Maggie Gyllenhaal: Actress, Director. Not just her brother’s sister

Celebrating her 45th birthday Maggie Gyllenhaal Comes from an acting family. She was born on November 16, 1977 in New York. Parents – Stephen Gyllenhaal And the Naomi Foner They are a couple of directors. Her younger brother, three years younger Jake Gyllenhaal (“The Secret of Brokeback Mountain”And the “independent”) and husband Peter Sarsgaard (“Batman”And the “Love Pablo, hate Escobar”They are also actors.

She first appeared in her father’s films. He directed the first six films in which she appeared. in the picture “Donnie Darko” (2002) She and Jake played siblings. But Maggie Gyllenhaal For a long time she is no longer known as the “sister of a famous brother” and is doing great without her family’s support.

With talent and hard work, the actress has created her own brand. With her bold cinematic creations, she has proven that she can handle herself very well. She is now one of the most respected stars in Hollywood. He splits his time between independent and high-budget productions. He is also not afraid of nude scenes.

The breakout role in her career turned out to be the title role in a black comedy “secretary”, where she played a woman involved in a sadomasochistic relationship with her boss. This is the first time we see her naked on screen (and admire her legs on a poster), and the role brought the actress her first Golden Globe nomination.

The movie opened the door to Hollywood for her. In the following years, she can be seen in high-profile movies like “Adaptation” (with Nicolas Cage) “Mona Lisa’s smile” (with Julia Roberts) The Harold Creek case. (with Will Ferrell and Dustin Hoffman) and the drama Oliver Stone “World Trade Center” (The actress later admitted that this is one of her favorite paintings.)

In 2008, Gyllenhaal replaced Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes and co-starred Christian Bale And the Heath Ledger Batman’s darling “The Dark Knight” (2008) Christopher Nolan. Critic Todd Gilchrist wrote that Gyllenhaal’s performance gives her character “depth and energy”.

A year later, she starred opposite Jeff Bridges “crazy Heart”. For her portrayal of a journalist who falls in love with an alcoholic country star, Gyllenhaal earned her first Academy Award nomination.

She is later seen in a romantic comedy dressed up “Hysteria – The Romantic Story of a Vibrator” and political excitement “the world is on fire”.

Once again, she won the hearts of the viewers with her brave role in the movie Kindergarten girl. According to critics, this is Maggie Gyllenhaal’s best creation to date. The heroine of the drama is Lisa, who has a happy family and a good job, but in fact she has always wanted to be an artist. When he accidentally discovers the poetic genius of his five-year-old student, he decides to do everything not to get lost. The belief that the boy, unlike her, has a chance to become an outstanding artist turns into a dangerous obsession.

Kindergarten girl It was also her debut as a producer. It turns out that the actress is also great in this role.

In 2016, Gyllenhaal joined the cast of the HBO series “Time Square Records” She was also a producer there. She played a single mother who works as a prostitute at night. For her role, the actress again received a Golden Globe nomination.

After these experiences, Maggie Gyllenhaal decided to raise the bar and posed on the other side of the camera. In one of the interviews, she admitted that she always felt like a boss, but she didn’t have the courage to admit it to herself.

Her directorial debut – a movie “girl” (2021) – Critics and audiences rejoiced. The title won dozens of awards around the world and garnered three Academy Award nominations – for Actress and Olivia Colman And the Jesse Buckley and for Best Screenplay, it was also written by Maggie Gyllenhaal.

The screenplay is based on a book by the Italian writer Elena Ferrante “daughter”. The main character is Leda (Olivia Colman), a 40-year-old British woman who studies at university every day and spends her holidays alone in Greece. On the beach, he meets young Nina (Dakota Johnson), her family, and their daughter, Elena. When Nina goes missing one day, Lida finds her, which gets her mother’s attention. Thanks to flashbacks, we learn that as a young mother, Leda (Jessie Buckley) felt strongly that parenting kept her from fully realizing her career ambitions. And that’s what she wanted to focus on at the time.

During the Venice Film Festival, where the film premiered, Gyllenhaal admitted that “Daughter” is about all shades of motherhood. “We wanted to show the immense joy and love – because I think Lida is full of love for her children – and also the truth about the darkness and despair that parenthood also contains,” the director emphasized.

Maggie Gyllenhaal She is a wife Peter Sarsgaard. The couple married on May 2, 2009. They have two daughters: Ramona (born October 4, 2006) and Gloria Ray (born April 19, 2012). The actors avoid partying, lead a quiet life, and you can’t find their photos on the pages of tabloids.