Maggie Gyllenhaal

Margaret Ruth Gyllenhaal (born November 16, 1977) is a Golden Globe-nominated American actress.

Biography

Early life

Gyllenhaal (pronounced ^*) was born in New York City. She is the daughter of part-Swedish American director Stephen Gyllenhaal and Ashkenazi Jewish American writer / producer Naomi Foner, and the sister of actor Jake Gyllenhaal. The family are descendants of the Swedish noble Gyllenhaal family.

She is a graduate of Harvard Westlake, a prep school in Los Angeles. While there, she attended a semester away program in Vershire, Vermont called The Mountain School. She graduated from Columbia University in 1998, and spent a summer studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts.

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 in 2001.

Gyllenhaal's break-out role was in Secretary, which earned her widespread acclaim including a Golden Globe nomination. She has followed up with roles in Adaptation., John Sayles's Casa de los Babys and Mona Lisa Smile alongside Julia Roberts.

She has appeared on the stage on both sides of the Atlantic in, Anthony and Cleopatra and Homebody Kabul among others.

She has modelled 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.^* Sarsgaard is close friends with her brother Jake and co-starred with him in the film Jarhead. Maggie also maintains 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.

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 "the red carpet nor an interview about a movie is the right place to talk about my politics."Gyllenhaal later met with Port Authority officer Will Jimeno and his wife, Allison, who Gyllenhaal depicted in the 2006 film, World Trade Center. Gyllenhaal said she would have left the project if they wanted her to, but Allison said they felt comfortable with her and "had no problem with her in this movie."^*

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
2005	Happy Endings	Jude
2004	Criminal	Valerie
2004	Strip Search		TV
2003	Mona Lisa Smile	Giselle Lev
2003	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
2001	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
1998	The Patron Saint of Liars	Lorraine Thomas	TV
1996	Shattered Mind	Clothes clerk	TV
1993	A Dangerous Woman	Patsy
1992	Waterland	Maggie Ruth

External links