Maggie Gyllenhaal
Maggie Ruth Gyllenhaal (born November 16, 1977) is a Golden Globe-nominated American actress.
Biography
Early life
Gyllenhaal (pronounced ['dʒɪlənhɑl]) was born in New York City. She is the daughter of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and writer/producer Naomi Foner, and the sister of actor Jake Gyllenhaal. Gyllenhaal's mother is Jewish and her father is a descendant of the Swedish noble Gyllenhaal family, although his last Swedish ancestor was his great-grandfather, Anders Leonard Gyllenhaal.[1]
Gyllenhaal grew up in Los Angeles and graduated from the Harvard-Westlake prep school. While there, she attended a semester away program in Vershire, Vermont called The Mountain School. She graduated from Columbia University in 1998 with a BA in Literature and Eastern religions and spent a summer studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts.[2]
Career
Gyllenhaal's first film roles were directed by her father: Waterland (1992), A Dangerous Woman (1993), and Homegrown (1998). After graduating from college, she had a number of supporting roles, notably co-starring with her brother in Donnie Darko (2001) in which she played his character's sister.
Gyllenhaal's break-out role was in Secretary (2002), which earned her widespread acclaim including a Golden Globe nomination. She followed the film with a stream of supporting roles in such films as the Spike Jonze-Charlie Kaufman comedy Adaptation. and Mona Lisa Smile starring Julia Roberts. She also appeared in smaller independent films such as John Sayles's Casa de los Babys, and Criminal with John C. Reilly and Diego Luna.
She has also appeared in the theater. She starred as Alice in the Mark Taper Forum production of Patrick Marber's Closer. She also graced the stage at the Taper in a production of Tony Kushner's Homebody/ Kabul which later transferred to the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York. She has appeared on the stage in London, in Anthony and Cleopatra at the Vanborough Theatre.
She has modeled for Miu Miu, a branch of the Prada fashion house, and for Reebok.
Personal life
Gyllenhaal has been in a relationship with actor Peter Sarsgaard since 2002; they announced their engagement in April 2006 and are expecting a child in late 2006.[3] Sarsgaard is close friends with her brother Jake and co-starred with him in the film Jarhead. Gyllenhaal also maintains[citation needed] a friendship with her Mona Lisa Smile co-star Kirsten Dunst, who once dated Jake.
In April 2003, she spoke at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in her first college speaking engagement. Her comments focused on criticisms of the film industry and what her experience had been like to that point.
Controversy
Gyllenhaal drew fire after an interview with NY1 at the 2005 Tribeca Film Festival where she suggested that the United States was somewhat responsible for the September 11, 2001 attacks. She stated, "I think America has done reprehensible things and is responsible in some way..." Gyllenhaal later said she regretted what she said and "that neither the red carpet nor an interview about a movie is the right place to talk about my politics."[1] Gyllenhaal later met with Port Authority officer Will Jimeno and his wife, Allison, whom Gyllenhaal depicted in the 2006 film World Trade Center. Gyllenhaal said she would have left the project if they wanted her to, but Allison Jimeno said they felt comfortable with her and "had no problem with her in this movie."[2] Gyllenhaal also said she had "nothing but gratitude and admiration" for firefighters and that she wished she "had been more gentle and more thoughtful" with her comments.[3]
Filmography
| Year | Movie | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Stranger than Fiction | ||
| Trust the Man | |||
| Sherrybaby | Sherry Swanson | ||
| World Trade Center | Allison Jimeno | ||
| Monster House | Zee | ||
| 2005 | The Great New Wonderful | Emme | |
| Happy Endings | Jude | ||
| 2004 | Criminal | Valerie | |
| Strip Search | TV | ||
| 2003 | Mona Lisa Smile | Giselle Lev | |
| Casa de los babys | Jennifer | ||
| 2002 | Confessions of a Dangerous Mind | Debbie | |
| Adaptation. | Caroline Cunningham | ||
| 40 Days and 40 Nights | Sam | ||
| Secretary | Lee Holloway | ||
| 2001 | Riding in Cars with Boys | Amelia Forrester | |
| Donnie Darko | Elizabeth Darko | ||
| 2000 | The Pornographer: A Love Story | Sidney | |
| Cecil B. DeMented | Raven | ||
| The Photographer | Mira | ||
| 1999 | Resurrection | Mary | TV |
| 1998 | Homegrown | Christina | |
| The Patron Saint of Liars | Lorraine Thomas | TV | |
| 1996 | Shattered Mind | Clothes clerk | TV |
| 1993 | A Dangerous Woman | Patsy | |
| 1992 | Waterland | Maggie Ruth |