Jesse McCartney Artistfacts

April 9, 1987
He's nowhere near as famous as Ariana Grande, Justin Timberlake or other singers who started out as child actors, but Jesse McCartney very pretty popular in the teenage girl demographic in the mid-'00s, when he was on the WB series Summerland and had a hit song with "Beautiful Soul." His acting career started even earlier: He was on the soap opera All My Children from 1999-2011, starting when he was 11 years old.
He was in a boy band called Dream Street while he was also on All My Children. During this time he was attending Ardsley High School, a public school in Westchester County, New York. Most of his classmates didn't know about his famous extracurriculars until one day when the principal congratulated him on his Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series during announcements.
His boy band Dream Street had some success on Nickelodeon, which played their video for "It Happens Everytime" in 2001.
He played himself in a popular 2007 episode of Hannah Montana, the Disney show starring Miley Cyrus. The episode is titled "When You Wish You Were the Star."
In 2005, the little-known Jonas Brothers were an opening act on his tour. In 2025 they switched roles, with McCartney opening some shows on the Jonas Brothers tour.
Jesse cowrote the 2007 Leona Lewis hit "Bleeding Love." His inspiration for the lyric was a long-distance relationship with the actress Katie Cassidy. "I was so in love that it was painful," he said.
In 2014 he starred in the Lifetime movie Expecting Amish, where he plays a Los Angeles DJ who falls in love with an Amish girl (played by AJ Michalka) while she's on Rumspringa.
He met his wife Katie when she was a bartender in Los Angeles. They got married in 2021 and had their first child, a son named archer, in 2025. Archer was born three months premature, which was harrowing for his parents, but he made it through.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

More Songfacts:

Watching The WheelsJohn Lennon

In the late '70s, John Lennon slowed his roll, becoming a househusband who baked bread and took care of his young son Sean. This inspired his song "Watching The Wheels," where he discovers the benefits of taking it easy.

Last NightGood Charlotte

Good Charlotte's video for "Last Night" reconstructs the TV show "Family Double Dare," complete with host Marc Summers.

I'll WaitVan Halen

Michael McDonald co-wrote the Van Halen song "I'll Wait."

StrongerKanye West

A 2011 Gold's Gym poll found "Stronger" by Kanye West the best song to work out to. Second place was the Rocky theme.

The Rubberband ManThe Spinners

"The Rubberband Man" is a "short, fat guy" with rhythm and grace. Spinners producer Thom Bell wrote it to boost the self-esteem of his rotund son.

My GenerationThe Who

Pete Townshend wrote the lyrics for "My Generation" by The Who during a train ride from London to Southampton on his 20th birthday when he was thinking about "trying to find a place in society."