Jennifer Love Hewitt

Jennifer Love Hewitt’s career can be called the tale of two. There was the “before mom” portion, which comprises the bulk of her career with success on shows like Ghost Whisperer and horror films like I Know What You Did Last Summer alongside Sarah Michelle Gellar. And then there is the “after mom” portion that finds her focus on family time with a fear of diving back into acting.

So far, the talented actress, producer, singer, author, and mother is as successful now as she was then. She has just slowed down. So if you’re wondering why you haven’t seen Jennifer Love Hewitt much lately, we’ve got the answer.

I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER REVIVAL IN THE WORKS

Giant Freakin Robot had the scoop first that there was a I Know What You Did Last Summer revival series in the works and that would have the movie’s original cast returning.

It was confirmed to be the case and now we hear that Jennifer Love Hewitt is in talks to reprise her role from the original movie. That one also included Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, and Freddie Prinze Jr. as the foursome stalked by a serial killer.

In this age of revivals and reboots, it’s not surprising to see this film franchise getting a second chance.

JENNIFER LOVE HEWITT FEARS RETURNING TO TV BECAUSE HER 9-1-1 CHARACTER ATTEMPTED SUICIDE

Jennifer Love Hewitt has steadily been working her way back into acting, though she is scared to return to her former gig. Hewitt was on the hit series, 9-1-1, but fears that her character’s choices might echo larger on her in real life. The character she portrays, Maddie, abandons her own daughter in the show.

That unforgivable act is something that she hopes doesn’t fall back on her as a mother, especially considering she left the series for maternity leave when her second child was born. Women often deal with postpartum depression after childbirth, and that is something that the actress wanted to portray in the show for mothers around the world.

Maddie attempts to take her own life because of her PPD but brings herself back up to want to be a mother again, and the reasoning behind Maddie abandoning her child is something that Hewitt hopes can be forgiven for the character’s sake.

In general, it makes sense to have these worries as an actress, especially if it means taking time away from your own children, or having people conflate character decisions with real-world outcomes.

JENNIFER LOVE HEWITT STARTED ACTING AT A YOUNG AGE ON A DISNEY CHANNEL VARIETY SHOW

95% of Jennifer Love Hewitt’s career came before she became a mom two times over. She first burst onto the scene in the Disney kid’s show, Kids Incorporated. It was a kid’s entertainment show featuring a lot of music and dancing as well as skits in between the musical numbers.

Stars like Fergie, Mario Lopez, Ryan Lambert (Rudy from The Monster Squad), and Eric Balfour got their start on the show. She lasted two seasons on the variety show before she moved on to other series.

Fun note: when she first began her career Jennifer Love Hewitt did not use her first name, she appeared as “Love Hewitt” in many of her early credited roles.

Jennifer Love Hewitt was no stranger to TV series in her early career. She was part of the Shaky Ground crew, moved on to The Byrds of Paradise, then McKenna and while she was busy and active, her first big push into the spotlight came in 1997 when she starred in the horror film I Know What You Did Last Summer with Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, and Freddie Prinze Jr. The movie was a big hit among horror fans which resulted in the follow-up, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer which also saw Prinze Jr. return for a second time.

By this time, the young actress’s career was in full swing. While starring in these features, she was also in the TV series Party of Five, which also made names of Matthew Fox, Scott Wolf, Neve Campbell, and Lacey Chabert. It was also during this time that Jennifer made the movie she may be best known for: Can’t Hardly Wait.

As her career continued to blossom, Jennifer Love Hewitt included a couple roles where she played famous people. She played Audrey Hepburn in The Audrey Hepburn Story and she played Frank Sinatra’s daughter Nancy in the TV series American Dreams.

After, she continued to bounce around genres starring in the kid’s movies Garfield and Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties as well as the rom-com The Truth About Love as well as a quick turn in Tropic Thunder.

While she was also seen in the TV series Time of Your Life, her work was leading up to her hit TV series, Ghost Whisperer. Jennifer Love Hewitt led that cast for five seasons, playing Melinda Gordon, a young woman who has the ability to communicate with recently deceased earthbound spirits aka ghosts.

Upon the completion of Ghost Whisperer, Jennifer Love Hewitt moved on to other projects. Strangely though, 2012 was the last time she made a feature film, the forgettable Jewtopia. The success of her many TV series kept her on that track as she was seen in The Client List, Hot In Cleveland, and finally Criminal Minds. It was Criminal Minds where her first “career” ended in 2015.

SHE ALSO HAS MADE A CAREER PRODUCING, WRITING, AND SINGING

JLH is not only an actor. She has added producer to her resume as well as a singer. Her producing credits include Ghost Whisperer, The Client List, and the aforementioned forgettable Jewtopia.

What may not be well known is the fact that Love Hewitt is an accomplished singer. She started that portion of her career very early on, releasing three CDs in the span of four years. Love Songs in 1992, Let’s Go Bang in 1995, and the self-titled Jennifer Love Hewitt in 1996.

Her last release came in 2002 with the BareNaked CD. To top it all off, Jennifer is an author too. She published The Day I Shot Cupid in 2010 and then amazingly released a five-issue comic book series titled Jennifer Love Hewitt’s Music Box.

JENNIFER LOVE HEWITT TOOK A BREAK FROM HOLLYWOOD AFTER THE BIRTH OF HER SON

The now 43-year-old Jennifer Love Hewitt opened up to Working Mother when asked about her time away from Hollywood. “I worked [on Criminal Minds] when my daughter was 8 months old up until my son was born [nine months later],” she explained. The actress took almost three years off after her son was born.

“They were like, ‘You’re in the middle of a career; you can’t do that.’ But I was like, ‘I can because that’s what’s in my heart.’ I have so much admiration for women who can have their babies and go straight back to work. But I needed to work on myself, get into a different place before being able to do that,” and that is exactly what she did.

Jennifer Love Hewitt married fellow actor Brian Hallisay in 2013 when their daughter was born. The couple, still married, had their boy in 2015. Jennifer took the time she felt necessary before she stepped back into the ring with the hit series 9-1-1.

Initially, she struggled with the decision to stay at home, then struggling when she decided it was time to work again. For her, though, the decisions were the right thing, something Jennifer Love Hewitt has made peace with. Now, even though she is a constant force on 9-1-1, Jennifer Love Hewitt has definitely eased up on her workload.

Much of her extra-curricular work comes in the form of writing and wine. She is currently working on a children’s book. Similarly, she’s working on releasing two wines with her husband Brian.

SHE STAYED AWAY FROM ACTING TO BE WITH HER SON

Part of the reason Jennifer Love Hewitt has been absent from Hollywood is that she’s busy being a mom. But that’s only part of the story. Another big reason is that she simply burned herself out.

In an interview with the LA Times, Hewitt revealed that she worked hard mostly out of fear. She says, “I was afraid that I was going to lose it all.” At some point she simply got tired. Add in motherhood and the death of her own mother in 2012, and the actress part of her life felt done. She still works now and then, but she’s happy being at home.

JENNIFER LOVE HEWITT IS ON INSTAGRAM

While you don’t see Jennifer Love Hewitt in as many movies anymore, you can see the actress on social media. Lately, she’s been getting into the fall spirit, sharing plenty of pictures of her home decor. She even shows off her “momming” skills, sharing one of the pumpkins she decorated for her son, Atticus.