The Behind-The-Scenes Controversy Jessica Biel Came Under Fire For During 7th Heaven

Before she was a bonafide movie and television star, Jessica Biel's big break came on "7th Heaven," where she played Mary Camden, the daughter of a minister. After entering a competition for young performers when she was 11 years old, Biel began auditioning for parts and eventually nabbed the coveted role on "7th Heaven" when she was only 14 years old, as she told W magazine in 2012. 

Looking back, the "A-Team" actor had fond memories of working on the religious-leaning show. "People were kind. There was a bunch of kids, you know, I was like one of those kids on set that everyone really protected and loved on that show," Biel said on the Los Angeles Times' "The Envelope" podcast in June. While she enjoyed working on the series, the then-teenager grew restless with her clean-cut image, and felt stifled creatively. "You know, it took a moment to sort of shake that image a little bit, which is a great image," she added.

After a few seasons on the hit WB show, which corresponded with Biel reaching her late-teens, the television star began to rebel. At one point she upset executives by cutting and dyeing her hair without getting permission, plus she had other infractions while filming. "When I turned 17 or 18, a really obnoxious friend sent a stripper to the set," Biel told W. But said hijinks were nothing compared to the major controversy Biel found herself embroiled in while still on the show.

In 2000, Jessica Biel posed for a salacious photoshoot as part of the cover story in Gear, a now-defunct men's magazine. The photos included a snap of Biel posing topless while covering herself up with her arms, per Us Weekly. Those pictures were taken when she was only 17 years old, but were published after she turned 18. During the Gear interview, the publication asked the "7th Heaven" star if the spicy pics could lead to her being fired from the show. "I hope so," Biel replied.

There was immediate backlash once the head-turning pictorial of the teenage star of a faith-based show was published. "The thing comes out and literally I had to go back to work that next morning," Biel recalled on the "Awards Chatter" podcast in 2018 (via E! News). Her "7th Heaven" co-star, Stephen Collins, who played Biel's on-screen father, was bothered by the sexual nature of the pictures. "She's 17, a minor ... And as such, Jessica's photo spread was child pornography," he told the Daily News in 2000. Collins added that the pictorial sent a bad "message" to his own child. The judgmental comments from Biel's co-star turned out to be hypocritical, however. In 2014, Collins was involved in an actual scandal when he admitted to engaging in "inappropriate sexual conduct with three female minors" some 20 years earlier, per People. 

Despite the salacious pictorial, and the pull quote from Gear's interview, Biel was not trying to get fired from "7th Heaven" and later left the show of her own accord.

Immediately after posing for Gear magazine, Jessica Biel realized the photos were racier than she wanted, and she tearfully contacted her father. "I said, 'Dad, you need to get rid of this,'" she recalled to IGN in 2003. However, the family was unable to bury the pictures. "I really embarrassed my family. I embarrassed myself," the "Total Recall" actor added. Biel believed she was led astray by an all-male management team, which did not have her best interests at heart. Although the headline-making photos were a blemish on her career, Biel had zero regrets because the ordeal ultimately taught her how to stand up for herself on future projects.

Despite the titillating photo spread, executives behind "7th Heaven" did not part ways with their young star. But she did dole out a few apologies. "I certainly had to apologize to Aaron Spelling," she said on the "Awards Chatter" podcast in 2018 (via E! News). Biel also said she never intended the pictures to cause such a stir, and chalked it up to precocious youth. 

Following the infamous photoshoot, Biel returned to the show but in a limited capacity as she started to attend Tufts University. "I definitely miss it. I definitely love coming back," she told Desert News in 2001. Over time, Biel's character was phased out of the show as her movie career picked up, but she remained indebted to the hit series. "If I hadn't been on '7th Heaven,' I wouldn't have been doing anything," Biel said.