62 Facts About Zooey Deschanel

1.

Zooey Claire Deschanel is an American actress and musician.

2.

Zooey Deschanel made her film debut in Mumford and had a supporting role in Cameron Crowe's film Almost Famous.

3.

Zooey Deschanel has ventured into dramatic film territory with Manic, All the Real Girls, Winter Passing, Bridge to Terabithia, The Happening and The Driftless Area.

4.

Zooey Deschanel received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Song Written for Visual Media for "So Long", which was featured on the soundtrack of the 2011 film Winnie the Pooh.

5.

Zooey Deschanel is a co-founder of the female-focused website HelloGiggles, which was acquired by Time, Inc in 2015.

6.

Zooey Claire Deschanel was born in Los Angeles, California, the younger daughter of cinematographer and director Caleb Deschanel and actress Mary Jo Deschanel.

7.

Zooey Deschanel was named after Zooey Glass, the male protagonist of JD Salinger's 1961 novella Franny and Zooey.

8.

Zooey Deschanel lived in Los Angeles, but spent much of her childhood traveling because her father shot films on location; she later said that she:.

9.

Zooey Deschanel attended Crossroads, a private preparatory school in Santa Monica, where she befriended future co-stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Kate Hudson.

10.

Zooey Deschanel sang throughout high school, planning to pursue a career in musical theatre and attending French Woods Festival of the Performing Arts.

11.

Zooey Deschanel attended Northwestern University for nine months before dropping out to pursue acting.

12.

Zooey Deschanel had a guest appearance on the television series Veronica's Closet in 1998.

13.

Zooey Deschanel made her film debut in Lawrence Kasdan's comedy Mumford, revolving around the neurotic residents in a small town and co-starring Hope Davis, Jason Lee, Alfre Woodard and Mary McDonnell.

14.

Zooey Deschanel was a judge for the ninth Independent Music Awards.

15.

Zooey Deschanel co-starred in Cameron Crowe's semi-autobiographical Almost Famous, where she played Anita Miller, the rebellious older sister of a teenage journalist.

16.

Zooey Deschanel appeared in the independent drama Manic, as the love interest of a troubled teen.

17.

The New York Times found Zooey Deschanel to be "particularly spontaneous, unaffected and emotionally direct" in her role.

18.

Zooey Deschanel portrayed a cynical, plain-spoken young woman working in a big-box store in the black dramedy The Good Girl, opposite Jennifer Aniston and Jake Gyllenhaal.

19.

Zooey Deschanel made a one-episode appearance in Frasier, as Roz's out-of-control Cousin, Jen.

20.

The New York Times reported that Zooey Deschanel was "one of Hollywood's most sought-after young stars", in 2002, and the Los Angeles Times wrote in early 2003 that Zooey Deschanel had become a recognizable type, due to "her deadpan, sardonic and scene-stealing [film] performances" as the protagonist's best friend.

21.

Zooey Deschanel received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Actress.

22.

Also in 2003, Zooey Deschanel starred opposite Will Ferrell in the Christmas comedy Elf as a deadpan department store worker and the love interest of a man raised by Santa's elves.

23.

In 2004, Zooey Deschanel starred in Eulogy, and in 2005 played Trillian in the film adaptation of Douglas Adams's science fiction novel The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

24.

Zooey Deschanel acted in Winter Passing, co-starring Will Ferrell.

25.

Zooey Deschanel next appeared in Failure to Launch, as the neurotic roommate of Sarah Jessica Parker's character.

26.

Zooey Deschanel had a recurring role in four episodes of the Showtime television series Weeds from 2006 to 2007 where she played Kat, Andy Botwin's quirky ex-girlfriend.

27.

In September 2006, it was announced that Zooey Deschanel had signed on to play 1960s singer Janis Joplin in the film The Gospel According to Janis, to be co-written and directed by Penelope Spheeris.

28.

Zooey Deschanel expressed frustration with the cancellation, saying she had spent three years working on imitating Joplin's scratchy singing voice.

29.

In 2007, Zooey Deschanel appeared in Bridge to Terabithia, in which she played a quirky music teacher, and the animated film Surf's Up, voicing a penguin.

30.

Zooey Deschanel took on the brief role of Dorothy Evans in the revisionist Western The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and starred in the B comedy Flakes, which was released in only one theater.

31.

Zooey Deschanel starred as DG in the Syfy miniseries Tin Man, a re-imagined science fiction version of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

32.

Zooey Deschanel voiced Mary, Cletus's daughter in three episodes of The Simpsons since debuting on the April 27,2008, episode, "Apocalypse Cow".

33.

Zooey Deschanel starred in the independent comedy Gigantic, which screened at the Toronto International Film Festival and was distributed for a limited release in certain parts of the United States only.

34.

Zooey Deschanel reunited with Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the independent romantic drama about the development and demise of a relationship Days of Summer.

35.

In December 2009, Zooey Deschanel guest-starred in a Christmas episode of the Fox crime procedural comedy-drama Bones, which was the first-ever on-screen pairing of the Zooey Deschanel sisters.

36.

Zooey Deschanel starred in the comedy Our Idiot Brother as the independent and bisexual sister of a dimwitted but idealistic man.

37.

Zooey Deschanel played Belladonna in the stoner fantasy-comedy Your Highness, with Danny McBride and James Franco.

38.

Zooey Deschanel signed on to star as a bubbly and offbeat teacher Jessica "Jess" Day on the Fox sitcom New Girl, created by Elizabeth Meriwether.

39.

Zooey Deschanel became a producer on the show and helped build the character, which she has described as a part of her, especially in regards to "the sort of enthusiasm and optimism" of her youth.

40.

The series premiered in September 2011, and USA Today described her performance as "a role tailored to launch her from respected indie actor to certified [television] star, Zooey Deschanel soars, combining well-honed skills with a natural charm".

41.

Zooey Deschanel has received an Emmy Award nomination and three Golden Globe nominations for her role.

42.

Zooey Deschanel obtained the role of a mysterious woman in the neo-noir drama The Driftless Area, screened at the Tribeca Film Festival and released on video on demand and home media.

43.

In December 2020, Zooey Deschanel appeared in the music video for Katy Perry's song "Not the End of the World".

44.

In 2001, Zooey Deschanel formed If All the Stars Were Pretty Babies, a jazz cabaret act with fellow actress Samantha Shelton.

45.

In March 2007, Zooey Deschanel contributed vocals to two songs "Slowly" and "Ask Her to Dance" on the album Nighttiming by Jason Schwartzman's band Coconut Records.

46.

Zooey Deschanel recorded "The Fabric of My Life" for a 2009 advertising campaign for Cotton Incorporated.

47.

On October 23,2011, Zooey Deschanel performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" before game four of the World Series between the Texas Rangers and the St Louis Cardinals at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Texas.

48.

Zooey Deschanel contributed a cover of Buddy Holly's "It's So Easy" for the tribute album Listen to Me: Buddy Holly, released on September 6,2011.

49.

Zooey Deschanel then brought Deschanel onstage and the two sang a duet of the title song.

50.

On September 21,2012, it was announced that Zooey Deschanel was producing the comedy Must Be Nice, written by New Girl consulting producer JJ Philbin.

51.

Response towards the album was positive, with Robert Hamm for Alternative Press writing that Zooey Deschanel "is a delight, at times coy and romantic, and in other moments, moody and pensive".

52.

Zooey Deschanel appeared as a guest vocalist on Brian Wilson's album No Pier Pressure.

53.

Zooey Deschanel made her on-screen singing debut in The New Guy.

54.

Zooey Deschanel appears with M Ward in a number of songs on the soundtrack album for Disney's animated version of Winnie the Pooh, earning a Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media nomination for "So Long".

55.

Zooey Deschanel wrote and performed the theme song to New Girl.

56.

In 2016, Zooey Deschanel voiced Bridget, the scullery maid in the animated film Trolls.

57.

Zooey Deschanel had a gluten allergy, but stated in a 2022 interview on Armchair Expert that she no longer suffers from it.

58.

Zooey Deschanel used to be a vegan, which she gave up because she found it difficult to eat enough calories on a vegan diet due to her sensitivities to wheat and soy.

59.

In December 2008, Zooey Deschanel became engaged to musician Ben Gibbard, lead vocalist for Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service.

60.

Zooey Deschanel filed for divorce on December 27,2011, citing "irreconcilable differences".

61.

Zooey Deschanel confirmed her engagement to film producer Jacob Pechenik in January 2015, and they married in June 2015.

62.

Zooey Deschanel met Property Brothers star Jonathan Scott while filming an episode of Carpool Karaoke: The Series in August 2019.