Jared Padalecki

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 plays Sam Winchester on the CW television series Supernatural. --- Padalecki was born in San Antonio, Texas to Gerald and Sherri Padalecki. He is of Polish ancestry on his father's side. He has an older brother, Jeff, and a younger sister, Megan. He started taking acting classes at the age of 12. 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. Padalecki's first role was a minor role in the 1999 film A Little Inside. In 2000, he was cast as Dean Forester on the television series Gilmore Girls, a role he played until 2005. Throughout the early 2000s, he also appeared in several made-for-television films, including Silent Witness,Close to Home, and the Disney Channel Original Movie A Ring of Endless Light. --- Padalecki married his former Supernatural co-star Genevieve Cortese on February 27, 2010 in Sun Valley, Idaho. He and his wife are currently residing in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. On October 10, 2011, he announced they were expecting their first child. The couple's son, Thomas Colton Padalecki, was born on March 19, 2012. On July 21, 2013, via Jared's twitter, it was confirmed that the couple are expecting their second child.