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The 6'2" Jared Padalecki was born July 19, 1982, in San Antonio, Texas. He started taking acting lessons at age 12 and participated in several school plays. In high school, he began competing in drama competitions and won regional, state, and national awards, including the 2000 Presidential Scholar Award for the National Foundation for Advancement of the Arts.

In 1999, Padalecki won the Claim to Fame Contest and presented a trophy for the first Teen Choice Awards. This caught the attention of a talent manager. After graduating from high school in 2000, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue his acting career and that summer landed the role of Dean on Gilmore Girls. He also guest-starred on ER and spent two months in Australia filming the made-for-television movie Ring of Endless Light. He has appeared in the films New York Minute, Flight of the Phoenix, House of Wax, and Cry Wolf.
-Nicky Snow
Texas native Jared Padalecki was only 12 years old when he started studying acting. He took to the stage all throughout high school, competing on his school's speech team and appearing in school plays. In 1999, the 17-year-old won Fox's "Claim to Fame" contest and had the chance to appear at the Teen Choice Awards. The opportunity led to the young actor signing up with an agent and beginning his professional career. He began scoring appearances on shows and in TV movies, playing the victim of a car accident on an episode of ER and a wealthy suitor in Ring of Endless Light. Then in 2001, Padalecki was cast as Dean Forester, love interest of Rory Gilmore on the hit series Gilmore Girls. He stayed with the show until 2005, when he joined up with the sci-fi thriller series Supernatural. Padalecki also ventured onto the big screen, appearing in films like House of Wax and The Christmas Cottage. Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide

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