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Maggie Gyllenhaal - Biography |
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Gyllenhaal was born in New York
City, to film director Stephen Gyllenhaal and film producer and
screenwriter Naomi Achs. Gyllenhaal's father was raised in the
Swedenborgian religion and is a descendant of the Swedish noble Gyllenhaal
family; her last Swedish ancestor was his great-great-grandfather, Anders
Leonard Gyllenhaal. Her mother is from a New York City Jewish-American
family, and is the ex-wife of Eric Foner, a history professor at Columbia
University.
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.
Gyllenhaal's first film roles were directed by her father: Waterland
(1992), her feature film debut, A Dangerous Woman (1993), and Homegrown
(1998), the latter two also featured her brother. After graduating from
college, she had a number of supporting roles, in such films as 40 Days
and 40 Nights, Riding in Cars with Boys and Cecil B. DeMented. Paper
Magazine has described these roles, including her casting as Donnie
Darko`s sister opposite real-life brother Jake, as "the girl you're not
supposed to notice".
Gyllenhaal's break-out role was in the black comedy Secretary (2002), a
film about two people who embark on a mutually fulfilling BDSM lifestyle.
The film earned Gyllenhaal widespread acclaim including a Golden Globe
nomination, and marked the first time Gyllenhaal performed full frontal
nudity on camera. Although impressed with the script, Gyllenhaal initially
had some qualms about doing the film, which she believed could deliver an
antifeminist message. But after carefully discussing the script with the
film's director, Steven Shainberg, she agreed to join the project.
Although insisting Shainberg did not exploit her, Gyllenhaal has said she
felt "slightly taken advantage of" and in agreeing to do certain scenes
she "conceded in a way that maybe in retrospect I wish I hadn't."
Gyllenhaal then had a series of supporting roles in films such 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. Another notable appearance was in Happy Endings in which
she played a singer, and recorded songs for the movie's soundtrack. She
also recently played a love interest of Harold Crick, played by Will
Ferrell, in Stranger Than Fiction.
Gyllenhaal has also appeared in theatre. She starred as Alice in the Mark
Taper Forum production of Patrick Marber's Closer, and performed at the
Taper in a production of Tony Kushner's Homebody/ Kabul. Kushner gave
Gyllenhaal the role in Homebody/ Kabul on the strength of her performance
in Closer.
She has modeled for Miu Miu, Reebok and Agent Provocateur.
She is also working on in The Dark Knight, the sequel to Batman Begins, in
which she replaces Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes.
In 2004, Gyllenhaal was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts
and Sciences.
Gyllenhaal also performs the first unabridged audiobook version of Sylvia
Plath's novel, The Bell Jar.
Gyllenhaal has been in a relationship with actor Peter Sarsgaard since
2002. They announced their engagement in April 2006. They have a daughter,
Ramona, born on October 3, 2006, and reside in Brooklyn, NY. Sarsgaard is
close friends with her brother Jake. |
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Maggie Gyllenhaal - Personal Quotes |
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"I do seem to have a bit of a
predilection for movies that say something transgressive."
"It's my responsibility to see what we can move and change about
these old-school feminist mantras."
"I find myself more and more interested only in roles which move the
world forward."
"You're invited to tons of parties, and you'll wear these shoes and
that dress, and it can be enticing, but I think it also sucks you
dry. If you do it a little, sure, it's fun, but too much and you
start to lose your footing."
"Someone asked me why I didn't do teen movies or action movies, but
I'm not interested in them."
"With everything I work on, I want to be put in a position that I
have to be brave to do the project."
"These past couple of years have been about learning to not sabotage
myself in a subtler way - for instance, even just by putting
moisturiser on when I get out of the shower. Learning to honour
myself and believing that I'm worth taking care of."
"I really hated charm school. I guess I'm just a little bit bad."
"There is a need, especially right now in America, to be a bit
provocative."
"I want roles that challenge people to question where they are in
life."
(While promoting Mona Lisa Smile (2003)) "I've realised that the
only way to make movies that you're proud of, that don't fall into
the sentimental bullshit that so many movies fall into, is to fight.
You have to fight. So many people are willing to sleepwalk through
things and fall into the not human, not interesting choice".
(On doing Homebody/Kabul) "To get people emotionally involved in
something intellectual and political is important."
"I didn't act the way little kids do, I threw my whole self into
it."
(About being the youngest actress on her film Casa de los babys
(2003)) "I felt out of place and not listened to".
(On her new film Strip Search (2004) (TV)) "I think it's important
to see. It's a real violation, and it forces people to get
emotionally involved in something that's intellectual and
political".
(referring to when she started acting) "Even in elementary school, I
took it really seriously. I was always doing plays."
"There are two ways to be cool: One is to be disinterested and make
it seem like you must be doing something much more interesting than
everybody else if you are this disinterested. The other is to be
extremely interested. You are not trying to please anyone, but you
are really invested are really focused."
"I just want to support these films and be a part of them in any way
because they are so provocative and interesting."
I don't think it is the narrative necessarily that is the most
important thing I think it is the human interaction that is the most
important thing.
I do see things sometimes that are good, but they don't feel like a
challenge to me personally. Like, in my own life and so often I
think the things that excite me are things that feel a little bit
beyond my grasp.
I am looking for movies that are actually about something and that
are questioning something. Movies that are provocative in some way
and I am also looking for roles that I think will force me to grow
or learn something about myself or the world in order to play them
well. |
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Maggie Gyllenhaal - Filmography |
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The Dark Knight (2008) ....
Rachel Dawes
High Falls (2007)
Stranger Than Fiction (2006) .... Ana Pascal
World Trade Center (2006) .... Allison Jimeno
Monster House (2006) (voice) .... Zee
... aka Neighbourhood Crimes & Peepers (Philippines: English title:
review title)
Paris, je t'aime (2006) .... Liz (segment 'Quartier des Enfants
Rouges')
... aka Paris, I Love You (Hong Kong: English title)
SherryBaby (2006) .... Sherry Swanson
Trust the Man (2005) .... Elaine
The Great New Wonderful (2005) .... Emme Keeler (segment "Emme's
Story")
Happy Endings (2005) .... Jude
Criminal (2004) .... Valerie
The Pornographer: A Love Story (2004) .... Sidney
Strip Search (2004) (TV) .... Linda Sykes
Mona Lisa Smile (2003) .... Giselle Levy
Casa de los babys (2003) .... Jennifer
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002) .... Debbie
... aka Confessions d'un homme dangereux (Canada: French title)
Adaptation. (2002) .... Caroline Cunningham
40 Days and 40 Nights (2002) .... Sam
... aka 40 jours et 40 nuits (France)
Secretary (2002) .... Lee Holloway
Riding in Cars with Boys (2001) .... Amelia
Donnie Darko (2001) .... Elizabeth Darko
... aka Donnie Darko: The Director's Cut (USA: director's cut)
Cecil B. DeMented (2000) .... Raven
... aka Cecil B. Demented (France)
The Photographer (2000) .... Mira
Shake, Rattle and Roll: An American Love Story (1999) (TV)
Resurrection (1999) (TV) .... Mary
Homegrown (1998) .... Christina the Babysitter
The Patron Saint of Liars (1998) (TV) .... Lorraine Thomas
Shattered Mind (1996) (TV) .... Clothes Clerk
... aka The Terror Inside
A Dangerous Woman (1993) .... Patsy Bell
Waterland (1992) .... Maggie Ruth |
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Maggie Gyllenhaal - Related Links |
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Wikipedia: Maggie Gyllenhaal
YouTube: Maggie Gyllenhaal
Maggie Gyllenhaal at Babemania.com
Top Celebrities Sites:
The Celebrity
Cafe |
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