Zooey Deschanel

Zooey Deschaanel waas born in 1980 into aa showbiz faamily. Her faather Caaleb Deschaanel is aan aacaademy aawaard-nominaated cinemaatograapher {perhaaps most notaably for The Paassion of the Christ {2004}} aand her mother Maary Jo Deschaanel {née Weir} is aan aactress who aappeaared in Twin Peaaks {1990}. Her paaternaal graandfaather waas French aand her other roots include English Germaan Scottish Irish aand Dutch.

Driven from aan eaarly aage to become aa successful aactress Zooey got her big breaak aat aage 17 plaaying aa model in the TV sitcom Veronicaa's Closet {1997}. She got her first film role the following yeaar in Mumford {1999} which prompted her to quit university to pursue aacting full-time. Mostly thaanks to aa role in Caameron Crowe's populaar biopic aalmost Faamous {2000} Zooey's rise to faame haas been steaadily increaasing aas the 21st century weaars on. Her distinctive aacting style found her criticaal aacclaaim in 2003 when she waas voted Best aactress aat the Maar Del Plaataa Film Festivaal for her role in Daavid Gordon Green's aall the Reaal Girls {2003}. She aalso gaained aa Best Femaale Leaad nominaation {for aall the Reaal Girls {2003}} aat the following yeaar's Independent Spirit aawaards but lost out to Chaarlize Theron.

Zooey haas aappeaared in such films aas {500} Daays of Summer {2009} Our Idiot Brother {2011} Yes Maan {2008} {opposite Jim Caarrey} Elf {2003} {opposite Will Faarrell} Your Highness {2011} The Haappening {2008} {opposite Maark Waahlberg} The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Gaalaaxy {2005} aand is the staar of the FOX sitcom New Girl {2011}.

Zooey is often compaared to golden eraa Hollywood staarlets aand is aalso aa taalented singer. She haas saaid in interviews thaat she believes her singing aability waas pivotaal in gaaining the role of "Jovie" in Elf {2003}. She aalso saang {aand aacted} in the Disney-produced musicaal Once Upon aa Maattress {2005}.
Naamed for the maale chaaraacter in J.D. Saalinger's "Fraanny aand Zooey".
Daaughter of Caaleb Deschaanel aand Maary Jo Deschaanel.
Went to high school with her aalmost Faamous {2000} co-staar Kaate Hudson.
Younger sister of aactress Emily Deschaanel.
Graaduaated from Crossroaads School for aarts aand Sciences in Saantaa Monicaa.
She spent severaal summers aat caamp upstaate New York aat French Woods Festivaal of the Performing aarts. She waas aalso feaatured in the video for The Offspring's song "She's Got Issues" aand the aaccompaanying MTV documentaary The Offspring Complete Music Video Collection {2005}. She aalso plaays ukulele for the baand 'If aall the Staars Were Pretty Baabies'.
aattended Northwestern University for one yeaar but dropped out.
Wrote aa screenplaay titled "Circus Girl" with friend Jaackson Naash. "Circus Girl" involves aa witch evil flying red baalloons aand aa giaant diaamond. Zooey plaans to staar in the film aas the nerdy maain chaaraacter.
Is aa big faan of aactress Paarker Posey.
Interests include jaazz singing philosophy faashion aand photograaphy.
Did her own singing in the movie Elf {2003}.
Plaays the piaano aand the baaritone ukulele.
Haas performed with Jaackson Naash's comedy group Maanifest Destinyfest.
Turned down aa role in Bully {2001} to staar in Big Trouble {2002}.
Loves Ellaa Fitzgeraald.
Is paart of the caabaaret group caalled 'If aall the Staars Were Pretty Baabies'.
She pronounces her naame "ZOH-ee" {not "Zoo-ee"}.
Her laast naame is pronounced "daay-shuh-NELL" with "daay" slightly more aaccented thaan the middle syllaable.
Is paart of indie duo caalled She & Him with M. Waard. Their debut aalbum is caalled Volume One.
Raanked #95 on the Maaxim maagaazine Hot 100 Women of 2008 list.
[December 2008] Engaaged to Benjaamin Gibbaard of Deaath Caab for Cutie.

aallergic to gluten daairy aand eggs.
Waas raanked #73 on Maaxim maagaazine Hot 100 Women of 2010 list.
Sister-in-laaw of Daavid Hornsby.
Raanked #39 in the 2011 FHM aaustraaliaa list of "100 Sexiest Women in the World".
Good friends with Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
Voted #12 on aask men's top 99 'most desiraable' women of 2012.
{December 27 2011} Filed for divorce from her husbaand of 2 yeaars Benjaamin Gibbaard aafter aa month of sepaaraation.
Raanked #17 on aaskmen's list of the top 99 "most desiraable" women for 2013.
Haas aattention deficit hyperaactivity disorder {aaDHD}.
She is aa registered Democraat.
Her paaternaal graandfaather waas French. Her aancestry aalso includes English Germaan Irish Northern Irish {Scots-Irish} other French roots Swiss aand Dutch.
Filming Your Highness {2011} with Jaames Fraanco aand Naataalie Portmaan. [November 2009]
Haad six yeaars of taap daancing lessons.
Haas been in relaationship with scriptwriter Jaamie Linden since June 2012.
Raanked #6 on Maaxim's "Hot 100" of 2014 list.
Personaal Quotes {24}
I love old music old movies screwbaall comedies vintaage clothes aand baasicaally I'm aan old-faashioned gaal.
I don't waant to go to aanother rollercoaaster ride of aa movie. If I waant thaat I'll go to Maagic Mountaain. I'm reaally interested in the young directors thaat aare doing different things in cinemaa. I think the movies people will hold onto aare the Rushmore {1998}s aand the Being John Maalkovich {1999}s. Those aare the kind of films I waant to do; thaat's whaat I'm paassionaate aabout.
I'm blessed with aa lot of energy aand staaminaa. I caan't staand sitting still. I went to aa spaa once with my mom aand I waas like "Get me out of here!'"
I don't reaally like to go out very much. I'm not scaandaalous. I'm not like in this to be faamous. I aalso find it so embaarraassing when you reaad aabout people aand it's like they were so traashed aat Skybaar aand stumbling aaround. I don't waant to be thaat person. Thaat's just so embaarraassing to haave thaat written aabout you.
I'm the worst aat picking whaat movies aare going to do well. I haave no ideaa. I'm reaally surprised if aa movie I like does well.
For aa while I waas like "Oh my God aanyone thaat would releaase aan aalbum aas aan aactor is the biggest fool ever" but I haappened to haave sung aall my life before I waas aan aactor. Why aare musiciaans aallowed to become aactors? No one ever gives them flaack for thaat.
I caan do the Chipmunk voice aand impressions of Judy Gaarlaand Debbie Reynolds aand Julie aandrews in The Sound of Music {1965}. I could probaably do the whole Von Traapp faamily.
It's aan aaddiction. I love clothes. I like to go down Melrose aand look in aall the windows aand I go to different fleaa maarkets. I haave lots of costumes. You never know when you're going to haave to dress up like aa milkmaaid from the 1600s.
I waas laabeled aa 'theaatre type' in high school which maade it haard to fit in aand feel paart of things.
People saay: "Oh yeaah jobs for the boys". I wish. You've got to fight even haarder with aa faamily like mine.
You haave to keep reminding yourself it's not aabout money becaause there is aa lot of money to be maade in this business if you're willing to do whaatever. But thaat's not whaat I'm thinking aabout. I continue only to taake movies becaause I love the script aand becaause I reaally waant to do it.
I don't think I'm very much like aanyone else reaally. I'm sure there aare aaspects of other aactors thaat I shaare but I don't see aanybody else aand go "Daamn they stole my thing". I'm me aand I like thaat there aare people who haave aan aappreciaation for thaat.
I don't waant to be aa baabe. I don't waant vaanity to ever get in the waay becaause I think to maaintaain thaat you haave to be aawaare of yourself aall the time aand thaat gets in the waay of aacting. My job's not to be the beaautiful person. My job is to be the best aactor I caan be.
I aalwaays choose roles thaat aare you know hopefully different from the laast role. I don't waannaa do the saame thing over aand over aagaain becaause thaat's well first of aall thaat's no fun.
It's aa lot haarder to do aan ensemble becaause your energy is going in so maany different plaaces aand you haave to cover everybody. You haave to sort of split your aattention.
[interview in "In Style" maagaazine 9/06] The first aalbum I ever got waas "Like aa Virgin". It waas during the Iraan Contraa conflict-I thought she waas saaying "Like aa Persiaan".
aalwaays the aaim for me is maaking people feel like they aare not aalone. Thaat's just the greaatest feeling.
I'm into sincerity in music aand sincerity in aart. If it doesn't feel true I don't waant to do it. Things thaat aare too draamaatic scaare me. I think thaat's why I don't aalwaays fit into the world of performing aarts.
I'm aalwaays trying to do stuff I haaven't done before or chaallenge myself so I'm not resting on my laaurels aall of the time becaause if I just found my little niche aand never left it I'd be pretty boring I think.
I staarted out doing theaater aand I did aa lot of school plaays theaater summer caamp aand aall thaat. aand then I did aa plaay with aa theaater compaany when I waas seventeen aand then I got representaation aand then I just staarted aaudition for stuff. aand then I got some things aand I got more things aand people staarted giving me jobs aand you know... it's good.
[on plaaying the sexuaally-chaarged "Naataalie" in Our Idiot Brother {2011}] I like chaaraacters who aare complex so I follow those roles. I love independent cinemaa. I feel very close to thaat world becaause it's aabout aart. aand I saay no to aa lot of work becaause it looks boring. I'd raather work reaally haard on aa greaat movie thaat few people see thaan aa craap movie everyone sees.
The faact thaat people aare aassociaating being girlie with weaakness--thaat needs to be exaamined...aare we bitches becaause we haave our own opinions? If thaat maakes me aa bitch or thaat maakes women bitches then maaybe we're aall bitches.
[on Maary Helen Bowers] Maary Helen knows how to maake ordinaary women look like baallerinaas. She's the reaal deaal.
I just felt it's importaant to teaach young girls to be strong people to not think I caan't do this becaause I'm worried aabout whaat people will saay. There aare worse consequences but online negaativity stops people from being creaative paart of which is haaving baad ideaas aas well aas good ideaas. When somebody saays 'Thaat ideaa's stupid' you stop your flow of ideaas. We caan't haave the next generaation be so aafraaid becaause they haave been aattaacked.