Jewel Staite

Jewel Belair Staite (born June 2, 1982) is a Canadian actress known for her roles as Catalina in *Space Cases*, Kaylee Frye in *Firefly* and *Serenity*, and Dr. Jennifer Keller in *Stargate Atlantis*. She also starred as Raquel Westbrook in the Canadian drama *The L.A. Complex*. Staite was born in White Rock, British Columbia, and is the youngest of seven siblings. She began modeling as a child and acting at age six. She has described her ancestry as British, Irish, French Canadian, and Iroquois. Staite attended the Vancouver Film School and worked at the Vancouver Youth Theatre.

She married actor Matt Anderson on April 25, 2003. On December 13, 2011, she announced their divorce via a post on her food blog. Staite portrayed Kaylee Frye in the short-lived space western television series *Firefly* and its 2005 film adaptation, *Serenity*. She contributed a chapter titled "Kaylee Speaks: Jewel Staite On Firefly" to the book *Finding Serenity*. She also played Heidi Gotts in the television series *Wonderfalls* and appeared in a Season Three episode of *The X-Files*.

Staite portrayed head medical doctor Jennifer Keller in the *Stargate SG-1* spinoff *Stargate Atlantis*, making her the third actor from the *Firefly* series to appear in a *Stargate* series. The first was Adam Baldwin, who had a brief role as a colonel in the *Stargate SG-1* Season Seven episode "Heroes," and the second was Morena Baccarin, who played Adria, the main villain in the tenth season of *SG-1*. Staite replaced Paul McGillion (Dr. Carson Beckett) in the role. In the fifth season, her character was promoted from recurring to main cast. Before taking the role of Dr. Keller, she previously appeared as the Wraith child Ellia in the *Stargate Atlantis* episode "Instinct."

Staite also appeared in the 2010 sci-fi film *Mothman*, directed by Sheldon Wilson. She guest starred in an episode of *Warehouse 13* as the love interest of Sheldon (played by Sean Maher, who also played Jewel's love interest in *Firefly*). She provided voices for the animated TV series *Mummies Alive!* and *Sabrina: The Animated Series* for DIC Entertainment. As of 2012, Staite was a series regular on *The L.A. Complex*, portraying Raquel Westbrook, a struggling actress. The show aired in Canada on MuchMusic and in the U.S. on The CW. She also appeared in an episode of *The Listener*.