Evan Rachel Wood facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Evan Rachel Wood
Wood in 2022
Born	(1987-09-07) September 7, 1987 (age 37) Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1993–present
Spouse(s)	Jamie Bell ​ ​ (m. 2012; div. 2014)​
Children	1
Parent(s)	Ira David Wood III (father)
Awards	Full list

Evan Rachel Wood (born September 7, 1987) is an American actress. She has won a Critics' Choice Television Award and has been nominated for many other big awards, like the Primetime Emmy Awards and Golden Globe Awards.

She started acting in the 1990s, appearing in TV shows like Once and Again (1999–2002). When she was nine, she started acting in movies with Digging to China (1997). She became well-known for her role as a troubled teenager in the movie Thirteen (2003), which earned her a Golden Globe nomination. After acting in some smaller films, Wood appeared in bigger movies like The Wrestler (2008), Whatever Works (2009), and The Ides of March (2011).

She returned to TV in the show True Blood (2009–2011) and also played a role in the HBO miniseries Mildred Pierce (2011). For Mildred Pierce, she was nominated for a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award. She then starred as a smart robot named Dolores Abernathy in the HBO series Westworld (2016–2022). For this role, she won a Critics' Choice Award and was nominated for Golden Globe and Emmy Awards. Wood also lent her voice to the Disney animated movie Frozen II (2019) and played Madonna in Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (2022).

Evan Rachel Wood's Early Life and Family

Wood was born in Raleigh, North Carolina. Her mother, Sara Lynn Moore, is an actress, director, and acting coach. Her mother raised her in the Jewish faith. Her father, Ira David Wood III, is an actor, theater director, and playwright who is well-known in Raleigh. He helped start a community theater company called Theatre in the Park. Evan's brother, Ira David Wood IV, is also an actor. She has two other brothers, Dana and Thomas, and a sister named Aden.

Wood was very involved in Theatre in the Park as she grew up. She even appeared in her father's play A Christmas Carol when she was just a few months old! Later, she played the Ghost of Christmas Past in many shows there. She also starred as Helen Keller alongside her mother (who played Anne Sullivan) in a play called The Miracle Worker, directed by her father.

She went to Cary Elementary School in Cary, North Carolina, where she acted in the school's play of The Little Mermaid. After her parents separated, Wood moved with her mother to Los Angeles, California, in 1997 to help her acting career grow. She went to public school in California for a while before being homeschooled at age 12. She finished high school when she was 15. She also earned a black belt in taekwondo when she was 12 years old!

Evan Rachel Wood's Acting Career

Starting Her Acting Journey (1993–2000)

Evan Rachel Wood began her acting career in 1993, appearing in several TV movies filmed in her home state of North Carolina. Her first acting role was in Death in Small Doses. She also had regular roles in the TV shows American Gothic (1995–1996) and Profiler (1998–1999). For her role in Profiler, she was nominated for an award for young actresses.

Wood's first big movie role was in the 1997 film Digging to China. She played a ten-year-old girl who becomes friends with a man who sees the world differently, played by Kevin Bacon. This movie was filmed in North Carolina and won an award at the Chicago International Children's Film Festival. Wood said this role helped her decide that she wanted to keep acting forever. The next year, she was in Practical Magic, a fantasy film with Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman. She was nominated for another young actress award for this role. After that, she was in the 1999 TV thriller Down Will Come Baby.

From 1999 to 2002, Wood was a regular on the ABC family TV show Once and Again. She played Jessie Sammler, a character who dealt with her parents' divorce and other personal challenges. For her acting as Jessie, Wood won an award with her co-stars for best group performance in a TV series.

Becoming a Star (2001–2005)

Wood became a leading film actress in 2001 with Little Secrets. She played Emily Lindstrom, a 14-year-old who dreams of becoming a concert violinist. She was nominated for an award for best young leading actress for this role. Next, Wood had a supporting role in the 2002 science fiction film Simone, which starred Al Pacino. In the same year, Wood was named "One to Watch" at the Young Hollywood Awards.

Wood's breakthrough movie role was in Catherine Hardwicke's 2003 film Thirteen. She played Tracy Louise Freeland. Her performance was highly praised, and she was nominated for a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild award for Best Lead Actress. Around the time Thirteen came out, Wood was on the cover of Vogue magazine, which called her one of Hollywood's "It Girls." She also appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine's Young Hollywood issue in July 2003, along with eight other teen actresses. Later that year, she had a supporting role with Cate Blanchett and Tommy Lee Jones in Ron Howard's The Missing. She played Lilly Gilkeson, a kidnapped daughter, and was nominated for another young actress award.

In 2005, Wood appeared with Kevin Costner and Joan Allen in The Upside of Anger. In this movie, Wood played Lavender "Popeye" Wolfmeyer, one of four sisters dealing with their father's absence. Her character also told the story of the film. Wood's next two main roles were in independent films. In the 2005 film Pretty Persuasion, Wood played Kimberly Joyce, a clever high-schooler. One critic said, "Wood acts with such clear, easy style and with such obvious joy in being naughty that you can't help but like her." David Jacobson's Down in the Valley came out later that year. In this movie, Wood's character, Tobe, falls in love with an older man, played by Edward Norton, who is a cowboy living in modern times. People said that Wood showed all the strong feelings and sensitive parts of being a teenager in her performance. Also in 2005, Wood was in music videos for Bright Eyes' "At the Bottom of Everything" and Green Day's "Wake Me Up When September Ends".

Independent Films and New Roles (2006–2008)

Wood at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival

By 2006, The Guardian newspaper called Wood "one of the best actresses of her generation." Later that year, she received an award for new talent at Premiere magazine's Women in Hollywood event. Also in 2006, Wood was part of a group of famous actors in the film Running with Scissors, playing Natalie Finch. This film was based on a true story about a boy's childhood in a family that had many problems.

Wood had roles in two films released in September 2007. King of California, which first showed at the Sundance Film Festival, is about a jazz musician (Michael Douglas) and his teenage daughter, Miranda (Wood). They are reunited after he leaves a mental hospital and go on a search for Spanish treasure. One review praised Wood's acting as "excellent." The second film was Across the Universe, a musical movie that uses songs by the Beatles. It was nominated for a Golden Globe Award. Set during the 1960s, Wood played Lucy, an American teen who starts a relationship with her brother's British friend Jude (Jim Sturgess). She sang in the movie and has said it's her favorite role. A critic wrote that "Wood brings much-needed emotional depth."

Wood also provided the voice for an alien named Mala in Battle for Terra, a 2007 animated science fiction film. It's about a peaceful alien planet that is in danger because humans want to live there. The film won a big award at the Ottawa International Animation Festival in 2008. In 2007, Wood also starred in The Life Before Her Eyes, playing the younger version of Uma Thurman's character, Diana. One critic called her performance "hands-down extraordinary." Wood said that this film would be the last one where she played a teenager.

The next year, she co-starred in Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler. This movie won an award at the Venice Film Festival. It's about Randy "Ram" Robinson (Mickey Rourke), a professional wrestler who has to stop wrestling after a heart attack. Wood played Stephanie, Robinson's daughter, who he had not seen for a long time. A critic wrote that "Wood provides a fine match for Rourke in their difficult scenes together."

Continuing Success in Film and TV (2009–Present)

Wood at the premiere of Whatever Works in April 2009

Wood co-starred in Woody Allen's Whatever Works, which first showed in 2009. She played the young wife of Larry David's character. In May 2009, she played Juliet in six special performances of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet to raise money. Her brother Ira directed the play and also acted in it. That same year, Wood was named "Young Hollywood Superstar" at the Young Hollywood Awards.

Wood had a regular role in the TV show True Blood from 2009 to 2011, playing Sophie-Anne Leclerq. Wood also had a role in the film The Conspirator, which was about the events after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. She also appeared in The Ides of March. She played the main character's daughter in the 2011 HBO miniseries Mildred Pierce. For this role, she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and a Primetime Emmy Award.

Wood in 2019

Wood starred with Chris Evans in a 2010 ad campaign for Gucci fragrances. Both actors appeared in more ads in 2013 and 2016. Wood played Gabi in the 2013 romantic thriller film Charlie Countryman with Shia LaBeouf and Rupert Grint. She voiced Marianne in the 2015 animated film Strange Magic.

In 2016, Wood began starring as a smart robot named Dolores Abernathy in the HBO science fiction Western series Westworld. Her performance was highly praised as "spectacular" and "a tremendous technical achievement."

In August 2019, Wood announced that she would voice Queen Iduna in Frozen II. The movie was released in November 2019 and was a big success. She later appeared in Kajillionaire in 2020 and Backspot in 2023. In January 2023, Wood and Amanda Seyfried did a reading for a musical version of Thelma & Louise.

In 2024, she started performing in the musical Little Shop of Horrors in New York City.

Other Projects and Music

Music Career

In 2012, Wood recorded the song "I'd Have You Anytime" for an album called Chimes of Freedom: The Songs of Bob Dylan Honoring 50 Years of Amnesty International. This album helped raise money for the organization. In 2016, she performed as part of an electro-pop duo called Rebel and a Basketcase with musician Zach Villa. The duo stopped performing together in August 2017. Wood is also one half of a cover band called Evan + Zane, which she started with guitarist/singer-songwriter Zane Carney in 2018. Evan + Zane released their first CD, called Dreams, in December 2022.

Wood appeared on the Billboard Hot 100 music chart for the first time in 2019. This happened when "Show Yourself", a song she sang with Idina Menzel from the Frozen II soundtrack, entered the chart at number 99. The song later reached number 70.

Evan Rachel Wood's Personal Life

Wood has shared that her mother is Jewish and that she was raised in the Jewish faith. In 2012, she said, "I believe in God but I am not religious. I am spiritual. My definition of God isn't in any religion. It's very personal."

Wood dated English actor Jamie Bell from 2005 to 2006. They got back together in 2011 and were married in October 2012. They had a son in July 2013. In May 2014, they announced that they were separating.

Evan Rachel Wood's Filmography

Movies

Television Shows

Music Videos

See also

In Spanish: Evan Rachel Wood para niños