Biographies: Jessica Chastain - Actor

Biographies

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Jessica Chastain is an American theater, film and television actress. She was born in Northern California on March 24, 1977, and graduated from Sacramento City College, where she was a member of the debate team as well a San Francisco theater company. The then attended the prestigious Julliard School in New York City, which was made possible through a scholarship by Robin Williams. She was very active in their theater department and graduated in 2003 with a B.F.A. degree. After doing several guest appearances on TV shows, she made her film debut with the independent "Jolene" (2008) inspired by the Dolly Parton song. She earned favorable reviews for her performance in "The Debt" (2010). 2011 was a prolific, landmark year for Chastain. Her starring roles in seven feature releases made her an overnight sensation and breakout star. Her films from that year include "The Help," "Take Shelter," "Coriolanus," Terrence Malick's "Tree of Life," "Wilde Salome," and "Texas Killing Fields." For "The Help," Chastain was nominated for an Oscar, a Golden Globe, a BAFTA and a SAG Award for playing the ditzy and beautiful housewife Celia Foote, who is too "country" for the mean-spirited high society ladies of Jackson, Mississippi. Chastain made Foote unforgettable, partly due to her high-pitched Betty Boop voice. She won a slew of awards for this role, including the Hollywood Film Festival Award for Breakthrough Artist and the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress. She followed these in 2012 with "Lawless" and "Zero Dark Thirty" about the decade-long hunt for Osama Bin Laden. She played real-life intelligence agent Maya, whose hunches and devoted research resulted in Bin Laden's capture. Chastain was nominated for an Oscar, a BAFTA, a Satellite Award and a SAG Award for this role. She won the Golden Globe and the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award. With "Zero Dark Thirty" added to her impressive catalog, film critic Richard Roeper described her as "one of the finest actors of her generation."


Jessica Chastain was born on March 29, 1981, in California, USA. Her real breakthrough was her role in the series ER, in which she appeared in 2004, followed by several roles in television series. She made her film debut in Jolene (2008). Her most notable roles in films were in Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life, and Jeff Nichols' Take Shelter, both in 2011. Jessica has been nominated twice for Oscars for The Help and Zero Dark Thirty.