American film actress and former child model Jennifer Connelly was born on December 12, 1970 in the Catskill Mountains, New York. She was raised in Brooklyn Heights and attended St. Ann’s School. Her modeling career began when a friend of her father suggested she audition at a modeling agency. This led her to start a career appearing on newspapers and magazine ads, before being featured on television commercials. She then appeared as an extra in an episode of Tales of the Unexpected, before her film career began.
Jennifer Connelly was first cast in the 1984 film Once Upon a Time in America, a supporting role she acquired when she was 11. This was followed by a role as Jennifer Corvino in the horror Phenomena, directed by Dario Argento. She was also in the coming-of-age film Seven Minutes in Heaven. The role that led her to fame was as Sarah in the cult film Labyrinth in 1986, where she co-starred with David Bowie. She then appeared in other films that were neither critically nor commercially successful. Among these were Étoile and Some Girls in 1988. Connelly was also in The Hot Spot, directed by Dennis Hopper. She gained more popularity with her role in Career Opportunities as Josie McCellan. In 1991, she was featured on the magazine Esquire, and also appeared in the music video for “I Drove All Night.” In 1992, she began studying English at Yale University before transferring to Stanford two years later.
Connelly can also be seen in the Disney film The Rocketeer in 1991, but her breakthrough came when she starred in 2000’s Requiem for a Dream. That year, she was also cast in the biopic Pollock and Waking the Dead. In 2001, she was cast in Ron Howard’s critically acclaimed A Beautiful Mind. Her performance earned her a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. In 2003, Jennifer Connelly was given a role in Hulk, which wasn’t much of a box office success. She has also played the role of Kathy in House of Sand and Fog, a film based on Andre Dubus III’s novel. She was nominated for multiple Academy Awards for her work on the adaptation of Little Children and Blood Diamond, where she starred with Leonardo diCaprio. In 2007, she was cast opposite Joaquin Phoenix in Reservation Road, and appeared in He’s Just Not That Into You with Drew Barrymore the next year.