Jared Tristan Padalecki (born July 19, 1982) is an American actor. He grew up in
Texas and came to fame in the early 2000s after appearing on the television series
Gilmore Girls as well as in several
Hollywood films, including
New York Minute and
House of Wax. Padalecki appears as
Sam Winchester on the CW television series
Supernatural starring alongside
Jensen Ackles.
Early life
Padalecki was born in
San Antonio, Texas, the son of Sharon L. "Sherri" (
née Kammer), a
high school English teacher at East Central High School, and Gerald R. Padalecki (nicknamed Gerry), a tax supervisor and accountant.
He is of
Polish and other
European American ancestry.
He has an older brother, Jeff, and a younger sister, Megan. He started taking acting classes at the age of 12.
School
He attended James Madison High School in San Antonio and was named a candidate for the 2000
Presidential Scholars Program. In 1998, Padalecki and his partner Chris Cardenas won the
National Forensic League national championship in
Duo Interpretation.
Padalecki won
FOX's 1999 "Claim to Fame Contest"; he subsequently appeared at the
Teen Choice Awards, where he met his current manager. After graduating from high school in 2000, he moved to
Los Angeles, California to pursue an acting career, although he had originally planned to attend the
University of Texas.
