Named for the song "My Petite Bijou" by Lambert, Hendricks & Ross (bijou means \'jewel\' in French), Phillips was born in Greenwich, Fairfield County, Connecticut, and is the daughter of John Phillips of The Mamas & the Papas, and his then-wife, Geneviève Waïte, a South African model, artist, and actress. The youngest of John Phillips\'s children, she has one brother, Tamerlane, and three half-siblings: Mackenzie, Jeffrey, and Chynna. At 14, she quit school and moved into her own apartment with a housekeeper, just off Fifth Avenue. She used to party, drink and take drugs, explaining in 2002, "If you were 14 years old and able to live on your own in an apartment in New York City, and you got invited to all these clubs, and you got a bank account and you had a car service you could call so that you could go wherever you wanted... what would happen?"\n', '

Phillips made her film debut as Charlie in Black and White (1999). Phillips\'s performance was praised by film critics. The film was directed by James Toback and starred Robert Downey Jr., Jared Leto, Brooke Shields and Elijah Wood, with whom she would later begin an off-screen romance.\n', '

She appeared alongside Kate Hudson in the musical drama Almost Famous (2000). The film received four Academy Awards nominations and was a critical success but not a box office success. In 2001, she appeared in the comedy Tart and in the drama Bully. Later, Phillips starred in the thriller feature Octane, which was released at the Cannes Film Festival in 2003; in the film, she appeared opposite Mischa Barton. In 2004, Phillips starred opposite Jeff Bridges and Kim Basinger in The Door in the Floor, a film adaptation of John Irving\'s novel A Widow For One Year. She portrayed a leading role as Emily in the low-budget drama Havoc (2005), alongside Anne Hathaway. That year, she appeared in the teen horror-thriller Venom. She played one of the main characters, Whitney, in the sequel to the horror film Hostel, Hostel: Part II, which opened in 2007. \n', 'She also starred in What We Do Is Secret, in which she appeared again with Lauren German (her Hostel co-star). She received critical acclaim for her portrayal; Phil Gallo for Variety called Phillips\' performance "striking" and stated that her character "lights up in a unique way whenever she\'s in Crash\'s company or simply talking about him."\n', '

Return to Bijou Phillips Autograph Profile