Jessica Stroup (born 1986 or 1987[1]) is an American actress, best known for her role as Silver on 90210 (2008–2013), Max Hardy on The Following (2014–2015) and Joy Meachum on Iron Fist (2017–2018), which is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). She is regarded as a scream queen for starring in the horror films Vampire Bats (2005), Left in Darkness (2006), The Hills Have Eyes 2 (2007), Prom Night (2008) and Homecoming (2009).

Jessica Stroup
Stroup at the 2014 Comic-Con International
Born1986 or 1987 (age 37–38)
OccupationActress
Years active2005–present
Spouse
Neil Hutchinson
(m. 2022)

Early life

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Stroup was born in Anderson, South Carolina, the daughter of Judith and Don Stroup, a senior vice president at MUFG Union Bank.[1] She spent her childhood in Charlotte, North Carolina. She graduated from Providence High School in 2004.[2] Stroup received a full scholarship to attend the University of Georgia, but declined in order to pursue an acting career.[citation needed]

Career

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Stroup's first acting role was a guest appearance on a 2005 episode of Unfabulous. Stroup has since appeared in a number of other TV shows, such as Grey's Anatomy, October Road, and True Blood. In 2007, Stroup appeared in 4 episodes of Reaper, in which she played the protagonist's ex-girlfriend. She appeared in a number of small independent movie productions, such as Left in Darkness, Pray for Morning, Vampire Bats.

In March 2007, Stroup starred as the female lead in The Hills Have Eyes 2. Stroup played the role of a US Army National Guard soldier named Amber who fights for survival with her peers against a group of mutant people. The film was a fast-forward sequel to The Hills Have Eyes, a remake of the 1977 movie of the same name. Despite negative reviews from critics the film went on to gross over $67 million worldwide. That same year Jessica had a supporting role in This Christmas.

In April 2008, Stroup was cast as a series regular on 90210, a reboot of the Golden Globe Award-nominated series Beverly Hills, 90210. Stroup played the role of high school student Erin Silver, the younger sister of David Silver and Kelly Taylor from Beverly Hills, 90210. The pilot premiered on September 2, 2008, to a high 4.65 million viewers despite mixed reviews from critics. In 2010 Stroup was awarded the "Sparkling Performance" award at the Young Hollywood Awards.

Also in April 2008, Stroup played the role of Claire in the film remake Prom Night. In December 2007, MTV.com announced that Stroup was cast in another horror film titled Homecoming, which follows a young woman being kidnapped by her boyfriend's ex-girlfriend. Despite the film completing production in February 2008, it was not released until July 2009 for a limited release in selected cinemas.[3] In 2008, Stroup played Rachel in the ensemble film The Informers.

In 2011, Stroup guest-appeared on Family Guy, in which she voiced a number of characters in two episodes. Stroup reunited with Seth MacFarlane in his directorial debut Ted, in which she played Tracy, a work friend of Lori (played by Mila Kunis).

On August 20, 2013, it was announced that Stroup would join The Following in season 2 as a series regular. Her character, Max, is "the niece of Ryan Hardy (Kevin Bacon). She’s an NYPD cop, currently working in the Intel Division. Max reconnects with Ryan and she becomes a valuable ally."[4]

In March 2017, she joined the cast of Iron Fist as Joy Meachum.[5]

Personal life

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Stroup currently lives in Los Angeles, California.[6] Stroup married businessman Neil Hutchinson on September 17, 2022.[7]

Filmography

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Film
Year Title Role Notes
2005 Vampire Bats Eden Television film
2006 Pray for Morning Ashley
Left in Darkness Justine Direct-to-video
School for Scoundrels Eli's wife
Broken Sara
2007 The Hills Have Eyes 2 Amber "Barbie" Johnson
This Christmas Sandi Whitfield
Structure H Telepathic Allie Short film
2008 Prom Night Claire
The Informers Rachel
2009 Homecoming Elizabeth Mitchum
2012 Ted Tracy
2016 Jack Reacher: Never Go Back Lt. Sullivan
Television
Year Title Role Notes
2005 Unfabulous Fredericka Episode: "The Road Trip"
2006 Southern Comfort Lindy Unsold Fox pilot
Girlfriends Riley Episode: "Oh, Hell Yes: The Seminar"
Zoey 101 Girl Episode: "Lola Likes Chase"
2007 Grey's Anatomy Jillian "Jilly" Miller Episode: "Great Expectations"
2007–2008 Reaper Cady Hansen 4 episodes
2007 October Road Taylor Episode: "Once Around the Block"
2008–2013 90210 Erin Silver Main cast; 114 episodes
2008 True Blood Sorority girl Kelly Episode: "Strange Love"
2011 Family Guy Crowd member (voice)
Denise (voice)
2 episodes
2014–2015 The Following Max Hardy Main cast; 28 episodes
2017 You're the Worst Young Faye 2 episodes
2017–2018 Iron Fist Joy Meachum Main cast
2019 Heart of Life Alexandra Reid TV movie

References

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  1. ^ a b Aarthun, Sarah (2008-09-08). "From Q.C. to '90210' | CharlotteObserver.com & The Charlotte Observer Newspaper". Charlotte Observer. charlotteobserver.com. Archived from the original on 2024-05-29. Retrieved 2024-05-29.
  2. ^ Aarthun, Sarah. "From Q.C. to '90210'". Charlotte Observer. Charlotte Observer. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  3. ^ Matt Mitovich (17 July 2009). "90210's Jessica Stroup Braves One Hell of a Homecoming". TVGuide.com. Archived from the original on 20 July 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-17.
  4. ^ Hibberd, James (August 20, 2013). "'The Following' casts '90210' star as series regular – EXCLUSIVE".
  5. ^ Wagmeister, Elizabeth (18 April 2016). "'90210' Alum Jessica Stroup, Tom Pelphrey Join Netflix's 'Marvel's Iron Fist' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2016-04-22.
  6. ^ "Jessica Stroup Biography", TVGuide.com, retrieved 2011-03-04
  7. ^ Siwak, Miranda (2022-09-18). "Brittany Snow Parties at Jessica Stroup's Wedding Amid Tyler Stanaland Split". Us Weekly. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
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