Maggie Gyllenhaal facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Maggie Gyllenhaal
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Gyllenhaal in 2021
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Margalit Ruth Gyllenhaal
November 16, 1977 New York City, U.S.
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| Education | Columbia University (BA) |
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| Years active | 1992–present |
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| Children | 2 |
| Parent(s) | Stephen Gyllenhaal Naomi Foner |
| Family | Gyllenhaal |
Margalit Ruth "Maggie" Gyllenhaal (born November 16, 1977) is an American actress and filmmaker. She is part of the famous Gyllenhaal family. Her parents are filmmakers Stephen Gyllenhaal and Naomi Foner, and her younger brother is actor Jake Gyllenhaal.
Gyllenhaal has received many awards for her work. She has been nominated for two Academy Awards and won a Golden Globe Award.
She started acting as a teenager in her father's movies. She later appeared with her brother in the popular film Donnie Darko (2001). Gyllenhaal became well-known for her leading roles in the movies Secretary (2002) and Sherrybaby (2006). For both films, she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award.
She gained wider fame playing Rachel Dawes in the superhero movie The Dark Knight (2008). In 2009, she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Crazy Heart. She also starred in the TV series The Honourable Woman (2014), which won her a Golden Globe.
In 2021, Gyllenhaal directed her first movie, The Lost Daughter. She also wrote the screenplay and was nominated for an Academy Award for her writing.
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Early life and education
Maggie Gyllenhaal was born in New York City. Her full first name is Margalit, which is a Hebrew word for "pearl." She grew up in Los Angeles with her brother, Jake. Her father is a film director, and her mother is a screenwriter.
Her father has Swedish and English roots and is related to a noble Swedish family. Her mother is Jewish, with family from Russia and Poland. Gyllenhaal has said she grew up with Jewish culture.
Gyllenhaal went to the Harvard-Westlake prep school in Los Angeles. After graduating in 1995, she moved back to New York to study at Columbia University. She earned a degree in literature and Eastern religions. She also studied acting for a summer at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London, England.
Acting career
Early roles
Gyllenhaal's first movie role was at age 15 in her father's film Waterland (1992). She also had small parts in his other movies, like A Dangerous Woman (1993). After college, she appeared in films like Cecil B. Demented (2000).
Her role as the older sister in Donnie Darko (2001), where she acted alongside her real-life brother Jake, helped her become more recognized. She also began acting in plays, starting with a production of Closer in 2000.
Breakthrough in film
Gyllenhaal's breakout role was in the 2002 movie Secretary. In this dark comedy, she played a woman in an unusual relationship with her boss. Critics loved her performance, and it earned her a Golden Globe nomination.
After Secretary, she appeared in several other movies. She had a supporting role in Adaptation (2002) and acted with stars like George Clooney and Julia Roberts in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002). In 2003, she co-starred with Julia Roberts again in Mona Lisa Smile.
In 2004, Gyllenhaal was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the group that gives out the Oscar awards.
Major roles and success
In 2006, Gyllenhaal starred in five movies. These included the animated film Monster House and World Trade Center, a movie about the September 11 attacks. She also earned praise for her role in Sherrybaby, where she played a young mother trying to rebuild her life. This role led to her second Golden Globe nomination.
In 2008, she took over the role of Rachel Dawes in The Dark Knight, the sequel to Batman Begins. The movie was a huge success, becoming the highest-grossing film of her career.
The next year, she starred in the drama Crazy Heart with Jeff Bridges. She played a journalist who falls in love with a country musician. Her performance was highly praised and earned her a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Television and recent films
In 2010, Gyllenhaal starred in the family film Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang. She later appeared in movies like the action-thriller White House Down (2013) and the musical comedy Frank (2014).
She also found great success in television. In 2014, she played the main character in the BBC miniseries The Honourable Woman. For this role, she won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress. From 2017 to 2019, she produced and starred in the HBO series The Deuce, playing a woman involved in the entertainment industry in 1970s New York.
Directing and writing
In 2021, Gyllenhaal directed her first movie, The Lost Daughter. She also wrote the screenplay, which was based on a novel. The film was a huge success with critics. Gyllenhaal won the Best Screenplay Award at the Venice Film Festival. She was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Her next project as a director is The Bride!, a new version of the Frankenstein story. It will star Christian Bale and her brother, Jake Gyllenhaal.
Personal life
Gyllenhaal began dating actor Peter Sarsgaard in 2002. They got engaged in 2006 and were married in Italy on May 2, 2009. The couple has two daughters, born in 2006 and 2012.
Gyllenhaal is active in politics and supports social causes. She has encouraged people to vote and has supported the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), a group that works to protect people's rights.
She also supports charities. She has helped raise money for Witness, an organization that uses video to show human rights issues. She is also an ambassador for the Hear the World Foundation, which helps people with hearing loss.
See also
In Spanish: Maggie Gyllenhaal para niños
