Sparkling actress and talented musician, Zooey deschanel went through indie films in her 20s, before being thrust into the spotlight by the success story of “New Girl.” What has happened to her?
In a time not too long ago, the small worlds of series and cinema regularly saw the parades of actresses playing the timeless roles of shining women. They were always positive and well-anchored in pop culture. Ideal women, wild and whimsical. Nathan Rabin, a film critic and filmmaker, created a term to describe this archetypal figure: the Manic Pixie Dream Girl.
According to the author, this term refers to a narrative device designed to facilitate the psychological development of the main character. This expression was originally used to describe Kirsten Dunkst in Encounters in Elizabethtown. But it has been abusedly generalized to many characters, and even to people. Like Zooey deschanel, actress.
In the mid-2000s, she was a true “It Girl”, best known for her roles in films like Almost Famous, Phenomena and Elf. She also appeared in H2G2 The Galactic Traveler’s Guide, Phenomena, Elf, and the delightful indie comedy-drama (500 Days Together). And of course, New Girl, Zooey deschanel, which was a hugely successful series. New Girl was cancelled in 2010. In 2018, after seven seasons, her acting career had slowed significantly.
A child of the Ball
Zooey Deschanel was born into a family of artists. Her father, Caleb Deschanel (director of photography), and her mother Mary Jo Deschanel (actress in Twin Peaks) are both directors of photography. She began her career in 1998 on the series The Underside of Veronica. In 1999, she landed her first major role on the big screen with Mumford (1999). After graduating from the university, she began her acting career.
It is revealed to the public in Almost Famous (2000), and Zooey Deschanel’s fame grows. She can be seen in The Good Girl (2002) with Jake Gyllenhaal and Jennifer Aniston, as well as in the sci-fi film H2G2 The Guide to the Galactic Traveler (2004), the romantic comedy Playboy up to grabs (2006), and the masterpiece The Assassination of Jesse James by Robert Ford in 2007.
She is a talented musician and her singing abilities have allowed her to land roles in Elf (2003), and Once upon a mattress (2005). She was a recurring character on the series Weeds, and she became well-known in 2008 when M. Night Shyamalan gave her the lead female role in his Phenomena. In which she plays Mark Wahlberg’s wife.
Here’s the trailer for your enjoyment…
New Girl, the launch into space
She was Jessica Day, a young, naive, and unfaithful woman who became the star of New Girl in 2011. She shares her sorrows and joys as a roommate to three boys: Nick, who is a bartender; Schmidt (a white-collar worker pretending he’s Casanova); and Winston, who was a former basketball player.
Her series was a huge hit for Fox and was nominated in 2012 to the Emmy Award for Best Actress In a Comedy Series. Zooey Deschanel was also ranked 8th on the list of 20 highest-paid actresses in American TV in 2012, earning $ 9 million annually.
She also had a great success with She & Him, her musical group. Her first album, Volume OneIn the United States, the band sold more than 300,000. Six albums later (the final one, a tribute Brian Wilson’s, was released last year), and the band intends to continue touring.
What does Zooey deschanel sound like in music? A little bit…
The actress was the mother of two children, born in 2015 and 2017. She stated in 2018 that she wasn’t more eager than anyone to return to the cameras. She preferred to concentrate on her role as a mom. A highly respectable choice.
Zooey deschanel, a master of many trades, has voiced characters in animated films (The Trolls sequel) and presented a web series about vegan and vegetarian food (The Trolls).“Your Food’s Roots”); launched in 2011 a site, HelloGiggles, presented as a “A positive online community for women-identifying users, covering the latest in beauty, style, relationships and money, as well as identity, culture, and more She was sold in 2015 for an undisclosed sum, but her estimate is around $30 million.
Like many of her colleagues she also launched a podcast called Welcome to Our Show. She returns with stories about the show, along with Hannah Simone (the star of New Girl) and Lamorne Morse Morris (the co-host). There are almost 60 episodes. If you’re nostalgic for Jessica Day, then you know what to do!