Deschanel was born January 17, 1980, in Los Angeles, California. From a Hollywood family, her father is five-time Academy award nominated cinematographer Caleb Deschanel. Her mother, also no stranger to show business, is actress Mary Jo Weir. It should be no surprise then that Deschanel’s sister is also a successful actress, Emily Deschanel, most noted for her work on the popular television series Bones.
Deschanel knew acting was her calling as well, and to that end, she attended the elite summer camp, French Woods Festival of the Performing Arts. She pursued her secondary education at Northwestern University, but anxious to begin her life as an actress, she dropped out without earning her degree.
Deschanel made her on-screen debut in 1998 with a one-episode stint on the television series Veronica’s Closet, opposite leads Kirstie Alley, Dan Cortese, and Kathy Najimy. Her first film followed one year later with Mumford. On set, she brushed elbows with Hope Davis, Jason Lee, Alfre Woodard, Mary McDonnell, Martin Short, Ted Danson, and Jason Ritter.
She followed with a bit part in the wildly popular and critically acclaimed Cameron Crowe project, Almost Famous. Featuring another all-star cast, the film starred Billy Crudup, Frances McDormand, Kate Hudson, Patrick Fugit, Anna Paquin, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Jimmy Fallon.
For the next three years, Deschanel appeared in a multitude of films, many of which had an artistic or independent bent. Most notable appearances include her work with Joseph Gordon Levitt and Don Cheadle in 2001's Manic, and her role the following year opposite Jennifer Aniston, Jake Gyllenhaal, and John C Reilly in The Good Girl. Her most critically lauded role came in 2003 with All the Real Girls, for which she earned an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Female Lead. She co-starred with Paul Schneider and Patricia Clarkson.
Not passing up any opportunities, Deschanel also appeared in larger, more commercial endeavors like the Tim Allen, Rene Russo, Stanley Tucci, Johnny Knoxville, and Janeane Garofalo film Big Trouble in 2002. She also appeared in the 2002 comedy The New Guy. DJ Qualls starred with Eliza Dushku and the movie also included bit roles by Lyle Lovett, Tony Hawk, and Gene Simmons.
But it wasn’t until her turn in the Jon Favreau directed Elf that Deschanel became a household name. The film was a huge hit for her and co-stars Will Ferrell, James Caan, Bob Newhart, Edward Asner, Mary Steenburgen, and Andy Richter.
Deschanel also won a starring role in Eulogy and Winter Passing, as well as a co-starring role in the Douglas Adam’s adaptation Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, with Martin Freeman, Mos Def, Bill Nighy, and Sam Rockwell.
More recently, she appeared in the 2006 romantic comedy Failure to Launch, with Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew McConaughey, and lent her voice to the 2007 animated feature Surf’s Up.
An accomplished singer, Deschanel’s voice can be heard in several of her films including Elf and Winter Passing. In her personal life, she was good friends with and dated fellow actor Jason Schwartzman until they broke up in 2005. She has also been romantically linked to Hitchhiker’s co-star Freeman.
YUDDY
