A Field Guide To Jessica Marais

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When we first started watching "Magic City," we thought we were going to be seeing a bunch of Olga Kurylenko nudity, and that has not happened. Obviously, nudity isn't everything, but nonetheless, Jessica Marais has been holding down the freaky fort week after week, and not only is she a fiendishly sexy woman, she's also a mightily talented actress. This Field Guide is long overdue; Ms. Marais, this is all for you.

Jessica Dominique Marais was born on January 29, 1985 in Johannesburg, South Africa. She and her family lived in Canada and New Zealand until Jessica was nine, then they finally settled in Perth, Western Australia. Six months after moving to Perth, Jessica's father suffered a fatal heart attack on the way back from a family picnic. It was an experience that she still deals with:

"He collapsed very suddenly and, yeah, my sister and I were both present," the actor said.

"It's sort of something you relive I think, everyone that has lost someone ... you relive it every day. It feels fresh but obviously time does heal a lot of wounds and I'm definitely much better at coping with it now."

Jessica and her younger sister, Clara, were raised by her mother, who kept the family strongly unified and "pulled [them] through a very hard time." Jessica attended a Catholic school for a year and then an Anglican school until her graduation in 2002, and during this time she discovered her love of acting. She went on to attend the National Institute of Dramatic Art, a prestigious acting school located in a suburb of Sydney, and during her last year of studying she landed a role on "Packed to the Rafters," which quickly made Jessica a household name (in Australia, that is). This part earned her two Logie Awards--the highest awards given to Australian TV actors--for "Most Popular New Female Talent" and "Most Outstanding New Talent." She left the show in early 2011 to pursue other roles, and that included moving to Los Angeles and then Miami where she worked on--you guessed it--"Magic City."

By the way, Jessica's boyfriend from "Packed to the Rafters," James Stewart, is actually her fiance in real life, and the two of them announced that Jessica is pregnant last November. Is it too soon to say that Jessica is going to be a MILF? Anyway, Jessica and James are an adorable couple, and he's already acting like a protective father:

"We need to have at least a couple of boys; if we have a girl that looks like [Jessica], they're going to have to have brothers."

What's next for Jessica Marais? (Besides motherhood, that is.) People often compare her to other Australian hotties who have come to make it big in Hollywood, but she's trying to resist becoming another blonde bombshell from below the equator. When people call her "the next Cate Blanchett," she responds, "I want to be the next Jessica Marais, not Cate Blanchett." She's definitely doing a good job of that with her sexy brunette look; we actually had no idea she was a blonde until we saw the pictures of her as Brigitte Bardot in Australia's GQ (yes, there are pictures in the gallery below). Career-wise, Marais has said that all her television work has made her crave a return to the theater:

Serious television certainly helps revive your passion for theatre. It's been great fun, but I've definitely got the theatre bug back in me. I love the excitement, the spontaneity.

And considering that quote comes from 2008, she's definitely overdue for some stage time. In fact, she says her dream gig would be to act in an Arthur Miller or Tennessee Williams piece on Broadway. We would love that! Yes, our reasons are selfish--we live in New York and can go see her perform--but the point is that this woman has worked hard to make a name for herself, and she deserves to have a little fun.

And if you're craving more of Jessica, check out:
· Her (sadly never updated) Twitter (twitter.com)
· And this Tumblr which is full of Jessica Marais pics: Fuck Yeah Jessica Marais (fuckyeahjessicamarais.tumblr.com)

[At top: Jessica Marais masturbates for her husband (who is a tad creepy, but we respect him for it), from "Magic City" (starz.com)]