Jessica Biel Talks About Shielding Her Children From Paparazzi

Jessica Biel has talked about keeping her children with Justin Timberlake away the prying eyes of the paparazzi. And the actress indicated that the family may have moved away from Los Angeles partly for their kids’ privacy.

Biel appeared on the latest episode of Kelly Ripa’s Let’s Talk Off Camera, where Ripa marveled about how she’s been able to keep her kids’ faces off of social media.

More from The Hollywood Reporter

• Justin Timberlake's 'Forget Tomorrow' World Tour Revives the Reigning Prince of Pop

• Jessica Biel Says She Was Ready To Quit Hollywood if 'The Sinner' Didn't Sell

• Elizabeth Banks, Jessica Biel to Lead Amazon Thriller 'The Better Sister'

“Do the paparazzi respect that in general? Do you find that you have to remind them?,” Ripa asked.

“I don’t think they necessarily respect that if we’re out and about with our kids. It can be somewhat country-dependant. In this country it’s kind of state by state. You get hammered [by paparazzi] on the East Coast; you kind of get hammered on the West Coast,” said Biel. “That’s why we don’t really live there anymore. It’s just trying to create some normalcy for these kids.”

The Candy star explained that her kids “didn’t choose” to have a public-facing life. “I don’t want to expose them in that way until they have an ability to make that decision for themselves,” she said. “And I know that this is what they’re growing [up with], this very social media world … that will be a very big part of their lives. I just don’t want it to be on my account.”

Biel and Timberlake reportedly sold their Los Angeles home in 2021, reportedly moving into Montana’s secluded Yellowstone Club gated community.

Recently, Biel opened up about her own frustrations with Hollywood, revealing on podcast The Bright Side that she was ready to quit if The Sinner didn’t sell. She explained that after deciding to focus on her production company Iron Ocean, which she founded 20 years ago alongside Michelle Purple, she grew disillusioned with projects not being picked up.

“When we were actually selling [The Sinner], Michelle and I looked at each other and she said, ‘If we don’t sell this show, I’m quitting.’ And I said, ‘Me too,’” she recalled. “[I thought] ‘I’m quitting. I’m not doing this. If this show doesn’t sell, I don’t know what people want. I don’t know what to bring them. I don’t understand this business anymore.’ And then we sold it in the room.”

Biel noted that having to prove herself as a producer was “basically like starting over,” adding that it was a “very humbling experience.”

Best of The Hollywood Reporter

• Meet the Superstars Who Glam Up Hollywood’s A-List 

• Rosie O'Donnell on Ellen, Madonna, Trump and 40 Years in the Queer Spotlight

• Hollywood’s 25 Most Powerful Stylists: Why Sydney Sweeney, Sadie Sink, Anne Hathaway, Angela Bassett and Jodie Turner-Smith Love Their Image Makers