Actress Jessica Biel is opening up about life far from Hollywood’s glitz and glamor. In a rare and candid interview with InStyle, Biel invited the world into her quiet life in rural Montana, where she and husband Justin Timberlake are raising their two sons, Silas and Phineas.
The couple, who married in 2012, made the intentional decision to leave Los Angeles behind to protect their children’s privacy and provide a more grounded upbringing. “You get hammered on the East Coast. You kind of get hammered on the West Coast. That’s why we don’t really live there anymore,” Biel explained. “We’re just trying to create some normalcy for these kids.”
Their home in the Rocky Mountains has become a haven. On most weekends, Biel says a perfect Saturday includes skiing with Timberlake in the morning and hitting the slopes again with their kids after ski school. “These moments at this time feel kind of priceless,” she said.
For Biel, balancing a demanding acting career and family life is no easy feat. She admitted, “It’s so hard. I don’t do it very well all the time.” Her approach to managing it all? Simple and sincere advice from her producing partner: “When you’re working, you’re 100-percent working, and when you’re home, you’re 100-percent home.”
That commitment to presence has shaped how she and Timberlake share parenting duties. “We’re doing the same thing every other parent is doing,” she said. “It really takes a village to raise any kid, let alone in a wild business like this.”
Even as she returns to the screen with the upcoming film Matchbox, Biel is cautious about letting her children live in the public eye. She explained, “We do really try hard not to expose them in a way that they’re not comfortable with.”
When her son Silas joined her for a public appearance at the US Open, it wasn’t without conversation. “We talked about photographers… ‘Are you comfortable with that?’” she recalled. “He can’t make these decisions on his own, but at this point, we can at least discuss what’s his opinion around it.”
Biel’s desire to protect her children stems from a thoughtful place of discernment, rooted in love and intentionality. “We want to share our family with our loved ones and friends… but also these kids didn’t choose this,” she said. “I don’t want to expose them until they have an ability to make that decision for themselves.”
Although Silas shows natural talent in acting, Biel and Timberlake want to wait until he’s older to pursue it seriously. “When you’re 18 years old, you want to be professional? Have at it. That’s your choice,” she said.
In a world obsessed with fame and visibility, Biel and Timberlake have chosen something different: a quieter life of skiing, family dinners, boundaries, and grace. Their choice to step back from the spotlight reflects a desire many Christian families can relate to — to raise children with care, privacy, and purpose in an increasingly public world.