Jennifer Connelly
Biography
Jennifer
Connelly was born December 12, 1970, in Catskill Mountains, New
York, to parents Gerard, a clothing manufacturer, and Eileen, an
antique dealer.
Although
she claims she was tiny and mousy as a child, she was certainly
pretty enough to appear in magazines such as Seventeen at the age
of 10, after a friend of her father's recommended that she model.
Signed
with Ford models, Jennifer did her share of print and television
before appearing in front of cameras as an actress. While a student
at St. Ann's School, she landed a role as a young Elisabeth McGovern
for a flashback sequence in the mobster film, Once Upon a Time in
America, starring Robert De Niro.
With
only an appearance on the television show, Tales of the Unexpected
on her acting resume, she was soon on her way, but her next outings,
Creepers (aka Phenomena and Seven Minutes in Heaven) weren't the
answers to her breaking through.
What
helped her find her way out of obscurity was her lead role opposite
David Bowie in Jim Henson and George Lucas' 1986 film, Labyrinth.
Her role placed her into the spotlight, so much so that she is even
recognized by children today.
By the
time she had graduated high school, Jennifer had appeared in a video
for Roy Orbison's "I Drove All Night" with Jason Priestly;
appeared in television commercials in Japan; and even released a
single in Japan entitled, "Monologue of Love," in which
she sings in Japanese (her agent claimed that she was semi-fluent
in the language.)
But Jennifer's
career choice left her in a maze of disappointment after disappointment,
with roles in 1990's The Hot Spot and Career Opportunities. The
latter did not live up to its name, as it was not much more than
another film credit.
Balancing
work and school, Jennifer attended Yale and then transferred to
Stanford, but decided to make acting her number one priority when
she was cast in the lead of Disney's The Rocketeer. The movie not
only skyrocketed Jennifer to new heights, but it also led to a long-term
romance with her co-star, Billy Campbell.
In 1995,
Jennifer was cast as a lesbian in Higher Learning, co-starring Tyra
Banks, and the following year she appeared in Mulholland Falls and
starred in Far Harbor.
The green-eyed
beauty then had a streak, with 1997's Inventing the Abbotts, as
the sister of Liv Tyler, and less commercial films like Dark City,
Waking the Dead, the critically-acclaimed Requiem for a Dream, in
a convincing turn as a heroine addict, and Pollock.
Jennifer
tried her hand at television, with a starring role in the poorly
rated The $treet, and although it was canceled, Jennifer is keeping
busy with a lead role in the upcoming A Beautiful Mind, opposite
Russell Crowe, and a role in the pending Schwarzenegger flick, Crusade.
She is also busy raising her son, Kai, as a single mother.
Her acting
talents were finally recognized as she was nominated for a Best
Supporting Female Independent Spirit Award for her role in Requiem
for a Dream, in what is considered her best role to date.
Jennifer Connelly Filmography
Brideshead Revisited
(2005) .... Lady Julia Flyte
The Berkeley Connection (2006)
Dark Water (2005) .... Dahlia Williams
House of Sand and Fog (2003) .... Kathy
Hulk (2003) .... Betty Ross
The Best of Bowie (2002) (V) .... Sarah
A Beautiful Mind (2001)--Alicia Nash
The $treet (2000) TV Series--Catherine Miller
Pollock (2000)--Ruth Klingman
Requiem for a Dream (2000)--Marion Silver
Waking the Dead (2000)--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
The Heart of Justice (1992) (TV)--Emma Burgess
Rocketeer: Excitement in the Air (1991) (TV)--Herself
The Rocketeer (1991)--Jenny Blake
Career Opportunities (1991)--Josie McClellan
The Hot Spot (1990)--Gloria Harper
Étoile (1988)--Claire Hamilton/Natalie Horvath
Some Girls (1988)--Gabriella 'Gabby' D'Arc
Inside the Labyrinth (1986)--Herself
Labyrinth (1986)--Sarah
Il Mondo dell'orrore di Dario Argento (1985)--Herself/Jennifer Corvino
(aka Dario Argento's World of Horror) Seven Minutes in Heaven (1985)--Natalie
Becker
The Valley (1985)--Jennifer Corvino/Herself
Phenomena (1985)--Jennifer Corvino
Once Upon a Time in America (1984)--Young Deborah |
