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Jessica Michelle Chastain, born March 24, 1977, is an American actress and producer. If you had asked who asked who she was in 2010, cinephiles would have had no ready answer. If you asked the same question today, the results would be very different. The year of 2011 saw no less than seven films featuring her, and transformed her into the personification of the breakout actress, and invited comparisons to both Kate Winslet and a younger Meryl Streep among reviewers and filmgoers.
Previously, Chastain had laboured for years in minor parts on television and in theatre, before working with Al Pacino in a stage performance of Oscar Wilde's Salome, where she played the title character. More roles followed, and due to a number of release delays, Chastain ended up having a very busy 2011 indeed, to the point where critics were split over which of her many performances was most deserving of recognition. The ultimate winner was The Help, the one that had made the most money, which earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. She has managed to live up to this auspicious start, being nominated for Best Actress (and winning the Golden Globe for same) a year later for Zero Dark Thirty, and in 2022 winning Best Actress for her portrayal of evangelist Tammy Faye Bakker in The Eyes of Tammy Faye.
And if you confuse her and Bryce Dallas Howard, don't worry, it's not the first time. Though both actresses and a song helped differentiate them better.
Notable films of Jessica Chastain:[]
- The Debt (2011)
- The Tree of Life (2011)
- Coriolanus (2011)
- The Help (2011) - Oscar nominee for Best Supporting Actress
- Take Shelter (2011)
- Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012)
- Lawless (2012)
- Zero Dark Thirty (2012) - Oscar nominee for Best Actress
- Mama (2013)
- The Dissapearence Of Elenor Rigby (2014)
- Interstellar (2014)
- The Martain (2015)
- Miss Sloane (2016)
- The Zookeper's Wife (2017)
- Molly's Game (2018)
- X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019)
- IT: Chapter Two (2019)
- The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2021) - Oscar winner for Best Actress
Tropes applying to Jessica Chastain[]
- Action Girl: Some of her characters are this. Maya from Zero Dark Thirty is an aversion; still badass, though.
- Approval of God: She loves the song "I Am Not Jessica Chastain", so much so, she posted an instagram video of Bryce Dallas Howard lip-synching to it.
- Deadpan Snarker
- Fake Nationality: Judean (as Salome in Salomé), Israeli (as Rachel in The Debt), Italian (Gia The Jaguar in Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted), and Polish (Antonina Żabińska in The Zookeeper's Wife).
- Fiery Redhead
- Lady Swearsalot: Well, when you got to act thanks to a scholarship by Robin Williams, who was famous for swearing during his stand-up routines.
- Ms. Fanservice:
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"When someone tells me I'm a sex symbol I'm like, "what?" But I'll take what I can get." |
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- Money, Dear Boy: Wanna know why she voiced an Italian animated jaguar? Okay, her rent was low and she needed to buy a new couch.
- Older Than She Looks: Who'd have thought she's 43?!
- Soapbox Sadie: A vocal feminist.