JENNIFER CONNELLY
Birth name
Jennifer Lynn Connelly
Date of birth (location)
12 December 1970,
Catskill Mountains, New York, USA
Height
5' 8"
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Mini biography
Grew up in Brooklyn Heights, just across the Brooklyn Bridge from Manhattan, except for the four years her family spent in Woodstock, New York. Back in Brooklyn Heights, she attended Saint Ann school. Her father was in the garment industry, and a close friend of the family was an advertising executive. When Jennifer was 10, the friend suggested that her parents take her to a modelling audition. She began appearing in newspaper and magazine ads (see Seventeen magazine pictures) and soon moved on to TV commercials. A casting director saw the girl and introduced her to Sergio Leone, who was seeking a young girl to dance in his gangster epic "Once Upon a Time in America." Enrolled at Yale, then transferred two years later to Stanford. First appearance on celluloid was a British TV series "Tales Of The Unexpected". Her first movie appearance was in Dario Argento's Phenomena (1985). Has appeared in 1 rock video: "I Drove All Night", a Roy Orbison Song, co-starring Jason Priestly. There is a rumor she appeared briefly in a Duran Duran video. Is appearing in an upcoming Miller Beer commercial. Released a single called "Monologue Of Love" in Japan mid-eighties, in which she sings in Japanese a charming little song with semi classical instruments arrangement. B-side is "Message Of Love" which is an interview with music in background. Trained in classical theatre and improvisation, studying with the late drama coach Roy London and with Howard Fine and Harold Guskin. She did TV commercials in Japan. Was "engaged" in an unconventional sense i.e. no real plans to marry, to Bill Cambell, her co-star in "The Rocketeer". They were together on and off for about 5 years. Lives in New York. She's five feet seven (about 1, 68 m) Speaks fluent Italian and French. Was a member of Gold's Gym in Venice for a year or two, but is no longer active. Enjoys physical activities such as swimming, gymnastics, bike riding. Is an outdoors person -- camping, hiking and walking. Is interested in Quantum Physics and philosophy. Is fairly level headed and grounded as a person, and is not overly seduced by the Hollywood fantasy. Likes Horses. Likes Pearl Jam, SoundGarden, Jesus Jones. Occasionally wears a small picture of the Dali Lama on a necklace. Favorite colors:cobalt blue, forest green, and" very pale green/gray - sort of like the color of the sea". Likes to draw.
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IMDb mini-biography by
Jean Bergeron
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Mini biography
Once described by David Bowie as resembling a "teenage Elizabeth Taylor," one gets the feeling that Jennifer Connelly may still be waiting for "the film I'm really proud of and really love." Though she has graced the screens of theaters since 1984, Connelly remains an actress undefined by any single role or film. Born in the Catskill Mountains of mid-state New York in December of 1970, and raised in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood of New York City, Connelly got her start in show business as a model at the age of ten. Quickly coming into high demand due to her striking beauty, Connelly often traveled abroad, where she eventually made her acting debut. Initially appearing in an episode of the British horror anthology, Connelly soon found work in small roles, such as the Duran Duran music video for "Union of the Snake," before making her film debut in Sergio Leone's sprawling gangster epic Once Upon a Time in America. Connelly's next film role, as a gifted schoolgirl who teams with an entomologist to solve a string of murders in Dario Argento's Phenomena, proved that the young actress was well capable of handling starring roles. After a memorable Dorothy-esque turn in Jim Henson's fantasy adventure Labyrinth (1986), in which she must rescue her brother from Goblin King Bowie, Connelly seemed to almost disappear for a short while. With parts in films such as The Hot Spot and The Rocketeer, Connelly's roles, while frequent, remained unchallenging and ultimately forgettable. Things began to look up for the talented actress in the mid-'90s. Maturing into an actress capable of taking on challenging roles, Connelly's portrayal of a sensitive lesbian who befriends college freshman Kristy Swanson in John Singleton's Higher Learning hinted at abilities previously unexplored. After small roles in such well-received films as Lee Tamahori's Mulholland Falls and Alex Proyas' Dark City, Connelly was nominated for an Independent Spirit award for her portrayal of a burned out junkie in Darren Aronofsky's emotionally jarring Requiem for a Dream (2000). 2000 also saw another powerful job by Connelly, in the film Waking the Dead, a highly emotional drama in which she gave the movie's outstanding performance. In addition, 2000 brought Connelly her first recurring television role, in the fast-paced Wall Street weekly The $treet, and a role in Ed Harris' directing debut, the Jackson Pollock biopic Pollock.
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IMDb mini-biography by
Ary Luiz Dalazen Jr.<[email protected]>
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Trivia
(July 1997) Son Kai born. Father is photographer David Dugan.
Cut a single in Japan, which she sang in phonetic Japanese. She says her agent made up the idea that she is semi-fluent in the language.
Speaks fluent Italian and French.
Transferred from Yale to Stanford University in fall of 1992 (her work schedule to date has yet to allow her to gain enough credits for her degree). At Stanford she studied drama with the late Roy London and with Howard Fine and Harold Guskin.
(2001) Dating actor Charles, Josh.
Her father, Gerard Connelly, is a clothing manufacturer, and her mother, Eileen Connelly, is an antique dealer.
(2001) Still fiddles with returning to finish her last year at Stanford College.
(1991-1996) Dated Bill Campbell
Dated David Dugan.
Dated Don Johnson.
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Personal quotes
[talking about her son]: "It's changed absolutely everything. I mean, it's changed my life. I think I've changed as a human being more since I've had Kai than in any other period in my life. It's such an incredible catalyst for growth. I found myself questioning absolutely everything: how I spend my time, how I speak, what kind of projects I work on, how I look at the world. I feel things differently, I hear things differently, I feel so much more grounded, I feel so much more myself. The last time I felt this comfortably seated in myself was when I was about eight, and I think that's largely because he's so present all the time, he's so pure. And he demands that of me. There's just so much less time for artifice, and I think that's really affected my work. And I think about it on a conscious level, I think about it in terms of the things that I want to do. I'm constantly reading things and I think, 'Is it worth it for me to spend this time away from him?' Because it's a big sacrifice for me to spend time away. Is the project worth it for me to do that? Is it responsible? Would I want him to see it? Is it going to add anything to the world? Is it going to add more confusion to the world? Will it bring any kind of light into the world? So I think about it on those levels, and then I just feel things so much more deeply. It's like this layer of skin that I had over myself has been removed."
[on working with Billy Crudup]: "I adore him, and I love working with him,it's very fulfilling. Keith [Gordon] had a lot to do with that too:he gave us room to explore our characters, starting in the rehearsal process and continuing throughout the shooting process."
[talking about how she became an actress]: "I was eleven when my agent came and said, 'They're having an audition for a part in Once Upon a Time in America.' It was shot in Brooklyn and Rome. I remember having my 12th birthday on the set in Rome. It was such a good experience, it made me want to do more. Then an Italian horror film came along and gave me an excuse and an opportunity to get back to Italy. I loved it. Then, in a few years, it began to change. I said, 'Do I really want to do this? Or am I just doing it because it came along?' So I took it all apart and put it back together and said, 'Yes, I want to be an actor.'"
[talking about her career]: "I began working when I hadn't yet come into my own, when I was this walking puppet. Some of the movies I did...I look back and cringe. For better or for worse, I feel responsible now. In Requiem for a Dream, I'm a heroin addict, and I thought it was being made for a reason--it wasn't about shock value. It has something to say about hunger and a void."
[talking about what she felt about the script of Requiem for a Dream]: "I was very much looking forward to doing it. When I read the script, it was something I really wanted to do. I thought the script was, in ways, really brilliant. It was so creative, it was so interesting. At the same time, I thought it was really brave. It was talking about really important issues."
[talking about how she took the role she played in Requiem for a Dream out of her system]: "I was really looking forward to getting the role out of my system. I went on vacation afterwards to Costa Rica. I took my two-year-old, and my best friend, and we went and I floated in the ocean for two weeks to cleanse myself. It was hard, really hard to go through, emotionally. It was draining, sad, and uncomfortable."
[talking about the films she did in the beginning of her career]: "I think a lot of it was the level that I was operating on at the time combined with people who were not interested in unearthing the ability in me. I just couldn't do those films anymore; I can't even watch them, it's like, 'Oh God, I can't believe that.' For me I feel like I've changed a lot more in the last few years. I only went to films that I wanted or felt good about: Waking the Dead, Requiem, and I haven't seen Pollock, so I don't know."
"Acting is great. When it works it is so fulfilling. You do the research and work with other talented people who are creative and compassionate and use all your faculties. The ability to express yourself completely is the most wonderful feeling in the world. Each film is a chapter in my life wherein I learn so much more about myself."
Biography from Leonard Maltin's Movie Encyclopedia:
Who'd ever have dreamed that the spindly little girl who danced so enchantingly in Once Upon a Time in America (1984) would grow up to become a pneumatic dream girl of the 1990s? After other juvenile roles in the Italian shocker Creepers (1985), the fantasy Labyrinth and the ro mantic comedy Seven Nights in Heaven (both 1986), the pretty, blue-eyed Connelly took some time off from film work, reappearing as a gorgeous teenager in the offbeat comedy Some Girls (1989). Still angelic-looking, but having matured into a voluptuous young woman, Connelly stunned audiences as a small-town "nice girl" (who appeared in an eye-popping nude scene) in The Hot Spot (1990), and as a spoiled heiress in the teen comedy Career Opportunities (1991), though neither clicked at the box office. She then played the wholesome girlfriend/aspiring actress in The Rocketeer (also 1991), and went on to appear in The Heart of Justice (1993 telefilm), and John Singleton's Higher Learning
(1995
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Filmography as: Actress, Miscellaneous crew, Notable TV guest appearances
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Actress - filmography
(2000s) (1990s) (1980s)
Beautiful Mind, A (2001) .... Alicia Nash
"$treet, The" (2000) TV Series .... Catherine Miller
VH1/Vogue Fashion Awards (2000) (TV)
Pollock (2000) .... Ruth Klingman
Requiem for a Dream (2000) .... Marion Silver
... aka Delusion Over Addiction (2000)
Waking the Dead (2000/I) .... Sarah Williams
Dark City (1998) .... Emma Murdoch/Anna
Inventing the Abbotts (1997) .... Eleanor Abbott
Far Harbor (1996) .... Ellie
Mulholland Falls (1996) .... Allison Pond
Higher Learning (1995) .... Taryn
Of Love and Shadows (1994) .... Irene
... aka De amor y de sombras (1995) (Spain)
Heart of Justice, The (1992) (TV) .... Emma Burgess
Rocketeer: Excitement in the Air (1991) (TV) .... Herself
Rocketeer, The (1991) .... Jenny Blake
Career Opportunities (1991) .... Josie McClellan
... aka One Wild Night (1991)
Hot Spot, The (1990/I) .... Gloria Harper
Some Girls (1989) .... Gabriella 'Gabby' D'Arc
... aka Sisters (1989)
Étoile (1988) .... Claire Hamilton/Natalie Horvath
... aka Ballet (1988)
Inside the Labyrinth (1986) .... Herself
Labyrinth (1986) .... Sarah
Mondo dell'orrore di Dario Argento, Il (1985) .... Herself/Jennifer Corvino
... aka Dario Argento's World of Horror (1985)
Seven Minutes in Heaven (1985) .... Natalie Becker
Phenomena (1985) .... Jennifer Corvino
... aka Creepers (1985) (USA: US version)
Once Upon a Time in America (1984) .... Young Deborah
... aka C'era una volta in America (1984) (Italy)
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Filmography as: Actress, Miscellaneous crew, Notable TV guest appearances
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Miscellaneous crew - filmography
Hamlet (2000/I) (thanks)
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Filmography as: Actress, Miscellaneous crew, Notable TV guest appearances
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Notable TV guest appearances
"Tales of the Unexpected" (1979) 1984
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