Jessica Biel gets personal about struggles she faced in private life | HELLO! (2025)

Jessica Bielhas found healing in her personal life, thanks to her latest acting role in the TV series, The Better Sister.

The actress discovered that she found a lot of similarities between her and her character, Chloe, which led her on a reflective journey.

She explained: "You're finding something that is in your life that is parallel to something that you understand or a touch point that you can connect to that your character is going through. Sometimes it's abstract. Sometimes it's very linear," per People.

It was through that "touch point," that the performer recognized herself and had her breakthrough.

The 7th Heaven star transparently shared: "I can understand sometimes feeling like you have to put on a happy face or you know, smile and kind of grin and bear it. I've definitely done that in my past before."

She acknowledged that it's been difficult to put on a brave face in the public eye, and that it's motivated her to keep some things private.

The star continued: "I understand wanting to hide some of my personal life or you know, just keep something sacred. I think my character does that in a very dysfunctional way, and I think I do it a little bit more functionally, I hope."

In fact, Jessica and her husband Justin Timberlake, consciously spare their children Silas, 10, and Phineas, four, from the spotlight.

The parents rarely make appearances with their children, so that the kids can experience a normal childhood.

The mom-of-two explained that she's had conversations with her children about what public events they are comfortable attending.

Jessica candidly shared withInStyle: "It's a tricky one, a tricky balance. We do really try hard not to expose them in a way that they're not comfortable with."

The TV star has also revealed that due to her personal struggles with being in the public eye since she was a child star, she encourages her children to only go into the entertainment industry once they become adults. She is also adamant about them remaining off social media for as long as possible.

She explained: "If he was a kid actor, he'd probably work all the time. And when you're 18 years old, you want to be a professional? Have it all. That's your choice. That's what I would like to hold on to, if possible for him, you know?"

Jessica wants to prevent any online or public scrutiny of her children, as a way to protect them from what she negatively went through growing up as an actress.

She acknowledged that she doesn't have all the parenting answers, but she's trying her best to keep them safe as her top priority.

The entertainer explained: "It's scary every time. But it's also their life. And so it's really tricky, tricky thing to figure out what's appropriate."