Jennifer Lynn Connelly
Jennifer Connelly won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2002 for her portrayal of Alicia Nash in A Beautiful Mind. She began her career as a child model and made her film debut in Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in America 1984. Her other notable films include Labyrinth 1986, Requiem for a Dream 2000, and Top Gun: Maverick 2022.
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Jennifer Connelly — early life, career, personal life, and legacy.
At age ten, Jennifer Connelly began modeling after a family friend suggested it. She was born December 12, 1970, in Cairo, New York, and grew up in Brooklyn Heights. Her father, Gerard Connelly, was of Irish and Norwegian descent; her mother, Ilene, came from an Ashkenazi Jewish immigrant family. She attended Saint Ann’s School in Brooklyn.
Connelly made her film debut as a dancer in Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in America 1984. The Jim Henson fantasy Labyrinth 1986 brought her attention. After smaller films, Requiem for a Dream 2000 earned her a Spirit Award nomination. She won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for A Beautiful Mind 2001, playing Alicia Nash opposite Russell Crowe. Diverse roles followed: Hulk 2003, Blood Diamond 2006, and Top Gun: Maverick 2022.
Connelly met actor Paul Bettany on the set of A Beautiful Mind 2001. The couple married in 2003 without ever dating. They have two children: Stellan born 2003 and Agnes born 2011. Connelly also has a son, Kai Dugan born 1997, from a previous relationship with photographer David Dugan. The family lives in Brooklyn, near where she grew up.
Connelly’s Oscar win for A Beautiful Mind made her one of 14 actresses who won Best Supporting Actress in a Best Picture winner. Her appearance inspired Disney’s Princess Jasmine in Aladdin 1992. She is also recognized for her role in Requiem for a Dream 2000 and for voicing the A.I. suit in Spider-Man: Homecoming 2017.
Browse the complete filmography of Jennifer Connelly — every film, TV show, and documentary credit, ranked by popularity.
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Every award, honor, and recognition received by Jennifer Connelly — Grammys, hall-of-fame inductions, civic honors, lifetime achievements.
A wall of memorable lines from Jennifer Connelly — lyrics, interviews, and off-the-cuff remarks captured over a lifetime.
Acting Is Great. When It Works It Is so Fulfilling. You Do the Research and Work with Other Talented People Who Are Creative and Compassionate and Use All Your Faculties. the Ability to Express Yourself Completely Is the Most Wonderful Feeling in the World. Each Film Is a Chapter in My Life Wherein I Learn so Much More About Myself.
I so Much Enjoy Being Able to Completely Allow Myself to Be Consumed by a Role, and Really Grow in the Process,once You’ve Done That, It’s Hard to Go Back Working on Things You Don’t Care About.
Little-known facts about Jennifer Connelly — origins, oddities, and behind-the-scenes details from a public life.
She speaks French and Italian fluently.
Connelly met future husband Paul Bettany while filming A Beautiful Mind 2001; they married without a dating period.
She named her son Stellan after Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård.
According to Marvel producer Kevin Feige, her voice role in Spider-Man: Homecoming 2017 was an homage to her appearance in John Hughes productions and a meta joke because her husband voices Iron Man’s A.I.
She recorded a single in Japan, singing in phonetic Japanese, though she is not fluent in the language.
Princess Jasmine’s appearance in Aladdin 1992 was based on her and the animator’s sister.
The role of Veronica Sawyer in Heathers 1989 was written for her, but she turned it down.
In three films—Dark City 1998, Requiem for a Dream 2000, and House of Sand and Fog 2003—she appears standing at the end of a pier; this was a coincidence, not a deliberate homage.
Her father was of Irish and Norwegian heritage; her mother was from an Ashkenazi Jewish family from Poland and Russia.
She enrolled at Yale University as an English major, then transferred to Stanford University two years later.
As of 2019, she resided in Brooklyn, four blocks from where she grew up, and her children attend her childhood school.
She gave birth to daughter Agnes Lark Bettany at home via scheduled water birth on May 31, 2011.
She has twice played a character named Sarah Williams: in Labyrinth 1986 and Waking the Dead 2000.
She has a son, Kai Dugan born July 10, 1997, with photographer David Dugan.
Her first child with Paul Bettany, son Stellan Bettany, was born on August 5, 2003; his godfather is Charlie Condou.
She was considered for the role of Catherine Tramell in Basic Instinct 1992, which went to Sharon Stone.
She was the 120th actress to receive an Academy Award, winning Best Supporting Actress for A Beautiful Mind 2001 on March 24, 2002.
She was named one of People magazine’s 50 Most Beautiful People in the World 2002.
She auditioned for the title role of Firestarter 1984, which went to Drew Barrymore.
She replaced Uma Thurman as Gloria Harper in The Hot Spot 1990.
She was not yet 15 during filming of Labyrinth 1985; costar David Bowie was impressed with her maturity.
She was nearly cast as Diane Court in Cameron Crowe’s Say Anything 1989, but Ione Skye got the role.
Empire magazine chose her as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history, ranking #54 in 2007.
As of 2023, she appeared in two films Oscar-nominated for Best Picture: A Beautiful Mind 2001 which won, and Top Gun: Maverick 2022.
She enjoys going barefoot and does so in many of her movies, like House of Sand and Fog.
She learned Spanish while filming Of Love and Shadows 1994 in Argentina.
She returned to work seven months after giving birth to her son Kai to begin filming Waking the Dead 2000.
The Day the Earth Stood Still 2008 opened on her 38th birthday, December 12, 2008.
Celebrity Sleuth magazine ranked her #14 in their 25 Sexiest Women of 1993 list.
She is one of 14 actresses who won Best Supporting Actress Oscars in a film that also won Best Picture; she won for A Beautiful Mind 2001.
She returned to work five months after giving birth to her son Stellan to begin filming Dark Water 2005.
FHM magazine ranked her #88 in their 100 Sexiest Women in the World 2005 special supplement.
She returned to work ten months after giving birth to her daughter Agnes to begin filming Stuck in Love 2012.
She is the daughter-in-law of Thane Bettany and Anne Kettle.
FHM-USA ranked her #74 in their 100 Sexiest Women in the World list in 2002.
Stuff magazine ranked her #53 in their 103 Sexiest Women in the World list in 2003.
AskMen ranked her #85 in their Most Desirable Woman list in 2002.
She is one of 22 Oscar-winning actresses born in New York state.
She has twice played the wife of a Gladiator 2000 star: Russell Crowe in A Beautiful Mind 2001 and Joaquin Phoenix in Reservation Road 2007.
The 1995 horror game Clock Tower is based on her film Phenomena 1985; the protagonist is inspired by her appearance and also named Jennifer.
She is best friends with actress Liv Tyler.
Quick answers to the questions readers ask most about Jennifer Connelly.
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