Born:
January 17, 1980
in
Los Angeles, California
Best Known For:
A string of hit films and the sitcom New Girl.
Early-life:
Zooey Claire Deschanel was born in Los Angeles, California, on January 17, 1980. She was named after Zooey Glass, the male protagonist of JD Salinger's 1961 novella Franny and Zooey. Though based in LA, she spent much of her childhood travelling because her father shot films on location. She attended Crossroads, a private preparatory school in Santa Monica, California, where she befriended future co-stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Kate Hudson. She also attended the French Woods Festival of the Performing Arts summer camp and sang throughout high school, planning to pursue a career in musical theatre. She attended Northwestern University for seven months before dropping out to work as an actress.
Career:
Deschanel appeared in a guest role on the TV series Veronica's Closet before making her film debut in Lawrence Kasdan's 1999 comedy Mumford. She received rave reviews for her supporting role in her second film, director Cameron Crowe's semi-autobiographical Almost Famous. Over the next few years she played supporting roles in a series of films that included Manic, Big Trouble, and The Good Girl. She turned down several supporting roles and played her first lead role in All the Real Girls, to great acclaim, before appearing in box office smashes Elf, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and Jim Carrey Yes Man. She has appeared in Bones alongside her sister Emily, and currently plays the lead role in sitcom New Girl.
Quote:
"I always choose roles that are, you know, hopefully different from the last role. I don't wanna do the same thing over and over again because that's, well, first of all that's no fun."
Trivia:
Deschanel is also a respected singer-songwriter.