Farrelly and featuring segments directed by Brett Ratner, James Gunn, Bob Oedenkirk and actress Elizabeth Banks. She was also top-billed in the supernatural thriller "7500" (2012) by "Grudge" (2001) director Takashi Shimizu, about an airplane plagued by evil forces.
By Paul Gaita