Jewel Sinks Her Teeth Into Movie Role

TV Guide Online
Wednesday, November 17, 1999

Pop singer Jewel says she's learned how to get through life with less-than-perfect teeth. In fact, she's learning how to use her famously crooked smile to her advantage.

Jewel, who makes her big-screen acting debut next month in the Civil War drama Ride With the Devil, got the role thanks, in part, to her unusual bicuspids. Director Ang Lee (The Ice Storm) tells Glamour that Jewel's smile fit right in with the characters of that era.

"She had a period upbringing and a period look," says Lee. "She's even got period teeth."

These are busy days for 25-year-old Jewel, who has just released a new Christmas album (Joy: A Holiday Collection) and is putting the finishing touches on a new book of essays and sketches. She's also spending time on the ranch with boyfriend Ty Murray, a world-champion rodeo star.

"The day before... we were blacklegging, castrating, dehorning, eartagging, and I got to rope for the first time," the Alaskan native proudly adds. "It was a lot of fun." — Rich Brown