Jessica Rothe first appeared in the Episode: "The Pink Panthers" of the American television program ‘America's Most Wanted’ in 2010. She went on to appear in television series like ‘The Onion News Network’ (2011), ‘Happy Endings’ (2011), and ‘Gossip Girl’ (2012), before making her big-screen debut in the 2013 American fantasy film ‘The Last Keepers’ directed by Maggie Greenwald. Following her debut, she continued to star in films like ‘The Hot Flashes’ (2013), ‘Bastards of Young’ (2013), ‘Jack, Jules, Esther and Me’ (2013), ‘Lily & Kat’ (2015), and ‘Parallels’ (2015). In 2015, she starred as ‘Laura’ in the crime drama film ‘The Preppie Connection’ directed by Joseph Castelo. The film received mostly negative reviews from critics and holds an approval rating of 11% on Rotten Tomatoes. In 2016, Rothe joined the main cast of the American comedy television series ‘Mary + Jane’ where she was seen playing the role of ‘Paige.’ The show was canceled after one season. That same year, she also appeared in the American musical romance film ‘La La Land’ directed by Damien Chazelle. The film opened to wide critical acclaim and received a record 14 ‘Academy Award’ nominations. ‘La La Land’ was also a massive commercial success, grossing over $448.9 million against a budget of $30 million.
In 2017, she portrayed Theresa "Tree" Gelbman in the American black comedy slasher film ‘Happy Death Day’ directed by Christopher Landon. The film saw mostly positive reviews upon release and was a phenomenal box office success, earning over $125.5 million on a budget of $4.8 million. Rothe also earned the ‘Fright Meter Award’ nomination for her performance in the film. The same year, she also starred as ‘Julie’ in the American comedy-drama film ‘Please Stand By.’ The film received a mixed response from critics. She was next seen in the 2018 American romantic drama film ‘Forever My Girl’ directed by Bethany Ashton Wolf. While the film was panned by critics, it garnered positive reviews from the audience. In 2019, she reprised her role as ‘Theresa "Tree" Gelbman’ in ‘Happy Death Day 2U,’ the sequel to the 2017 film ‘Happy Death Day.’ The film opened to a mixed reception and was a box office success. The year 2020 saw two releases of Rothe, namely, the American jukebox musical romantic comedy teen film ‘Valley Girl’ and the American romantic drama film ‘All My Life.’ Both films received a mixed response from critics. She was last seen in the 2021 American crime thriller film ‘Body Brokers’ directed by John Swab. The film saw mostly positive reviews upon release.
A Bollywood-esque romantic comedy musical, La La Land tells the tale of an aspiring actress and a jazz pianist, who fall in love while pursuing their dreams in sunny Los Angeles, but their success threatens to tear them apart.