Jennifer Connelly

Profile
Name: Jennifer Connelly
Birth Name: Jennifer Lynn Connelly
Height: 5' 7½''
Sex: F
Nationality: American
Birth Date: December 12, 1970
Birth Place: Catskill Mountains, New York, USA
Profession: Actress
Education: St. Ann's, Brooklyn Heights, New York
Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut (majored in Theater and English; left after second year) Stanford University in Stanford, California
Husband/Wife: Paul Bettany (British; actor; born on May 27, 1971; married on January 1, 2003; met while filming A Beautiful Mind - 2001)
Relationship: Josh Charles (actor; born on September 15, 1971; dating in 2000), David Dugan (photographer), Billy Campbell (actor; born on July 7, 1959; together 1990-1995; engaged in 1991)
Father: Gerad Connelly (clothing manufacturer)
Mother: Eileen Connelly (antique dealer)
Son: Kai Dugan (born in July 1997; father: David Dugan)
Claim to fame: As Jenny Blake in The Rocketeer (1991)

Biography
Born December 12, 1970, in the Catskill Mountains of New York State, Jennifer is an accomplished star actress. Jennifer grew up in Brooklyn Heights, except for the four years her family spent in Woodstock, New York. Her father, Gerard Connelly, is a clothing manufacturer, and her mother, Eileen Connelly, is a massage therapist and former antiques dealer. She attended Saint Ann's school in Brooklyn, enrolled at Yale, then transferred two years later to Stanford. Her academic studies included interests in Quantum Physics and philosophy. Jennifer is trained in classical theater and improvisation, having studied with the late drama coach Roy London and with Howard Fine and Harold Guskin. She speaks fluent Italian, French and is semi fluent in Japanese.

When Jennifer was 10, a family friend who was an advertising executive suggested that her parents take her to a modeling audition. She began doing modeling work through the Ford Agency, appearing in magazine ads for Seventeen magazine and soon moved on to TV commercials. She also appeared in a Miller Beer commercial. A casting director saw Jennifer and introduced her to Sergio Leone, who was seeking a young girl to dance in his gangster epic "Once Upon a Time in America". Jennifer got the part, and this was her first movie appearance, and the big break that launched her career.

Jennifer enjoys physical activities such as swimming, gymnastics, bike riding, and roller skating. She is very much the outdoors person, being into camping, hiking and walking. What attracts many people to Jennifer, is not so much the kind of characters or roles she plays but her alluring style and charm which connects her to the audience. Jennifer seems able to bring this talent into all her roles. Being one of the most attractive women ever to grace the screen also helps considerably! Jennifer has matured into one of the most versatile actresses on the screen.

Filmography
Actress
2007 9
2007 Reservation Road
2007 Macbeth
2006 Little Children
2006 Blood Diamond
2005 Dark Water
2003 House of Sand and Fog
2003 The Hulk
2001 A Beautiful Mind
2000 Waking the Dead
2000 Pollock
2000 Requiem for a Dream
2000 The $treet [TV Series]
1998 Dark City
1997 Inventing the Abbotts
1996 Far Harbor
1996 Mulholland Falls
1995 Higher Learning
1994 Of Love and Shadows
1993 The Heart of Justice
1992 Roy Orbison: I Drove All Night
1991 The Rocketeer
1991 Career Opportunities
1990 The Hot Spot
1989 Etoile
1988 Some Girls
1986 Seven Minutes in Heaven
1986 Inside the Labyrinth
1986 Labyrinth
1985 Dario Argento's World of Horror
1984 Phenomena
1984 Once Upon a Time in America

Awards
Academy
2001 Best Supporting Actress Beautiful Mind

American Film Institute
2001 Best Supporting Actress Beautiful Mind

British Academy Awards
2001 Best Supporting Actress Beautiful Mind

Broadcast Film Critics Association
2001 Best Supporting Actress Beautiful Mind
2001 Best Supporting Actress Beautiful Mind

Golden Globe
2001 Best Supporting Actress Beautiful Mind

Independent Spirit Award
2000 Best Supporting Actress Requiem for a Dream

Screen Actors Guild
2001 Best Actress Beautiful Mind

Trivia
* Is in negotiations to star opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in Warner Bros. Pictures' dramatic thriller THE BLOOD DIAMOND. (October 13, 2005)* Is in talks to star alongside Kate Winslet in LITTLE CHILDREN, a film based on Tom Perrotta's novel. (April 27, 2005)
* Connelly says winning an Academy Award for A BEAUTIFUL MIND hasn't improved her job offers very much, saying “There is still a hierarchy, a food chain, that I am not at the top of. I'm not necessarily the greatest box-office draw. (July 11, 2003)
* Connelly is planning a water birth in London for her second child, but she's worried it might be a weirder experience than she's been led to believe -- She says, I think it would be a bit disconcerting because the baby comes out still attached to the umbilical chord and it must be weird to see your baby submerged in water.” (June 27, 2003)
* Connelly admits she once seriously considered quitting acting because she couldn't find any decent roles – The actress explains, “These movies I'd been making in no way reflect my taste as a moviegoer. It got to a point where I didn't want to work in movies anymore because it became too embarrassing and humiliating.” (June 25, 2003)
* Pregnant Connelly already knows she is expecting a baby boy but finding a name for the tot is proving difficult -- Connelly and hubby Paul Bettany are still pondering a suitable moniker for the baby that they admit they’ll call him 'It' for a little bit. (June 14, 2003)
* Her character in WAKING THE DEAD (2000/II) (TV) is named Sarah Williams, the same as her character in LABYRINTH (1986).
* Her character's father worked in the garment industry in REQUIEM FOR A DREAM. In reality, Connelly's father also is in the garment industry.
* The role of Anne in RING (2001) was first offered to Jennifer Connelly. The script was then offered to Gwyneth Paltrow, and then to Kate Beckinsale, and finally Naomi Watts.
* We repeatedly see Connelly's character standing at the end of a pier as Jared Leto's character walks toward her in REQUIEM FOR A DREAM (2000); this closely resembles a shot in the final scene of DARK CITY (1998) with Connelly and Rufus Sewell. According to director, Darren Aronofsky, this was a pure coincidence; when he came up with the image, based on a moment in his own life, he had yet not cast Connelly, nor even seen DARK CITY.
* Nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role at Screen Actors Guild Awards for A BEAUTIFUL MIND (2002)
* Nominated for Outstanding Performance by the Cast of a Theatrical Motion Picture at Screen Actors Guild Awards for A BEAUTIFUL MIND (2002)
* Was nominated Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female in 2001 for REQUIREM FOR A DREAM.
* Connelly found filming the forthcoming THE HULK movie a humiliating experience - because she had to act to a cardboard head. (August 2002)