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Maggie Gyllenhaal

Maggie Gyllenhaal

Birthday: 1977-11-16 | Place of Birth: Lower East Side, New York City, New York, USA

Margalit "Maggie" Ruth Gyllenhaal (born November 16, 1977) is an American actress and filmmaker. Part of the Gyllenhaal family, she is the daughter of filmmakers Stephen Gyllenhaal and Naomi Achs, and the older sister of actor Jake Gyllenhaal. Gyllenhaal began her career as a teenager with small roles in several of her father's films, and appeared with her brother in the cult favorite Donnie Darko (2001). She then appeared in Adaptation, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (both 2002), and Mona Lisa Smile (2003). Gyllenhaal received critical acclaim for her leading performances in the erotic romantic comedy drama Secretary (2002) and the drama Sherrybaby (2006), each of which earned her a Golden Globe Award nomination. After several commercially successful films in 2006, including World Trade Center, she received wider recognition for playing Rachel Dawes in the superhero film The Dark Knight (2008). For her performance as a single mother in Crazy Heart (2009), she received a nomination for Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She subsequently starred in the comedies and dramas: Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang (2010), Hysteria (2011), and Won't Back Down (2012). Her other roles include a Secret Service agent in the action-thriller White House Down (2013), a musician in Frank (2014), and the title role in the drama The Kindergarten Teacher (2018). In 2021, Gyllenhaal made her writing and directing debut with the psychological drama The Lost Daughter, for which she won the Venice International Film Festival's Best Screenplay Award and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Gyllenhaal has also appeared in five stage productions since 2000, including making her Broadway debut in a revival of The Real Thing. She has starred in several television series, including the BBC political-thriller miniseries The Honourable Woman. For her performance, she won a Golden Globe award for Best Actress, and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award. She also produced and starred in the HBO period drama series The Deuce (2017–19). Gyllenhaal has been married to actor Peter Sarsgaard since 2009 and they have two children together.

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Known For

Acting

Year
Title

Role

2018
The Kindergarten Teacher

as    Lisa Spinelli

2017
The Deuce

as    Eileen 'Candy' Merrell

2014
Frank

as    Clara

2014
The Honourable Woman

as    Nessa Stein

2014
The Sturgeon Queens

as    Self

2013
White House Down

as    Deputy SAIC Carol Finnerty

2012
Hysteria

as    Charlotte Dalrymple

2012
Won't Back Down

as    Jamie Fitzpatrick

2012
BAM150

as    Self

2010
Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang

as    Isabel Green

2009
Crazy Heart

as    Jean Craddock

2009
Away We Go

as    LN

2008
The Dark Knight

as    Rachel Dawes

2007
Paris Je T'aime

as    Liz (Quartier des Enfants Rouges)

2006
World Trade Center

as    Allison Jimeno

2006
Stranger Than Fiction

as    Ana Pascal

2006
Sherrybaby

as    Sherry Swanson

2006
Monster House

as    Zee (voice)

2005
Trust the Man

as    Elaine

2005
Happy Endings

as    Jude

2004
Donnie Darko

as    Elizabeth Darko

2004
Strip Search

as    Linda Sykes

2004
Criminal

as    Valerie

2003
Mona Lisa Smile

as    Giselle Levy

2003
Casa de los Babys

as    Jennifer

2002
2002
Secretary

as    Lee Holloway

2002
40 Days and 40 Nights

as    Sam