Jake Gyllenhaal Biography
Jake Gyllenhaal was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and producer/screenwriter Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal. His father grew up in the Swedenborgian religion and is a descendant of the Swedish noble Gyllenhaal family. His mother is from a Jewish American family from New York City; she is the sister of Eric Foner, a well known historian at Columbia University. Gyllenhaal was raised in the Jewish religion and had a Bar Mitzvah at a homeless shelter, as his parents wanted to instill a sense of gratitude for his privileged lifestyle.[1][2] His sister, Maggie, is also an actress and played his sister in Donnie Darko, as well as appearing with him in the film A Dangerous Woman.
He graduated from the Harvard-Westlake School in 1998 and studied at Columbia University for two years, but dropped out to concentrate on his acting career.
Gyllenhaal's most notable relationship has been with actress Kirsten Dunst. Introduced through his sister, the two began dating in September 2002 and officially broke up in July 2004. However their relationship has remained "on again, off again" and the two have stayed close friends. Gyllenhaal has recently been linked to actor Austin Nichols, and various actresses. However, he has stated in interviews with Oprah Winfrey and Ellen Degeneres that he is single.
He is friends with Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine, having met in kindergarten, and with his sister's boyfriend, actor Peter Saarsgard, his co-star in Jarhead.
He has two dogs, a German Shepherd named Atticus Finch and a Puggle named Boo Radley. Both dogs were named after characters from one of his favorite novels To Kill a Mockingbird. Gyllenhaal's godmother is Jamie Lee Curtis. He is also the godfather to Matilda Rose Ledger, daughter of actor Heath Ledger and actress Michelle Williams, his co-stars from Brokeback Mountain.
Gyllenhaal has an interest in Buddhism, although he is not "a card-carrying Buddhist",[4] and enjoys cooking and woodwork. Fans of the actor refer to themselves as "Gyllenhaalics."
It is also widely thought that he is 'Toothy Tile', a mysterious bisexual actor frequently mentioned in E! correspondent Ted Casablanca's online gossip column, The Awful Truth.
Jake Gyllenhaal Trivia
- Dropped out of Columbia University after two years (2002).
- Son of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner.
- Graduated Harvard-Westlake (private) high school [1998]
- Younger brother of Maggie Gyllenhaal
- Is of Swedish (noble) and Russian-Jewish descent.
- Played brother to real life sister Maggie Gyllenhaal in their movie Donnie Darko (2001).
- Received his first driving lesson from Paul Newman.
- His fans refer to themselves as "Gyllenhaalics"
- His last name is pronounced Jill-en-hall.
- Sister Maggie Gyllenhaal introduced him to Kirsten Dunst. Jake and Kirsten dated, but broke up in July 2004. (Both Kirsten and Maggie appeared in Mona Lisa Smile (2003)).
- He was awarded the 2002 London Evening Standard Theate Award for Outstanding Newcomer for his performance in This is Our Youth at the Garrick Theatre in London, England.
- Was set to play Spiderman in Spider-Man 2 (2004) due to complications with Tobey Maguire. While he was preparing for the role, Maguire was back as Spiderman.
- Attended high school with "Freaks and Geeks" (1999) star Jason Segel.
- Was named one of People Magazine's 50 Hottest Bachelors [2004]
- Is close friends with Natalie Portman and Bryce Dallas Howard.
- Went to elementary school with band members of Maroon 5.
- On Phantom Planet's album "The Guest", lead singer Alex Greenwald lists him in his thank yous. Alex appeared with Jake in Donnie Darko (2001).
- His favorite book is To Kill a Mockingbird, and he has two dogs, Atticus and Boo named after the novel's main characters.
- Auditioned for and what was one of the top 8 contenders for the role of Batman/Bruce Wayne in Batman Begins (2005).
- Shares his birthday with Marla Sokoloff, Alyssa Milano, Jennifer Beals and Édith Piaf.
- Before success as an actor, Jake Gyllenhaal worked as a lifeguard. He never had any life-saving incidents, but did perform one lesser rescue. A swimmer had been stung on the leg by a jellyfish, and Gyllenhaal helped relieve the pain of the stings -- by urinating on the swimmer's leg.
- Godmother is Jamie Lee Curtis.
- Although they broke up in July 2004, he and Kirsten Dunst still have an on and off relationship.
- Gained 5 pounds of muscles for his role in Jarhead (2005)
- When asked who his idols are he said Anthony Quinn, Paul Newman, Sean Penn, Bruce Springsteen and Bono.
- Spent two years at Columbia University. One of his professors was Robert Thurman, Uma Thurman's father.
- Godfather of Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams' daughter Matilda Rose
|
 |
| Jake Gyllenhaal Biography |
|