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.[6]
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".[6]
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.[7][8] 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."[6]
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.[9]
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 sequel to Batman Begins, The Dark Knight.
Personal life
Gyllenhaal has been in a relationship with actor Peter Sarsgaard since 2002. They announced their engagement in April 2006.[10] They have a daughter, Ramona, born on October 3, 2006, and reside in Manhattan.[11] 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.[12] Gyllenhaal later said that she regretted her comments, and asserted that film interviews were not the "right place" to discuss politics.[13] 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.[14]
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."[15]
