Jared Padalecki Biography

Jared Tristan Padalecki was born on 19 July 1982, in San Antonio, Texas, USA, to Sherri and Gerald Padalecki. His mother was an English language teacher and his father worked as a tax accountant.

He is of mixed origin; his mother is of French, German, and English ancestry, while his father is of Polish ancestry. He grew up in Texas along with his elder brother Jeff and younger sister Megan.

He attended regular school at ‘James Madison High School.’ At the age of 12, he began taking lessons in acting. He managed time between school assignments and drama practice skillfully.

In 1998, along with Chris Cardenas, he won the ‘National Forensic League’ in ‘Duo Interpretation.’ The next year, he participated and won the ‘Claim to Fame Contest.’ The same year, he was invited to present the ‘Teen Choice Awards.’

In 2000, he passed out of high school, and was merited with a ‘Presidential Scholars Program.’ However, he chose to pursue an acting career and decided not to pursue further studies.

At the 1999 ‘Teen Choice Awards,’ he met an agent who helped him land a minor role in the Hollywood film ‘A Little Inside’ in which he played the role of ‘Matt Nelson.’

In 2000, he was cast to play ‘Sam’ in a television film titled ‘Silent Witness.’ The same year, he landed the recurring role of ‘Dean Forester’ in the TV comedy series ‘Gilmore Girls.’ His recurring role soon became part of the main cast in season 2 and season 3 of the TV series.

He appeared in a guest role in the 2001 TV medical drama series ‘ER’ where he played ‘Paul Harris’ in an episode titled ‘Piece of Mind.’ In 2002, he played the lead role of ‘Zachery Gray’ in the television movie ‘A Ring of Endless Light.’

He played a guest role in the movie ‘Cheaper by the Dozen’ where he appeared as a high school bully. He was then seen as ‘Clay MacGyver’ in the TV pilot ‘Young MacGyver.’

In 2004, he was signed to play the main role of ‘Trey Lipton’ in the movie ‘New York Minute,’ which received mixed reviews upon its release. He was also seen as ‘John Davis’ in the survival film ‘Flight of the Phoenix.’

In 2005, he was cast in the American horror fantasy television series ‘Supernatural’ where he played the lead role of ‘Sam Winchester.’

In 2005, he acted in the Australian-American horror thriller ‘The House of Wax.’ In the film, he played the lead role of ‘Wade Felton.’

He was also selected for the role of ‘Tom Jordon’ in Jeff Wadlow’s horror film ‘Cry Wolf.’ In the film, which collected $32.5 million at the box office, he was seen alongside Jon Bon Jovi, Lindy Booth, Julian Morris, and Gary Cole.

In 2008, Jared played the lead role of ‘Thomas Kinkade’ in the Christmas biopic ‘Thomas Kinkade’s Christmas Cottage.’ In 2009, he took up the role of ‘Clay Miller’ in the film ‘Friday the 13th.’

Jared voiced ‘Sam Winchester’ in the dark fantasy TV series ‘Supernatural: The Anime Series’ in 2011. He voiced the character for 22 episodes. The series was produced by the Japanese anime studio ‘Madhouse.’

In 2016, he appeared in a guest role on Netflix’s web television series ‘Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life’ where he played ‘Dean Forester’ in an episode titled ‘Fall,’ the fourth episode of the first season.

In 2017, he had a guest role in the TV series ‘Kings of Con’ in which he played ‘Jaden Jaworski.’ In 2019, he was cast to play ‘Cordell Walker’ in an American action television series titled 'Walker,' which is slated to be aired in 2021.

His performance in the series ‘Gilmore Girls’ cemented his place in the television industry. He appeared in 63 episodes of the show from 2000 to 2005. The show was called “magical” by ‘Newsday’ journalist Diane Werts. ‘The Cincinnati Post’ commended it to be the most endearing of shows.

His role as ‘Sam Winchester’ in the TV show ‘Supernatural’ has been his most acclaimed work to date. The show was ranked 19th in the ‘25 Best Cult TV Shows from the Last 25 Years’ list by ‘Entertainment Weekly’ in 2012.

His performance as the lead actor in the film ‘Friday the 13th’ was appreciated. The film enjoyed the widest release out of all ‘Friday the 13th’ films. It grossed over 92 million dollars and was called the scariest of all ‘Friday the 13th’ movies by ‘The Detroit News.’

He received his first award in 2008 for his role as ‘Sam Winchester’ in ‘Supernatural’ at the ‘Constellation Awards.’ He won the award for ‘Best Male Performance in a 2007 Science Fiction Television Episode’ (Born under a Bad Sign).

In 2013, he once again received the ‘Constellation Award’ for ‘Best Male Performance in a 2012 Science Fiction Television Episode’ (The Born-Again Identity). The same year, he was also nominated at the ‘SFX Awards’ under the ‘Best TV Actor’ category.

He won the ‘People’s Choice Award’ along with Jensen Ackles in 2014 for ‘Favourite TV Bromance.’ The next year, he won the ‘Teen Choice Award’ under the ‘Choice TV Actor Fantasy/ Sci-Fi’ category for his role in ‘Supernatural.’

He received the ‘Choice Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV Actor’ award at the 2019 ‘Teen Choice Awards.’

He was engaged to Sandra McCoy in October 2007. The couple had a fall out and he announced to his fans in June 2008 that their relationship had ended.

On 27 February 2010, he married his co-star Genevieve, who played ‘Ruby’ in the fourth season of ‘Supernatural.’ His best friend Jensen was his groomsmen, while his brother Jeff was the best man.

The couple presently resides in Texas; they had their first child Thomas Colton Padalecki in 2012. A year later, their second son Austin Shepard was born, and their third child Odette Elliott was born in March 2017.

Jared campaigned for his ‘Always Keep Fighting’ project in 2015. Through the campaign, he raised funds for those struggling with depression. It also aids people suffering from addictions, self-injuries, and those contemplating suicide.