Maggie Ruth
Gyllenhaal (born November 6, 1977) is an American
actress.
She is the older sister of Jake Gyllenhaal and the
daughter of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter
Naomi Foner. Gyllenhaal began her acting career in a
film directed by her father, and later achieved
recognition in her own right playing her real-life
brother's on-screen sister in the cult hit Donnie Darko.
Gyllenhaal made her breakthrough in the sadomasochistic
romance, Secretary, for which she received a Golden
Globe nomination.
Gyllenhaal has chosen an eclectic range of roles, from
indie films such as Sherrybaby, for which she was also
nominated for a Golden Globe, to the romantic comedy
Trust the Man and big-budget studio films such as World
Trade Center and The Dark Knight.
Gyllenhaal is a politically active Democrat and like her
brother and parents supports the American Civil
Liberties Union. Gyllenhaal participated in anti-war
demonstrations in the lead-up to the US-led invasion of
Iraq and achieved some notoriety for being quoted as
saying America was "responsible in some way"
for the 9/11 attacks.
Early life: Gyllenhaal was born in New York City,
to film director Stephen Gyllenhaal and film producer
and screenwriter Naomi Achs. Gyllenhaal's father was
raised in the Swedenborgian religion and is a descendant
of the Swedish noble Gyllenhaal family; her last Swedish
ancestor was his great-great-grandfather, Anders Leonard
Gyllenhaal. Her mother is from a New York City
Jewish-American family, and is the ex-wife of Eric
Foner, a history professor at Columbia University.
Gyllenhaal grew up in Los Angeles and graduated from the
Harvard-Westlake prep school. While there, she attended
a semester away program in Vershire, Vermont called The
Mountain School. She graduated from Columbia University
in 1998 with a BA in literature and Eastern religions
and spent a summer studying at the Royal Academy of
Dramatic Arts.
Career: Gyllenhaal's first film roles were
directed by her father: Waterland (1992), her feature
film debut, A Dangerous Woman (1993), and Homegrown
(1998), the latter two also featured her brother. After
graduating from college, she had a number of supporting
roles, in such films as 40 Days and 40 Nights, Riding in
Cars with Boys and Cecil B. DeMented. Paper Magazine has
described these roles, including her casting as Donnie
Darko`s sister opposite real-life brother Jake, as
"the girl you're not supposed to notice".
Gyllenhaal's break-out role was in the black comedy
Secretary (2002), a film about two people who embark on
a mutually fulfilling BDSM lifestyle. The film earned
Gyllenhaal widespread acclaim including a Golden Globe
nomination, and marked the first time Gyllenhaal
performed full frontal nudity on camera. Although
impressed with the script, Gyllenhaal initially had some
qualms about doing the film, which she believed could
deliver an antifeminist message. But after carefully
discussing the script with the film's director, Steven
Shainberg, she agreed to join the project. Although
insisting Shainberg did not exploit her, Gyllenhaal has
said she felt "slightly taken advantage of"
and in agreeing to do certain scenes she "conceded
in a way that maybe in retrospect I wish I hadn't."
Gyllenhaal then had a series of supporting roles in
films such as the Spike Jonze/Charlie Kaufman comedy
Adaptation., and Mona Lisa Smile starring Julia Roberts.
She also appeared in smaller independent films such as
John Sayles's Casa de los Babys, and Criminal with John
C. Reilly and Diego Luna. Another notable appearance was
in Happy Endings in which she played a singer, and
recorded songs for the movie's soundtrack. She also
recently played a love interest of Harold Crick, played
by Will Ferrell, in Stranger Than Fiction.
Gyllenhaal has also appeared in the theater. She starred
as Alice in the Mark Taper Forum production of Patrick
Marber's Closer, and performed at the Taper in a
production of Tony Kushner's Homebody/ Kabul. Kushner
gave Gyllenhaal the role in Homebody/ Kabul on the
strength of her performance in Closer.
She has modeled for Miu Miu, a branch of the Prada
fashion house, and for Reebok. Maggie is also officially
signed on to replace Katie Holmes in being Christian
Bale's Batman's love interest, Rachel Dawes in The Dark
Knight, the sequel to Batman Begins.
In 2004, Gyllenhaal was invited to join the Academy of
Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Personal life: Gyllenhaal has been in a
relationship with actor Peter Sarsgaard since 2002. They
announced their engagement in April 2006. They have a
daughter, Ramona, born on October 3, 2006, and reside in
Brooklyn, NY. Sarsgaard is close friends with her
brother Jake.
In April 2003, Gyllenhaal spoke at the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill in her first college
speaking engagement. Her comments focused on criticisms
of the film industry and what her experience had been
like thus far.
Controversy: Gyllenhaal drew fire after an
interview with NY1 at the 2005 Tribeca Film Festival
where she suggested that the United States was somewhat
responsible for the September 11, 2001 attacks. She
remarked, "I think America has done reprehensible
things and is responsible in some way..." In
response to the criticism, she issued a statement saying
that 9/11 was "an occasion to be brave enough to
ask some serious questions about America's role in the
world" and that it was "useful as individuals
or nations to ask how we may have knowingly or
unknowingly contributed to this conflict." She
pointedly denied saying that the 9/11 attacks were
deserved. Gyllenhaal later said that she regretted her
comments, and asserted that film interviews were not the
"right place" to discuss politics. Gyllenhaal
also said that she had "nothing but gratitude and
admiration" for firefighters and that she should
have "been more gentle and more thoughtful" in
her comments.
Gyllenhaal eventually met with Port Authority officer
Will Jimeno and his wife, Allison, whom Gyllenhaal
depicted in the 2006 film World Trade Center. Gyllenhaal
said she would have left the project if the Jimenos
wanted, but Allison Jimeno expressed that she and her
husband were comfortable with her and "had no
problem with her in the movie."
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