Maggie Gyllenhaal

Maggie Gyllenhaal (born Margaret Ruth Gyllenhaal, 16.11.1977)

Maggie Gyllenhaal is an American film actress.

Maggie Gyllenhaal: Childhood

Maggie Gyllenhaal was born to Stephen and Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal in New York. Her father is a film director and her mother is a screenwriter. Her brother, Jake Gyllenhaal is also an actor (both brother and sister appeared in the cult classic Donnie Darko. Stephen and Naomi divorced in 2008, having been married for over 30 years.

Maggie Gyllenhaal studied at Harvard-Westlake prep school. After graduating, she moved to New York, where she studied literature and Eastern religions at Columbia University.

Gyllenhaal also studied at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

Maggie Gyllenhaal: Acting Career

Maggie Gyllenhaal's introduction into feature film acting came in the early 1990s, when she appeared in three films directed by her father. The first was 1992's Waterland, starring Jeremy Irons, Ethan Hawke and Sinéad Cusack. Second was A Dangerous Woman, with Debra Winger and Laurie Metcalfe. The third was Homegrown, which also starred her brother, as well as Billy Bob Thornton and Hank Azaria.

Gyllenhaal's stage debut came in 2000, when she appeared in the Berkeley Repertory Theatre's production of Closer, by Patrick Marber. Since then she has also appeared in The Tempest, Antony and Cleopatra and No Exit.

In 2000, Maggie Gyllenhaal landed a supporting role in Cecil B. Demented, a darkly comic cult film, starring Melanie Griffith, Stephen Dorff and Alicia Witt. The following year, she had another supporting role in Riding in Cars With Boys, starring Drew Barrymore and Brittany Murphy.

A pivotal role for Gylenhaal also came in 2001, when she played her brother's on-screen sister win Donnie Darko. The film, which gradually became an underground hit, also featured Drew Barrymore, Patrick Swayze and Noah Wyle.

Maggie Gyllenhaal's breakthrough role came in 2002, with the release of Secretary, in which she took a lead role opposite James Spader. Her performance earned her her first Golden Globe nomination.

Gyllenhaal's next performance was a supporting role in Adaptation. Starring Nicolas Cage, Adaptation tells the story of the screenwriter Charlie Kaufman and his struggle to film an adaptation of The Orchid Thief. Later on in 2002, Gyllenhaal appeared in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. The film benefitted from an all-star cast, which featured Drew Barrymore, Sam Rockwell, Julia Roberts and George Clooney. The film was a huge success and grossed over $33 million across the globe.

2003 saw Maggie Gyllenhaal working with Julia Roberts in Mona Lisa Smile. Most film critics were unimpressed with the film. Gyllenhaal followed Mona Lisa Smile with a number of smaller independent films. The first was Casa de los Babys, in which she shared screen time with Marcia Gay Harden and Daryl Hannah. The second was Criminal, in 2004, with John C Reilly and Diego Luna. Later that year, she starred in the HBO movie, Strip Search.

In 2005, Maggie Gyllenhaal appeared in Happy Endings, a comedy-drama with Jason Ritter and Tom Arnold. The following year was a busy one for Maggie Gyllenhaal, when she appeared in no fewer than five feature length movies. Trust the Man starred Billy Crudup, David Duchovny and Julianne Moore. Stranger than Fiction starred Will Ferrell, Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson, Monster House was a CGI film, featuring voices from Steve Buscemi and Kathleen Turner, Oliver Stone's World Trade Centre featured Nicolas Cage, Maria Bello and Stephen Dorff. Finally Sherrybaby saw Gyllenhaal in the lead role, playing a drug addict recently released from prison and trying to patch her life together.

In The Dark Knight (2008), Maggie Gyllenhaal replaced Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes, Assistant District Attorney. The Dark Knight, directed by Christopher Nolan, was released after Heath Ledger's death and also starred Christian Bale, Michael Caine and Gary Oldman.

In early 2010, it was announced that Maggie Gyllenhaal had received an Oscar nomination for her role in Crazy Heart a musical drama starring Jeff Bridges. Bridges also landed an Oscar nomination for his own performance.

Maggie Gyllenhaal: Personal Life

Maggie Gyllenhaal has been in a relationship with the actor Peter Sarsgaard since 2002. The have a daughter, Romana, born in 2006. Maggie and Peter married in 2009 in Brindisi, Italy.