Born on January 17, 1980 in Los Angeles, California, Zooey Deschanel is an American actress, singer and musician. Her family was not new to the entertainment business, as Zooey is the daughter of cinematographer and director Caleb Deschanel and actress Mary Jo Deschanel. Her older sister, Emily, is also an actress. Zooey attended Crossroads, a private preparatory school, and also studied at the French Woods Festival of the Performing Arts summer camp. She planned to pursue a career in musical theater, attending Northwestern University for several months. She soon dropped out to become an actress.
Zooey Deschanel was first seen in a small role on the series Veronica’s Closet. She eventually made her feature film debut in Lawrence Kasdan’s 1999 comedy Mumford. In 2000, Deschanel landed a role in Cameron Crowe’s Almost Famous, playing Anita Miller for her second film. She followed this up with a series of movies, Manic in 2001 and several in 2002. She was in The Good Girl, Big Trouble, The New Guy, Sweet Friggin’ Daisies and Abandon. Soon, she made an appearance on an episode of Frasier. She was declared “one of Hollywood’s most sought-after young stars” by The New York Times in 2002. She turned down several roles before accepting a part in 2003’s All the Real Girls. She received critical applause for her performance as the curious virgin Noel, and got an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Actress. She was next seen alongside Will Ferrell in the comedy Elf, and was also in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy in 2005. She has sung on several productions, notably in the television movie Once Upon a Mattress and Winter Passing. Deschanel was also heard as the character Lani Aliikai in the animated Surf’s Up, and sang in 2007’s The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. She also made an appearance on the acclaimed dark comedy Weeds, playing the character Kat. She was also cast as DG in the Sci Fi Channel miniseries Tin Man, based on L. Frank Baum’s book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. In 2008, she lent her voice once more to a character in The Simpsons, and was cast in M. Night Shyamalan’s mystery film The Happening.
(Photos courtesy of Sci Fi)