Actors - Zooey Deschanel

Home > Listing Index > Actors > Zooey Deschanel

	Actors - Zooey Deschanel

Zooey Claire Deschanel (born January 17, 1980) is an American actress.

Early life

Deschanel was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Academy Award-nominated cinematographer Caleb Deschanel and actress Mary Jo Weir; her sister, Emily Deschanel, is also an actress. Her paternal grandfather was French and the remainder of her ancestry is Irish American. The name "Zooey" was inspired by the male character of the same name in J. D. Salinger's novel Franny and Zooey.

Career

Noted for her unconventional beauty and a chameleon-like ability to change personas to suit a given role, Deschanel has steadily expanded her Hollywood profile. After her film debut in Lawrence Kasdan’s (1999) comedy Mumford, Deschanel drew attention with eye-catching roles as Patrick Fugit’s hippie older sister in Cameron Crowe’s acclaimed Almost Famous
(2000) (a movie featuring fellow Crossroads graduate Kate Hudson) and the gothy, disaffected drugstore make-up clerk in the Jennifer Aniston film The Good Girl
(2002). She won high praise for her sensitive, naturalistic portrayal of an innocent, self-assured, sexually curious 18-year-old virgin who has a life-changing romance with an aimless 22-year-old man (Paul Schneider) in David Gordon Green’s acclaimed cult film All the Real Girls
(2003); Deschanel was voted Best Actress at the Mar del Plata Film Festival and nominated for an Independent Spirit Award. More recently, she played a department store elf opposite Will Ferrell in the popular Christmas comedy Elf (2003), and starred as Trillian in the movie adaptation of Douglas Adams's science fiction series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
(2005).

Deschanel has appeared on the talk show circuit (including Jay Leno and Letterman) and presented film industry awards. Her TV portfolio also includes Frasier and various MTV clips including Offspring's video "She's Got Issues".

She appears with fellow actress Samantha Shelton in a cabaret act named If All the Stars Were Pretty Babies.

Private life

Deschanel is a huge fan of singer Ella Fitzgerald and actress Parker Posey. One of her favourite songs is "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey (band).

Filmography

Quotes

"I love old music, old movies, screwball comedies, vintage clothes, and basically I'm an old-fashioned gal."

"I'm blessed with a lot of energy and stamina. I can't stand sitting still. I went to a spa once with my mom and I was like, 'Get me out of here!'"

"I don't really like to go out very much. I'm not scandalous. I'm not, like, in this to be famous. I also find it so embarrassing when you read about people and it's like they were so trashed at Skybar and stumbling around. I don't want to be that person. That's just so embarrassing to have that written about you."

"I don't want to go to another roller-coaster ride of a movie. If I want that, I'll go to Magic Mountain. I'm really interested in the young directors that are doing different things in cinema. I think the movies people will hold onto are the Rushmores and the Being John Malkoviches. Those are the kind of films I want to do; that's what I'm passionate about."

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Zooey Deschanel ]

This page is based on the copyrighted Wikipedia article Zooey Deschanel; it is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL.