Jessica Chastain, American actress
Jessica Michelle Chastain (born March 24, 1977) is an American actress and film producer. Known primarily for starring in films with feminist themes, she has received various accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2012.
Chastain developed an interest in acting from an early age and made her professional stage debut in 1998 as Shakespeare's Juliet. After studying acting at the Juilliard School, she was signed to a talent holding deal with the television producer John Wells. She was a recurring guest star in several television series, including Law & Order: Trial by Jury. She also took on roles in the stage productions of Anton Chekhov's play The Cherry Orchard in 2004 and Oscar Wilde's tragedy Salome in 2006.
After making her film debut in the drama Jolene (2008), Chastain had her breakthrough in 2011 with six film releases, including the dramas Take Shelter (2011) and The Tree of Life (2011). She received Academy Award nominations for playing an aspiring socialite in the period drama The Help (2011) and a CIA analyst in the thriller Zero Dark Thirty (2012). Her biggest commercial successes came with the science fiction films Interstellar (2014) and The Martian (2015), and the horror film It Chapter Two (2019). She continued to receive critical acclaim for her roles in the dramas A Most Violent Year (2014), Miss Sloane (2016), and Molly's Game (2017), and the television miniseries Scenes from a Marriage (2021). For her portrayal of Tammy Faye in the biopic The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2021), which she also produced, Chastain won the Academy Award for Best Actress.
Chastain is the founder of the production company Freckle Films, which was created to promote diversity in film, and is an investor in the soccer club Angel City FC. She is vocal about mental health issues, as well as gender and racial equality. She is married to fashion executive Gian Luca Passi de Preposulo, with whom she has two children.
1977Mar, 24
Jessica Chastain
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Events on 1977
- 23Mar
Watergate scandal
The first of The Nixon Interviews (12 will be recorded over four weeks) are videotaped with British journalist David Frost interviewing former United States President Richard Nixon about the Watergate scandal and the Nixon tapes. - 5Jul
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Military coup in Pakistan: Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the first elected Prime Minister of Pakistan, is overthrown. - 4Aug
Jimmy Carter
U.S. President Jimmy Carter signs legislation creating the United States Department of Energy. - 15Aug
Search for extraterrestrial intelligence
The Big Ear, a radio telescope operated by Ohio State University as part of the SETI project, receives a radio signal from deep space; the event is named the "Wow! signal" from the notation made by a volunteer on the project. - 21Nov
God Save the Queen
Minister of Internal Affairs Allan Highet announces that the national anthems of New Zealand shall be the traditional anthem "God Save the Queen" and "God Defend New Zealand".