Born in Connecticut and raised in New York, California and South Africa, Bijou Phillips has been living in the fast lane virtually since conception. The daughter of South African model Genevieve Waite and The Mamas & the Papas singer John Phillips, Bijou's tumultuous adolescence was spent going to wild parties, battling drug addiction and working as an underage model. In the late '90s, Bijou decided the time was right to clean up her act; to that end, she released a confessional pop album and began pursuing movie roles.

In 1999, Bijou appeared in a pair of low-budget yet critically acclaimed films: Black and White, opposite Scott Caan, Jared Leto and Ben Stiller, and Sugar Town, in which she took on a small role as "Autograph Girl." Bijou spent the next several years working steadily, appearing in a mix of mainstream projects, including Cameron Crowe's 2000 rock drama Almost Famous, and obscure indies, such as 2001's Tart and 2003's Octane.

Bijou returned to the world of music in 2005 and began recording tracks for her second album -- though it has yet to see the light of day. In 2007, she has roles in several movies, including Eli Roth's eagerly anticipated Hostel sequel.