Jennifer Connelly

Infobox actor


imagesize = 150px
caption = Connelly in Central Park, New York City, June 2, 2005
birthdate = birth date and age|mf=yes|1970|12|12
birthplace = Catskill Mountains, New York, U.S.
yearsactive = 1984 — present
birthname = Jennifer Lynn Connelly
spouse = Paul Bettany (2003-Present)
academyawards = Best Supporting Actress
2001 "A Beautiful Mind"
baftaawards = Best Supporting Actress
2001 "A Beautiful Mind"
goldenglobeawards = Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture
2002 "A Beautiful Mind"

Jennifer Lynn Connelly (born December 12, 1970) is an American film actress and former child model. Although she has been working in the film industry since she was a teenager and catapulted to fame on the basis of her appearances in films like "Labyrinth" and "Career Opportunities", she did not receive wide exposure for her work until the 2000 drama "Requiem for a Dream", and the 2001 biopic "A Beautiful Mind", for which she won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, as well as the BAFTA and Golden Globe awards.

Biography

Early life

Connelly was born in the Catskill Mountains, New York, the daughter of Eileen, an antiques dealer, and Gerard Connelly, a clothing manufacturer who worked in the garment industry. [ [http://www.filmreference.com/film/20/Jennifer-Connelly.html Jennifer Connelly Biography (1970-) ] ] Connelly's paternal grandparents were of Irish and Norwegian descent, respectively, while her maternal grandparents were Jewish, their families having come from Russia and Poland. [Stated in interview on "Inside the Actors Studio", 2004] Connelly was raised in Brooklyn Heights, near the Brooklyn Bridge, and attended St. Ann's School, except for four years the family spent living in Woodstock, New York. [Kalogerakis, George. [http://nymag.com/shopping/articles/02/springfashion/connelly.htm "Mind Games"] , "New York (magazine)", February 18, 2002. Accessed November 15, 2007. "Connelly grew up mostly in Brooklyn Heights, the daughter of a clothing-manufacturer father and antiques-dealer mother. She attended Saint Ann's and started modeling when she was 10."] One of her father's friends was an advertising executive, who suggested that she audition at a modeling agency.

At the age of ten, her career started in newspaper and magazine ads, then moved to television commercials. These led to movie auditions and her first film role was as "young Deborah Gelly", a supporting role in Sergio Leone's 1984 gangster epic, "Once Upon a Time in America", filmed mostly in 1982 when she was eleven. [ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087843/business Once Upon a Time in America (1984) - Box office / business ] ] She next starred in Italian horror-director Dario Argento's "Phenomena" (1985) and in the coming-of-age movie "Seven Minutes in Heaven".

Early career

Connelly became a star on her next picture, the fantasy "Labyrinth" (1986), playing Sarah, a teenager who wishes her baby brother into the world of goblins ruled by goblin king Jareth (David Bowie). The film disappointed at the box office, but gained a following among fantasy fans. Connelly starred in several obscure films, such as "Etoile" (1988) and "Some Girls" (1988). The Dennis Hopper-directed "The Hot Spot" (1990) was not a success, either critically or commercially. Another film, "Career Opportunities", was more successful and is considered a teen cult classic. It and "Hot Spot" threatened to typecast her in the "sexpot" stereotype with both films emphasizing her voluptuous figure, particularly "Hot Spot", which contained her first topless scene. It would be the first of seven movies in which she appeared nude. Connelly was featured on the cover of "Esquire" in August 1991, as part of the "Women We Love" feature. [citeweb|url=http://www.esquire.com/cover-detail?year=1991&month=8|title=Esquire Cover Gallery|accessdate=2007-07-28|publisher= [http://www.esquire.com Esquire] |date=August 1991] She appeared alongside Jason Priestley in the Roy Orbison music video for "I Drove All Night" in 1992. Connelly began studying English at Yale, and two years later transferred to Stanford.

The big-budget Disney film "The Rocketeer" (1991) similarly failed to ignite Connelly's career; after its failure she took some time off from acting. The 1996 indie film "Far Harbor" played her against type and hinted at a much broader range than she had previously shown. Connelly began to appear in smaller but well-regarded films, such as 1997's "Inventing the Abbotts" and 2000's "Waking the Dead". She played a collegiate lesbian in John Singleton's 1995 ensemble drama, "Higher Learning". The critically favored 1998 science fiction film "Dark City" afforded her the chance to work with such actors as Rufus Sewell, William Hurt, Ian Richardson and Kiefer Sutherland. Connelly revisited her ingenue image, although in a more understated way, for the 2000 biopic "Pollock", in which she played Jackson Pollock's mistress.

Breakthrough

Connelly's big breakthrough was the 2000 film "Requiem for a Dream". Connelly starred alongside Jared Leto and Marlon Wayans as heroin addicts on the edge of a breakdown. The film firmly established her as a serious actress. Connelly next starred in Ron Howard's film "A Beautiful Mind" (2001), essaying the role of Alicia Nash, the long-suffering wife of the brilliant, schizophrenic mathematician John Forbes Nash (played by Russell Crowe). The film was a critical and commercial success and earned Connelly a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Her appearance in "A Beautiful Mind" led to a featured article in "Time" magazine. [ [http://www.time.com/time/archive/preview/0,10987,1001669,00.html Jennifer Connelly] by Richard Schickel]

Connelly starred in two films in 2003: "Hulk" and "House of Sand and Fog". "Hulk" was something of a box office disappointment, but afforded Connelly the chance to work with noted director Ang Lee. "House of Sand and Fog", based on the novel by Andre Dubus III, was reminiscent of much of her independent film work of the late 1990s. Connelly appeared in the 2005 horror film "Dark Water", which was based on a Japanese film. In 2006, Connelly appeared in two films, both of which were nominated for multiple Academy Awards. She played a major role in an adaptation of the novel "Little Children" alongside Kate Winslet. Although her role as Kathy Adamson is very important in the novel, director Todd Field gave her character less screen time, instead focusing on the characters played by Winslet and Patrick Wilson. She also played a journalist in "Blood Diamond" opposite Leonardo DiCaprio. She next appeared in "Reservation Road" with Joaquin Phoenix, which was given a limited release in the fall of 2007.

Connelly will next appear alongside Keanu Reeves in the 2008 remake of the 1951 sci-fi classic "The Day The Earth Stood Still", followed by a small independent thriller with her husband Paul Bettany, and will have a small role opposite Drew Barrymore in "He's Just Not That Into You".

Personal life

Connelly is vegan. She is married to actor Paul Bettany (born 1971), whom she met while working on "A Beautiful Mind". The couple's son, Stellan (named after actor Stellan SkarsgårdFact|date=July 2008), was born on August 5, 2003. His Godfather is the actor Charlie Condou. She also has a son, Kai (born 1997), from her relationship with photographer David Dougan.

She is the face of Balenciaga.

Filmography

References

External links

*imdb name | id=0000124 | name=Jennifer Connelly
*ymovies name|1800021142
* [http://www.gallery.jenniferconnelly.info Jennifer Connelly Photos]
* [http://www.stv.tv/content/out/film/displayHotnow.html?id=opencms:/out/hotnow/films/newArticle8609487 Jennifer Connelly Blood Diamond interview] with Leonardo DiCaprio
*tvtome person|id=1269|name=Jennifer Connelly

Persondata
NAME= Connelly, Jennifer
ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Connelly, Jennifer Lynn
SHORT DESCRIPTION=American film actress
DATE OF BIRTH= 1970-12-12
PLACE OF BIRTH= New York, New York, U.S.
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=