Celebrity crush: Rachel Bilson

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Today's entry features an actress returning to television this fall in a show that sounds a little bit my much-missed Everwood. Here's hoping it delivers something approaching that show's quality; the lead, at least, has charm to spare.

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Name: Rachel Bilson (images | Web site | Twitter)

Hart of Dixie promo image.

Hometown: Born into a show business family in Los Angeles, Calif., according to her Wikipedia profile.
Best Known For: Rachel's best known for playing Summer Roberts in the four-season run of primetime teen dramedy The O.C., alongside then-real-life boyfriend Adam Brody. She returns to TV this fall in Hart of Dixie, by O.C. creator Josh Schwartz -- for whom she also guest-starred in two episodes of Chuck in its first season as a non-spy love interest for the title character.

Film roles include the multi-director ensemble piece New York, I Love You, Zach Braff's The Last Kiss (her first love scene, using a body double in places), and the science fiction film Jumper (alongside former Star Wars co-star Hayden Christensen, who became her boyfriend offscreen at least for a while). She's also guest-starred on How I Met Your Mother as part of an ever-growing list of women who aren't the mother.

With Autumn Reeser (left) on The O.C.

Off-camera, Rachel has made a small mark as a fashion designer (the Edie Rose collection). Sadly, much of her design work was stolen in a 2009 burglary of her home; she was targeted more than once by the Bling Ring, Wikipedia notes, and that's really a shame. (That case inspired the first episode of the short-lived Law & Order: Los Angeles, with a dash of stage-mother-from-hell awfulness -- that's spelled Lohan, I think -- added into the mix.)

Humble Beginnings: The O.C. debuted in fall of 2003, which is also the year Rachel's credits start at IMDB. Before that, she guest-starred in one episode of the final season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (maybe as a potential Slayer killed by Nathan Fillion's evil former preacher Caleb, but that's pure speculation on my part) and a first-season episode of 8 Simple Rules (a cameo, but the series' co-stars Kaley Cuoco and Amy Davidson are also on the celebrity crush list, so worth checking out).
Not the Courteney Cox Factor: She's appeared in at least a couple of music videos, if IMDB is to be believed. JoJo, I've heard of; Nibblebox (which, in 2003 per IMDB, would have come before any of her other credits), I have not.

Obligatory Edgy Stuff, or Possible Lack Thereof: Rachel's dad, Danny Bilson, is the Hollywood side of the family tree, working as a writer, director, and producer. Her mother, Janice Bilson, is a sex therapist. That said, Rachel is one of the less edgy Hollywood types; she turned down offers for cheesecake magazine shoots until a Maxim shoot around 2006, saying her body was "sacred" and "not there for the whole world to see." (Nothing wrong with that at all.)
Why Ye Olde Podcaster Likes Her: Well, the previous statement is part of it; she seems better adjusted than many other Hollywood types (including a couple of her female O.C. castmates, and I don't mean fellow crush Autumn Reeser). She glows with charm and energy, plays smart and witty types well, and is endlessly easy on the eyes with a radiant smile on her pixie face.

TV and Web Series Credits: Hart of Dixie, season 1 (Amazon | iTunes) * How I Met Your Mother, season 6: "Big Days" (Amazon | iTunes) * How I Met Your Mother, season 5: "Girls vs. Suits" (Amazon | iTunes) * Project Runway, season 6: "Rumble on the Runway" (Amazon | iTunes) * Chuck, season 1 (Amazon | iTunes) * The O.C., season 4 (Amazon | iTunes) * The O.C., season 3 (Amazon | iTunes) * Punk'd, season 4, episode 4 (Amazon | iTunes)  * The O.C., season 2 (Amazon | iTunes) * That '70s Show, season 6: "5:15" (Amazon | iTunes) * MADtv, season 9, episode 22 (Amazon | iTunes) * The O.C., season 1 (Amazon | iTunes) * Buffy the Vampire Slayer, season 7: "Dirty Girls" (Amazon | iTunes) * 8 Simple Girls, season 1: "Career Choices" (Amazon | iTunes)

Music Videos: "Not That Kind of Girl" by Joanne "JoJo" Levesque (iTunes) * "Sorority Crime Fighters" by Nibblebox (iTunes)
Film and TV-movie Credits: The To-Do List (2013) (Amazon | iTunes) * Life Happens (Amazon | iTunes) * "Rachel Bilson's Deleted Sex Scene" (Funny or Die) * Waiting for Forever (Amazon | iTunes) * New York, I Love You (Amazon | iTunes) * Jumper (Amazon | iTunes) * The Last Kiss (2006) (Amazon | iTunes) * Unbroken (2003 short) (Amazon | iTunes)