Career
Bilson attended Grossmont College, a community college in a suburb of San Diego, taking her father's advice to pursue a professional acting career. She then made several appearances in commercials, including advertisements for Subway restaurants, Raisin Bran, and Pepto-Bismol.
She made her TV acting debut in 2003, appearing in one episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter. Bilson was subsequently cast in The O.C., which debuted in August 2003. Her character, Summer Roberts, was initially intended to appear in only a few episodes but became a series regular after a successful run, as Summer's romance with Seth Cohen (Adam Brody) became a noted aspect of the series.
At the 2005 Teen Choice Awards, she collected three awards: "Choice Hottie Female", "Choice TV Actress (Drama)", and "Best Onscreen TV Chemistry" (jointly won with Adam Brody). In 2005, Maxim magazine named her sixth in their annual "Hot 100 List"; in 2006, the publication awarded her #14.
The UK edition of FHM Magazine named her 28th in the 2006 100 Sexiest Women in the World list, while the US edition ranked her 77th in 2005. Bilson was also named one of People magazine's "World's Most Beautiful People" in 2006. Before appearing in Maxim, Bilson had turned down requests to appear seminude in men's magazines, specifying that she feels that her body "is sacred" and "not there for the whole world to see".
Bilson's film debut was in The Last Kiss, a romantic comedy-drama also starring Zach Braff in 2006. She played a college student who seduces Braff's character. One review of the film noted that Bilson played the role with "surprising depth", although another critic described her role as "Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction as an airhead valley girl with a hot bod".
In late 2006, Bilson was cast in Doug Liman's thriller Jumper, as the replacement for actress Teresa Palmer. The film was released on February 14, 2008. She appeared in a two-episode arc on The O.C. creator Josh Schwartz's NBC comedy, Chuck, and in the film New York, I Love You. She appeared in the 100th episode of How I Met Your Mother ("Girls Versus Suits") as Ted Mosby's latest love interest and the Mother's roommate.
In September 2008, she started shooting the indie romantic film Waiting for Forever, directed by James Keach. In September 2009, Bilson appeared as a celebrity guest judge in the third episode of Project Runway (season 6). Bilson starred in the 2011 indie film L!fe Happens. In 2011, Bilson began starring in The CW series Hart of Dixie, executive produced by The O.C. creator Josh Schwartz. On May 7, 2015, The CW officially canceled the show after four seasons. In 2017 Bilson joined the cast of CMT's Nashville, which reunited her with her former The O.C. co-star Chris Carmack.
Bilson starred in the ABC drama series Take Two which premiered in June 2018; on November 21, 2018, ABC cancelled the series after one season.
From April 2021 to August 2023, Bilson and her former The O.C. co-star Melinda Clarke hosted a podcast titled Welcome to the OC, Bitches!.
The podcast focuses on the hosts and guests re-watching and discussing episodes of The O.C.. Several notable guests have appeared on the podcast such as Mischa Barton, Adam Brody, Peter Gallagher, Josh Schwartz, Jem, Bonnie Somerville and Elizabeth Gillies.
In May 2022, Bilson and longtime friend Olivia Allen launched another podcast called Broad Ideas with Rachel Bilson and Olivia Allen. On each episode, Bilson and Allen interview one or more people from the entertainment industry in a casual, conversational format. The first guest on the show was Kristen Bell, and other notable guests have included Aubrey Plaza, Zooey Deschanel, Elisha Cuthbert, Mena Suvari, and Seth Meyers.
Bilson returned to TV in 2026 in the 9th episode "My Celebration" of season 10 of Scrubs as Charlie, and it is assumed she will be returning in season 11.
